The document discusses a market systems development (MSD) approach aimed at improving agricultural markets by addressing systemic constraints and promoting market-driven solutions. It emphasizes the importance of changing behaviors at both individual and collective levels to enhance climate resilience and support local actors in their communities. The text outlines various projects such as the Markets and Seeds Access Project (MASAP) and Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusinesses (CASA), which focus on empowering smallholder farmers through improved seed utilization and market engagement.

1. Incentives for change
through a Market
Systems Development
approach

2. 3
Changing market systems
means changing people's
behaviour – that’s not
easy
- Human beings have an inherent aversion to change
- Technical innovations can be great, but adoption of these
techniques fails for other reasons
- Promoting climate resilience requires both individual and
collective shifts in behaviour to address change at
landscape level

3. 4
Market Systems
Development approach
• MSD is a holistic approach that aims to
improve the overall functioning and
efficiency of agricultural markets by
addressing systemic constraints and
promoting market-driven solutions.
• To reach any significant impact, the change
has to be at scale – pilots are nice, but
don’t really contribute to any sustainable
change in a market system
• Local private sector actors are the ones
living and working in the communities and
they will thrive if their community thrives –
this is a strong incentive for them to be
active in development of their community
– we need to see them as drivers of
systemic change at community level

4. 5
The objective of the MSD approach is to catalyse
a process that results in a market system that is:
 competitive—system actors are able to effectively innovate,
upgrade and add value to their products and services to
match market demand and maintain or grow market share;
 inclusive—delivering a sustainable flow of benefits to a range
of actors, including the poor, women and youth and otherwise
marginalised, as well as to society as a whole; and
 resilient—system actors are able to address, absorb and
overcome shocks in the market, policy environment, resource
base or other aspect of the system.
Overview of the MSD approach

5. CCW5QE77JSR7-1994474830-1424
MSD projects support actors to expand their
outreach and strengthen responsible institutions in
reaching their mandate rather than creating parallel
structures.
Market analysis
Intervention
design
Selection of
market actors
Provision of
technical
assistance and
co-financing
Management of
partnership
agreements with
market actors
MSD structured process

6. Markets and
Seeds Access
Project (MASAP)
To improve resilience in food security
of smallholder households​ (especially
women and youths) by increasing
adoption and utilization of​ improved
open and self-pollinated varieties of
small grain and legumes through​
strengthening the seed and
commodity value chains in Zambia and​
Zimbabwe.

7. MASAP – groundnuts, cowpeas, sorghum, pearl millet

8. Markets and
Seeds Access
Project (MASAP)
Donor Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)
Contract
value
10,5 mill EUR
Duration Phase I: 07-2021 to 07.2025
3 phases – total 12 year programme
Countries Zambia and Zimbabwe
Partners • Community Technology Development
Organisation (CTDO)
• Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
(FiBL)
Components:
1. Adoption and utilization of
small grain and legume seed
by smallholder farmers
(Community Engagement)
2. Stimulating market drivers
(Private Sector Engagement)
3. Policy engagement and action
learning research (Enabling
environment)

9. Markets and
Seeds Access
Project (MASAP)
• MASAP promotes agroecology
methods and other innovative
strategies and practices that
ensure mitigation and
adaptation to climate change
• Introduction of innovative
methods are anchored in the
MSD approach identifying
incentives for behaviour
change

10. MASAP achievements after 2 seasons

11. Commercial
Agriculture for
Smallholders and
Agribusinesses (CASA)
CASA’s vision is increased global investment in agribusinesses which
trade with smallholders in equitable commercial relationships,
increasing smallholders’ incomes and climate resilience.

12. Commercial
Agriculture for
Smallholders and
Agribusinesses
(CASA)
Donor Foreign, Commonwealth &
Development Office (FCDO) UK
Contract
value
19.4 mill EUR
Duration 03.2019 to 03.2025
Countries Uganda (until 2020), Nepal, Malawi,
and (since 2022) Rwanda and Ethiopia
Partners • CABI
• Swisscontact
• CASA will make the commercial and
development case for investing in
agribusinesses that source produce
from smallholders.
• CASA seeks to change how
investors, donors and government's
view and invest in agribusinesses
that work with smallholder supply
chains.

13. CASA Programme Reach by country & sector
Total reach: 335,455 smallholder farmers
Nepal
122,350 participating
smallholders (36% of
CASA total)
86,940 Vegetables (26%)
35,409 Dairy (11%)
Rwanda - new
Aquaculture
Poultry
Vegetables
Uganda
138,490 participating
smallholders (41 % of
CASA total)
56,282 Sesame (16 %)
82,208 Beans (25 %)
Ethiopia - new
Soybean
Malawi
74,615 participating
smallholders (23% of CASA
total)
63,864 Poultry (19 %)
10,751 Aquaculture (3 %)
New – Animal feed

14. 15
Thank you!
For more information, see
www.NIRAS.com or follow
NIRAS on LinkedIn