Across Africa, member-based farmer organisations (FOs) are widely seen as key drivers of rural development. On the one hand, they represent their members—providing platforms for collective voice, advocacy, and rural representation. On the other, they are expected to operate as viable commercial entities: organising input supply, delivering services, and engaging in collective marketing and storage activities that generate revenue for their members.

Achieving economic viability in these commercial activities, however, remains a major challenge for many FOs. Social and business objectives often do not align, creating internal tensions. Governance structures are frequently not well-suited to the demands of dynamic, market-oriented operations. At the same time, operating in many African contexts is far from easy. FOs must navigate volatile markets, build and maintain relationships with buyers, organise aggregation and delivery, manage price fluctuations, access finance, and compete with agile informal traders.

Over the past decades, development programmes have invested heavily in strengthening the capacities of FOs—building infrastructure, improving productivity, and facilitating access to markets. Yet results have often been mixed. This raises a persistent question: why do some FOs succeed in their business activities, while others remain dependent on external support?

At KIT Institute, in collaboration with our partners, this question—what enables the economic viability of FOs—guides our knowledge work. Through studies and evaluations, we bring together insights from different programmes and translate them into practical knowledge products, such as learning briefs.

One such brief focuses on entrepreneurial leadership within FOs in the Approche Communale pour le Marché Agricole (ACMA) program in Benin. In this blog, we share the key insights from that brief.

The ACMA program: investing in market infrastructure

The ACMA program aims to stimulate local economic development by strengthening agricultural value chains and supporting agribusiness development in Benin. One component of the programme involves investing in the construction of storage infrastructure for various agricultural products, including maize, cassava, vegetables, and palm oil. The infrastructure is managed by technical and stakeholder committees in the FOs. 

These investments address the issue that market prices are typically low immediately after harvest, due to an abundant supply. Storage facilities allow farmers to postpone sales until prices improve. They also allow farmer organisations to aggregate larger volumes and access new markets by selling collectively to large, formal buyers. According to the ACMA program’s financial projections, these storage facilities could enable FOs to become profitable enterprises.

When infrastructure alone is not enough

Although the storage facilities were technically functional after installation, several management committees struggled to develop them into economically viable businesses. Business decision-making regarding the operation of the facility was often slow, and management responsibilities were not clearly defined. Rather than proactively seeking new supply and market opportunities, committees sometimes adopted a wait-and-see approach, expecting solutions to come from the programme. 

In response to these challenges, the ACMA program introduced a coaching initiative, facilitated by KIT Institute, aimed at strengthening business management capacities within supported FOs.

The leadership challenge

The coaching process yielded positive results, including an improved understanding of the business models, clearer delineation of responsibilities, and more streamlined communication and management reporting. However, several management limitations remained, as committees tended to be passive and did not take the initiative in generating business. There was greater focus on short-term operational micro issues rather than on seizing larger opportunities with a clear long-term commercial vision.

This is a notable finding, as many individual member farmers demonstrate strong business skills in their own farming activities. However, these entrepreneurial capacities were not always translated into collective entrepreneurial leadership within FOs. What became increasingly evident was the critical importance of such leadership, which was often lacking within the collective management structures of the FOs supported by the ACMA program.

Two examples of entrepreneurial leadership

Despite the observed limited entrepreneurial leadership, two cases within the ACMA program did demonstrate the emergence of such leadership, contributing to success in their business activities. In the first case, the municipality stepped up and introduced a rotational management system that rewarded entrepreneurial leadership. In the second case, entrepreneurial leadership emerged from an individual manager—rather than the formal hierarchical leader—who gradually became the driving force behind the organisation. 

Looking ahead: engaging the private sector

Moving forward, the ACMA coaching team analysed the documented data and findings and sees engagement with the private sector as a promising avenue, particularly through partnerships between local entrepreneurs, farmer organisations, and municipalities. Private actors can bring business experience, financial discipline, and market connections. Farmer organisations provide access to producers and supply volumes, while municipalities retain ownership and ensure sound governance.

In conclusion, the insights from this learning brief support the ACMA program in its adaptive management of coaching activities, amongst others. In the coming year, the ACMA coaching team will more actively involve private sector actors in the management of storage and processing infrastructure, with the aim of enhancing the economic viability of FOs. The team will continue to document and analyse these experiences as learning progresses. We, at KIT Institute, together with our partners will continue to build and share our knowledge on strengthening FOs in Africa through blogs and learning briefs — stay tuned!