Our
Model
Acceso builds the entire food system from seed to market.
Our
Acceso Farmer Capacity Building
Acceso’s in-country teams provide high quality and customized peer-to-peer training to equip smallholder farmers with the practical know-how to get the most from their farms.
Acceso provides long-term, ongoing training delivered in-person by local teams, who are leaders in their communities. Training is customized to address the changing needs of farmers as their operations grow and evolve, with a focus on commercialization.
Acceso factors in market demand before encouraging farmer behavior change.
Entry-level farmers start by receiving crop specific training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), which teaches farmers about practical aspects such as optimal fertilizer application and managing threats from pests, extreme weather, and climate change. This equips farmers with the skills and knowledge to act upon information and data provided through Acceso’s digital platforms (more below), helping to increase production and improve quality and sustainability.
Many farmers then go on to receive formal certification to demonstrate they are meeting the requirements to attract a premium price for their crops. For example, in Haiti, peanut farmers have received training on how to safely store their harvest to avoid the risk of spoilage through fungi like aflatoxin, which is harmful to human health. And in El Salvador, farmers partnering with Acceso were the first in the region to obtain certification to meet Yum Brands’ (KFC, Pizza Hut etc.) rigorous standards, allowing them to participate in these markets for the first time.
Many farmers then go on to receive formal certification to demonstrate they are meeting the requirements to attract a premium price for their crops. For example, in Haiti, peanut farmers have received training on how to safely store their harvest to avoid the risk of spoilage through fungi like aflatoxin, which is harmful to human health. And in El Salvador, farmers partnering with Acceso were the first in the region to obtain certification to meet Yum Brands’ (KFC, Pizza Hut etc.) rigorous standards, allowing them to participate in these markets for the first time.
Acceso promotes multi-cropping, a practice in which farmers grow complementary crops that have mutual ecological benefits, which diversifies production and reduces smallholders’ exposure to risk.
Acceso’s trainings also encourage farmers to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices like composting and strategic crop rotation.
Acceso also trains future farmers. For example, in Colombia, Acceso has established community farms dedicated to elevating women from their traditional roles as farm labor only, training them to become agricultural entrepreneurs.
Technicians are hired from local communities and serve an efficient dual functionality. They both train farmers in best practices and serve as commercialization experts, staying in close contact with end-buyers to keep farmers’ production aligned with buyer demand. Acceso technicians accompany farmers throughout their journey to upward mobility.
Technicians are hired from local communities and serve an efficient dual functionality. They both train farmers in best practices and serve as commercialization experts, staying in close contact with end-buyers to keep farmers’ production aligned with buyer demand. Acceso technicians accompany farmers throughout their journey to upward mobility.
Acceso delivers crucial technical assistance through its proprietary Agtech platform, Extensio, which provides critical data on weather forecasts, good agricultural practices, pest and disease management, as well as modules on climate smart agriculture and women’s empowerment.
Acceso’s innovative digital training platform, Extensio, provides farmers with fundamental, tailored, and ongoing support to help them adopt relevant, new practices to improve their yields.
Extensio sends critical information directly to farmers’ cell phones via SMS and WhatsApp messages. These messages include geo-targeted weather forecasts, pest and disease alerts, and relevant modules on climate and women’s empowerment. Acceso has developed best-in-class content informed by agronomists, field technicians, gender, and climate experts, and utilized behavioral science to craft messages, videos and infographics that successfully engage and guide farmers. Our digital content is designed for smallholder farmers with limited literacy and digital literacy.
Extensio sends critical information directly to farmers’ cell phones via SMS and WhatsApp messages. These messages include geo-targeted weather forecasts, pest and disease alerts, and relevant modules on climate and women’s empowerment. Acceso has developed best-in-class content informed by agronomists, field technicians, gender, and climate experts, and utilized behavioral science to craft messages, videos and infographics that successfully engage and guide farmers. Our digital content is designed for smallholder farmers with limited literacy and digital literacy.
Acceso’s technology is designed to provide usable, reliable, and high-quality content for smallholder farmers.
Two-way communication via farmers’ cellphones enables a feedback loop that allows Acceso to continually refine and tailor support for farmers based on their precise needs.
Acceso has provided Extensio to more than 30,000 farmers in Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico and Peru. More than 75 percent have applied the information Acceso has provided, and 80 percent would recommend the program to other farmers, an engagement rate well above industry standards.
Acceso has provided Extensio to more than 30,000 farmers in Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico and Peru. More than 75 percent have applied the information Acceso has provided, and 80 percent would recommend the program to other farmers, an engagement rate well above industry standards.
Acceso believes all smallholder farmers have a right to the same quality information that larger producers have.
Agtech offers an efficient way to reach rural smallholder farmers. Acceso also partners with other non-profit organizations, agribusinesses, and research institutes with large networks of smallholder farmers to enable them to use Extensio to supplement their existing services to farmers and to better communicate with them.
Acceso provides smallholders with seedlings for in-demand crops like peanuts and lime and moringa sourced from Acceso’s climate-friendly nurseries as well as high quality fertilizer and crop protection products to maximize yields.
Acceso supplies farmers with millions of inputs and seedlings annually that have been selected based on their alignment with market demand. Seedlings are grown in Acceso’s nurseries, adopting best-in-sector grafting techniques, and where possible, organic compost is locally produced, providing a reliable supply of high-quality inputs while maintaining low costs. For example:
In Haiti, Acceso operates the leading nursery in the Central Plateau. As well as cultivating millions of peanut seedlings for farmers, Acceso is using this nursery to help farmers achieve and benefit from reforestation through planting fruit trees, which not only benefits the environment but also produces a valuable commodity to support better incomes. Acceso grows Haitian lime tree seedlings in its nurseries before distributing them to farmers so they can then focus on cultivating the fruit for future sales through Acceso’s commercialization system.
In El Salvador, Acceso has transformed the small-scale tilapia sector by introducing an improved variety of tilapia fingerlings. Acceso then built the country’s most advanced hatchery, which at any given time, is cultivating around seven million disease-resistant and higher yielding fingerlings for smallholders. This empowers small-scale producers to participate in the growing formal fish market in El Salvador.
In El Salvador, Acceso has transformed the small-scale tilapia sector by introducing an improved variety of tilapia fingerlings. Acceso then built the country’s most advanced hatchery, which at any given time, is cultivating around seven million disease-resistant and higher yielding fingerlings for smallholders. This empowers small-scale producers to participate in the growing formal fish market in El Salvador.
Acceso provides inputs on credit for smallholders who may not have formal credit history, allowing them to repay with their eventual harvests instead of cash.
Acceso provides the initial credit that farmers need – but are often lacking – to maintain and grow their operations with inputs, seedlings, and general working capital. Unlike traditional forms of development financing, the Acceso ‘farmer financing system’ allows farmers to pay back their no-interest credit with crops instead of cash should they wish, which de-risks agricultural development and reduces the likelihood of smallholders being exploited. Farmers who have grown their farms and built a track record with Acceso’s financing program can later receive loans for improved equipment and tools, such as greenhouses.
While traditional credit would incur sizeable interest and disbursement fees, Acceso provides flexible and favorable repayment terms. Furthermore, traditional credit programs require repayment in cash only, which does not work in conjunction with farmers’ production cycles and can lead to difficulty repaying and further indebtedness. Instead, Acceso carefully pre-screens farmers based on their experience and production capacity levels so they can receive a feasible amount of credit that helps them grow, without taking on untenable risk.
While traditional credit would incur sizeable interest and disbursement fees, Acceso provides flexible and favorable repayment terms. Furthermore, traditional credit programs require repayment in cash only, which does not work in conjunction with farmers’ production cycles and can lead to difficulty repaying and further indebtedness. Instead, Acceso carefully pre-screens farmers based on their experience and production capacity levels so they can receive a feasible amount of credit that helps them grow, without taking on untenable risk.
THE ACCESO SOLUTION
Acceso builds the entire
food system from seed to market.
To learn more, partner with us, or to support our work reach out at info@acceso.org
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