What CASA does
CASA aims to facilitate global investment in climate-smart agri-food systems that increase incomes for smallholder farmers, especially in Asia and Africa.
By the start of 2023 CASA had worked with:
14 different crop areas
4 different livestock value chains
2 agri-tech companies
In 20 countries in Africa and Asia.
Market Systems Development
The CASA Market Systems Development Team supports small and medium-sized agri-food enterprises to grow their smallholder supply chains. The agribusinesses are supported to demonstrate their commercial viability and investment-readiness as they seek external investment.
Market systems development work is ongoing in the aquaculture and poultry sectors in Malawi and in the dairy and vegetable sectors in Nepal.
Market systems development work is ongoing in Malawi in the aquaculture and poultry sectors; in Nepal in the dairy and vegetable sectors; and is starting in Ethiopia in the soybean sector and in Rwanda in poultry, aquaculture and vegetable sectors.
The CASA programme adapts its focus and approach where necessary to respond to new circumstances and shocks to food systems. At the height of the COVID-19, CASA Malawi and CASA Nepal instigated changes to their programmes to support short-term relief measures. The teams also reengineered some of the support packages to ensure the enterprises could withstand the shocks to market systems wought by the pandemic.
Further reengineering of the CASA programme has come about because of the global food security crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Specific challenges have been identified relating to the increased cost and reduced supply of fertilizer, cereals and ingredients for animal feed.
By March 2023, the Market Systems Development Team had supported
51 SME agribusinesses, producer organizations and agri-tech information providers supported to improve climate resilience, market access and quality production, and improve smallholders’ participation in formal markets
11 SME agribusinesses attracted
£2.3m investment
293,694 smallholder farmers reached
Technical Assistance Facility
The CASA Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) team works alongside investors to deploy inclusive technical assistance that strengthens supply chains and promotes returns, development impact and resilience.
The approach involves a deep dive into selected large-scale agribusiness to draw up an inclusive business plan. This becomes the roadmap for the enterprise to deepen and/or broaden its supply chain, delivering both commercial and social value to small-scale farmers and shareholders.
CASA TAF also provides core business technical assistance to sourcing businesses that are experiencing disruptions in their smallholder supply chain due to Covid-19.
CASA TAF has also been active in Asia and Africa supporting and UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) missions with consultancy services.
| Sector | Location and CASA programme |
| Agri-tech | Ghana, India (TAF) |
| Crops | |
| Beans | Uganda (value chain) |
| Cocoa | Ghana (TAF) |
| Coconut | Indonesia and Kenya (TAF) |
| Coffee | Ethiopia and Tanzania (TAF) |
| Cotton | Zambia (TAF) |
| Edible oils | Ethiopia and Kenya (TAF) |
| Horticulture/vegetables | Mozambique (TAF) and Nepal (Value chain) |
| Maize | Rwanda (TAF) |
| Nuts | Malawi and Kenya (TAF) |
| Rice | Mozambique and Nigeria (TAF) |
| Sesame/ simsim | Uganda (value chain) |
| Spice | Indonesia (TAF) |
| Vanilla | Tanzania (TAF) |
| Vegetables/ horticulture | Mozambique (TAF) and Nepal (value chain) |
| Livestock | |
| Aquaculture | Malawi (value chain) and Zambia (TAF) |
| Dairy | India, Malawi and Kenya (TAF) and Nepal (value chain) |
| Piggery | India (TAF) |
| Poultry | Malawi (TAF) and (value chain) |
Research, learning & communication
The CASA Research Learning & Communication Team builds the case for investment in SME agri-food enterprises. The priority is encouraging business models that crowd in more small-scale producers and smallholder farmers, on equitable terms – especially using climate-smart technology.
Evidence: CASA produces demand-led research that addresses evidence gaps. Three digests help donors, capital providers and governments to see, at a glance, the recommendations emanating from all CASA’s research to date.
Evidence can only create change if it is shared and understood. The people we want to influence often do not have the time to read our papers. To address this challenge, short information packages are produced that link to the more substantial reports or conference proceedings. Stakeholders can decide how deep they wish to dive into the available material.
Directories: The FCDO’s Commercial Agriculture Portfolio provides searchable data on how UKaid has been applied. The Investor Database shares details of 300 investors, including their types of investment, ticket ranges and sectors.
CASA’s engagement processes are constantly evolving and include:
- networking events
- social media
- a YouTube channel housing interviews and film from CASA and partner events
