Established in 2006, Limu Inara Farmers’ Multipurpose Cooperative Union (LIFMCU) is a smallholder farmer-owned, profit-driven entity dedicated to boosting the agricultural sector. It provides essential agricultural inputs (e.g., fertiliser, seeds, and agrochemicals), produces certified seeds, creates market access, offers technical support, and delivers farm-mechanisation services, ultimately leading to improved livelihoods and community development. The Union focuses on market-oriented production, supporting smallholder farmers in cultivating high-value crops like coffee, honey, poultry, soybean, and maize.

Operating in Limu Kossa woreda of Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, LIFMCU was initially established by 11 cooperatives and 3,086 smallholder farmers with a starting capital of ETB158,000/£1,975. The Union has expanded its outreach to ten woredas. At the beginning of the CASA partnership, it had grown to 127 primary cooperatives and served over 53,000 (6,311 women) smallholder farmers, with capital growing to more than ETB95.3 million/£1.2 million.

With a staff of 47 (nine women), LIFMCU helps smallholders tap into emerging lucrative markets, enhancing their bargaining power and ensuring better returns. The Union plays a crucial role in fostering community development by facilitating access to finance, enhancing productivity through improved farming techniques, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. LIFMCU is committed to social responsibility and community welfare, engaging in various social initiatives such as supporting local schools, healthcare facilities, and infrastructure development projects. Through these efforts, the Union strengthens the agricultural sector and enhances the quality of life for its member smallholder farmers and their communities.

Contact: Mr Nasir Abagidi Abasimbo, Deputy Manager, LIFMCU (photo) Email

Enhancing Limu Inara Cooperative Union’s Soybean Marketing and Access to Finance to Support Smallholder Farmers

This project demonstrated that a contract farming business model ensures a sustainable supply of quality raw material from member farmers and establishes a sustainable supply link with buyers, so that other cooperative unions will replicate the model.

Running from December 2024 – December 2025, the one-year project strengthened access to improved soybean seed, other agricultural inputs, and farm mechanisation services for agri-SMEs and other actors. It also enhanced public-private sector relationships and embedded services to contracted smallholder farmers through primary cooperatives under LIFMCU. This Union was chosen as a key partner for CASA to implement this pilot project due to its substantial production capacity and its ability to support a significant number of producers with input and output marketing services, building on its strengths in coffee and honey marketing.

The Union committed to improving access to quality seeds, offering farm mechanisation services, and facilitating input finance for its members to enhance soybean production, productivity, and quality, and access bank loans for working capital. This initiative enabled the Union to increase its aggregation activities to ensure a reliable supply and thus be attractive for contracting arrangements with processors.

In the first year of the contract farming arrangement with CASA partner SITCO, LIMFCU engaged 2,232 member smallholders through their affiliated cooperatives by providing access to quality seeds, rhizobium inoculant, input finance, climate-smart production and post-harvest training, and quality extension services. This led to a 49.4% increase in soybean productivity among soybean-producing members. LIFMCU plans to scale up to 5,600 soybean farmers and will continue expanding as the model proves successful and the Union becomes more familiar with the business.

CASA contributed £29,987 in technical assistance and a grant, out of the total project cost of £51,652. The support covered improvements in LIMFCU’s internal operating procedures and financial management systems. Also included were business management skills training for the board management and building employees’ business leadership capacity. This enabled LIMFCU to secure a £500,000 working capital loan from the Cooperative Bank of Oromia(more than four times their earlier 2024 loan). CASA provided coaching support for the Union board of directors and management staff and LIMFCU has now established an internal coaching and mentoring structure to provide support for member cooperatives to improve their business leadership capacity and increase the volume of output marketing in oilseeds and other commercial commodities.

As a result of the CASA partnership, LIMFCU grew 100 quintals of soybean seed on its own farmland and distributed it to producer farmers. The soybean initiative provided a good alternative for the farmers when most were forced to move out of maize production due to the spiralling cost of fertiliser. With a good production base established, LIMFCU developed market deals with CASA partner SITCO for soybean offtaking and with SARA Oil and Memoze Trading PLC for Niger seed supply. The Union has developed a comprehensive five-year strategic plan through the CASA support which outlines future strategic deals to market member produce. 

The project had planned to increase LIMFCU’s capacity to provide farmers with input finance within a year. While this was an important goal, it takes time to persuade financial institutions to review and understand the business environment. The Union has held discussions with SINQII bank around facilitating input loans for members. The bank has expressed an interest but still needs to set up the required infrastructure.

The CASA partnership enabled LIMFCU to recognise its potential of oilseed production and the associated business opportunities for both farmers and the Union. As a result, LIMFCU began seriously investing in oilseed production and marketing. To continue its expansion plans, LIMFCU should continue to engage in seed production to ensure sustainable access for farmers because due to the increasing demand for soybean, the Oromia Seed Enterprise has been unable to supply enough seed.

Updated: March 2026