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Building High-quality & Accessible Services

22 October 2025

Small-scale farmers are regularly overlooked and neglected by financial institutions and service providers. Lingering perceptions of small-scale farming as a risky venture often result in limited access to finance, even when the business case for investment is clear. Similarly, the small landholdings of most small-scale farms makes access to services, inputs and supplies a challenge for farmers and providers.

women at a milk collection centre in Bangladesh

Our ambition: A viable service sector that provides farmers with access to high-quality inputs and supplies, digital tools, services and financing that meet their needs at an acceptable cost, and provides them with new jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

A well-functioning and accessible service sector is crucial for more viable and resilient farming communities. The service sector is also critical for scaling our solutions and ensuring their long-term success. We work at the local level to establish the business case for investment in small-scale agriculture and bolster a robust service ecosystem that provides farmers with inclusive access to farm supplies and inputs, finance, technologies, tools, training, and other services they need. This work has the added benefit of providing small-scale farmers, especially young people, with business opportunities and employment options. 

HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS

2,6 million

farmers access new or improved services from service providers supported by Solidaridad

649,900

individuals are recognized as (co)owners of value addition or service provision businesses

Learn more about how we measure

IMPACT IN PRACTICE

Bridging the Financial Gap

In Nigeria, we are transforming smallholder farming through better access to finance. Daniel Ushie, a 61-year-old oil palm farmer, has experienced firsthand the challenges of providing for his family. With support from the Village Savings and Loans Association programme, he has successfully invested in small cassava and palm oil processing mills.

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Sona Bai, Indian soy farmer driven to succeed

Evidence-based solutions to mitigate losses

A small-scale farmer in India has to fight on many fronts. These challenges include a lack of access to vital agricultural information, water shortages, an over-dependence on erratic monsoons, and a combination of rising input costs and low yields. 

Technology can be an enabler for such farmers, helping them access the information they need to farm better and in a smart way. The Smart Agri project empowers small farmers to make informed decision

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Radio to the Rescue

Timely access to reliable information on weather patterns, climate-smart practices, and pest and disease control can be a game changer for smallholder farmers, especially as more frequent and extreme weather events take a toll. Solidaridad in West Africa is using radio to directly reach rural communities with advice and support to adapt their practices.

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Transitioning to a Sustainable Leather Industry

With close to 600 tanneries, Tamil Nadu is the key centre for the leather industry in India. On June 22, 2022, Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre and its partners launched an EU-India sustainability project for the leather clusters in Tamil Nadu which promotes sustainable consumption and production across the Asia-Pacific region.

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Unlocking Rural Credit

Farmers urgently need resources to adapt to climate change and shift to deforestation-free agricultural models. To address this, a coalition of Brazilian organizations has launched a landmark sustainable rural credit project that will unlock approximately R$3 million (~481k euros) for almost 80 families in the Transamazônica region of Pará.

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OUR SOLUTIONS

A robust service sector

We help the financial and service sectors realize business opportunities in serving small-scale farmers to enable access to high-quality inputs and supplies, technology solutions, accessible finance, natural resources and other services tailored to farmers’ needs.

Connect small-scale farmers to service and input providers to facilitate access to supplies and inputs like quality genetic material and fertilizers, machinery and equipment and access to services such as technical assistance, finance, and technology for improved productivity.

Work directly with public and private financial service providers to develop more farmer-friendly and inclusive finance products. Support farmer organizations to build rural service centres and Village Savings and Loan Associations.

Establish farmer support centres and strengthen producer organizations and service providers to develop and deliver socially-inclusive products and services in finance, access to high-quality inputs and supplies, and agricultural support.

Create viable business cases for service products by identifying and promoting local farming economy opportunities, such as processing centers, seed and bio-fertilizer production, and biochar.

Upskill and retrain farmers and farm workers, especially young people,   to create employment opportunities for them further up in the supply chain, specifically the service sector.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER

Systemic change cannot be accomplished when actors work in isolation. It requires close collaboration with stakeholders at every level, including farmers, processors and companies, community leaders, civil society, and governments. Each and every actor has a role to play in creating more sustainable and equitable supply chains. 

We are collaborating with a large number of trusted public and private sector actors, as well as foundations and individuals, to achieve a mutual ambition for a better world. Do you want to become part of this ambition and contribute? Please reach out to a partnership officer in your region.