Block Farming: A new Farming Approach to Improve the Performance of Companies and Smallholder Farmers

• Block farquantitiesms work best with high-yield crops, easily produced in large (e.g., cereals, root crops)
• Large areas of farmlands must be available and accessible
• Services must be available in required volumes and periods

• Involve communities and farmers during the planning, implementation, and operation of the block farm
• Secure required capital and service providers as early as possible during the planning phase
• Involve key organizations (e.g., church, schools, etc.) and people (e.g., village heads) while negotiating land and mobilizing farmers
• Conduct due diligence on lands’ legal status before closing any agreement to prevent litigation risks
• Establish formal relationships with SHFs through fair contracts; include off-taking clauses to guarantee a market to them
• Establish a robust decision-making structure for an effective management of the block farm

• The company must be committed to work with this farming model
• The company must have strong leadership to coordinate activities
• Required resources and staff for the block farm must be secured 
• SHFs must be used to/open to working in coordination, and willing to collaborate and learn new practices

By means of the block farming model, Coscharis have increased its paddy rice supply by 9%. At the same time, due to the effective delivery of services (e.g., training, inputs, mechanization, etc.), Coscharis has reduced its rice rejection rate from 40% to 5%.

Through its block farm, Coscharis has bolstered its social responsibility. In the last 3 years, the company has invested $12.1 million in the communities of influence and created 20 new jobs in the area. The company has incorporated 1740 women in the block farm (33% of total block farmers). Moreover, the total paddy rice sourced from SHFs has increased from 16% to 52%.

By having secured access to better services (e.g., training, seeds, fertilizers, mechanization, etc.), SHFs partaking in the block farm have experienced an increase in their productivity of 75%.

SHFs in the block farm (as outgrowers) have seen an increase in their income by 103%. This substantial increase have been possible due to an increase in productivity and to the guaranteed market within the block farming model.

SHFs in the block farming model pay lower rates of services as compared to acquiring them in isolation. Due to this increased access and affordability, in the last 3 years women and men block farmers adopting several services (e.g., irrigation, land preparation, improved seeds, crop insurance) increased by 315%, and 330%, respectively.