Skills for Agribusiness
We promote and advise on the implementation strategy, adaptation of training material, sustainable roll-out and how to achieve scaling of the following tried-and-tested agribusiness training approaches. All our trainings are developed for a face-to-face format. In our new blended learning approach, we combine the face-to-face trainings with e-learning modules. This fosters not only a better understanding of the theoretical background but also the digital literacy of our participants and trainers.
Our e-learning courses in the Agribusiness e-Academy are self-paced and standalone training offers open to everybody.
Visit the download section to learn more about the approaches or contact us!
Face-to-Face trainings
Farmer Business School (FBS) & FBSClimate: Farming is Business!
During five subsequent morning sessions, male and female producers discover the principles of agriculture as a business. FBS strengthens smallholders’ management skills for better and diversified incomes and nutrition and enhances their business attitude. FBS trained agripreneurs profit from significant yield increases from diversified products, job creation and improved food security.
The FBSClimate takes into account the effects of climate change and strengthens agricultural smallholders’ capacities on climate-resilient practices in an integrated manner. It provides background on climate, climate change and climate finance, as well as climate-smart agribusiness for adaptation and mitigation.
Cooperative Business School (CBS): More market power for agripreneurs and structural transformation of rural economies and value chains
CBS, a one-week training for management teams of agricultural producer organizations with a focus on youth, enables producer organisations to professionally provide agripreneurs with business services. Such business services foster horizontal business linkages, add value in terms of more profits of members and create jobs in rural areas. CBS builds on the FBS training – contact us if you are interested in this successful approach!
Processor Business School (PBS): Empowering agribusiness women (and men) for successful processing
Processing of raw materials from agriculture, biomass waste and non-timber forest products provides higher-value products and can create millions of livelihoods in Africa – especially for female micro and small entrepreneurs and women groups in cottage industry. To tap their huge potential, PBS focuses on simple technology improvements and business skills. You can implement PBS with exclusive focus on MSME in processing or complement support of medium and large enterprises for a more inclusive approach.
Aquaculture Business School (ABS)
Inspired by the success of Farmer Business School, ABF together with the Global Programme Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture has developed the Aquaculture Business School (ABS). The main focus is on improving pond-based aquaculture production and its key business aspects, including risk management and investments.
Gender makes Business Sense + (GmBS+)
A 5-day practical capacity development journey to equip agripreneurs (men and women) with practical business management skills, financial analysis and understanding of the socioeconomic impact of gender dynamics for a successful business.
Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)
Using GAP is key for a successful farm! ABF has a longstanding experience in developing context specific technical-economic producer reference with partners. These are small booklets for producers, which illustrate key messages on GAP as well as harvest and post-harvest techniques based on state-of-the-art agricultural research. In the download section you can find further information that will inspire you for your own work on GAP materials.
Contract farming (CF)
Potential or effective contract partners have the skills and tools to establish new or to optimise an ongoing contract farming scheme. This allows them to tap into market opportunities, increase supply chain efficiency and improve product competitiveness through the development of inclusive CF business models.
On all approaches you can find more information e.g. factsheets, guidelines, preview of notebooks in our download section.
Watch our explanatory video to see how the Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) helpdesk and the International Agribusiness Practitioners Association) IAPA can assist you in adapting and implementing tailored agribusiness training approaches for impactful results in agricultural value chains.
Hovering over the following maps provides more information on the activities and value chains in the respective countries. The countries highlighted in dark green have had activities, while the countries highlighted in dark grey are part of the OACPS, but without activities yet.
Cashew: FBS
Cotton: FBS
Rice: FBS
Honey: FBS
Pigeon Pea: FBS
Shea: FBS
Sesame: FBSInnova, FBS
Groundnut: FBS
Cassava: FBS
Cocoa: FBSInnova, FBS, CBS, PBS
Plantain: FBSInnova
Mango: FBS
Chicken: FBSInnova, FBS
Potatoe: FBSInnova, FBS, CBS
Maize: FBS
Non-timber Forest Products: CBS, PBS
Neem: PBS
Dates
Avocado: FBS
Cattle: FBS
Honey: FBS
Malt barley: FBS
Milk: FBS
Sheep: FBS
Wheat: FBS
Citrus: FBS
Vanilla: FBS, CBS
Cinnamon: FBS
Oil Palm: FBS
Clove: FBS
Coffee: FBS
Sugar cane: FBS
Tea: FBS
Chili: FBS
Onion: FBS
Tomato: FBS
Garlic: FBS
Sorghum: FBS
Pineapple: CBS
Olive: FBS
Goats: FBS
Legal disclaimer:
This geographical map is for informational purposes only and does not constitute recognition of international boundaries or regions; GIZ makes no claims concerning the validity, accuracy or completeness of the maps nor assumes any liability resulting from the use of the information therein.
Blended learning
Blended learning is the new approach in the ABF roll out strategy for large-scale capacity development. The face-to-face trainings are now complemented with various digital elements. The key tool is our Agribusiness e-Academy on the atingi platform. The e-learning courses are used in Master Training Programs, Training of Trainers but also to complement training for cooperatives and agripreneurs. The advantage is that required theoretical background knowledge can be studied by the Master Trainers, Trainers and agripreneurs in these self-paced online courses. This ensures that everybody has the same required knowledge. Thereby, time and resources can be saved in face-to-face workshops and Training of Trainers, as the theory part can be minimized. Like this focus in the face-to-face training can be put on andragogy, methodology and didactics - that is how to successfully deliver trainings. For instance, in the case of the FBS Master Training Programme, candidates had to successfully complete the Agriculture as a Business course in order to get certified as Master Trainer.
Agripreneurs who want to learn more about agribusiness after attending one of our training approaches can deepen their knowledge with the e-learning courses. In addition, they can use the FBSInnova app, a smartphone application that supports the record keeping for small-scale agripreneurs. Another approach is the WhatsApp What’s GAP, where agripreneurs are provided timely with videos on Good Agricultural Practices.
We further advised ATVET institutions on the integration of suitable e-learning courses into their curricula. This can also be adopted by partner organizations and MGF partners.
Agribusiness e-Academy
The Agribusiness e-Academy provides micro-entrepreneurs, agribusiness professionals, trainers, and teachers with free, self-paced courses. Our e-learning offers aim to foster your knowledge and skills on agronomy, entrepreneurship and economics needed for successful agribusiness. Through the completion of knowledge tests, you can earn scores and certificates for each course. Beyond knowledge transfer, you as a graduate of the Agribusiness e-Academy can develop micro-business ideas and will be able share them with interested promoters and financiers in future.
We are continuously expanding the Agribusiness e-Academy course offer and available languages – so far courses in English, French and Spanish are available. But Portuguese will follow soon. So please stay tuned and keep track of all news!
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You can also find us and additional interesting learning offers on the 100 Million MSME Initiative of AUDA-NEPAD. In addition, the e-learning platform of COLEAD offers a lot of interesting courses for (future) agripreneurs.
Flagship e-learning courses
In the following, you can find first information and links to some of our key courses. Enjoy exploring and your learning journey!
In the 6 self-paced consecutive training sessions of "Agriculture as a Business" you will learn about farms as economic units and enterprises, management tools for planning, analysis, investment decision making, monitoring and evaluation of your business, when to apply which tool and how to use them in your own enterprise. The course is intended for extension officers, teachers, (master) trainers, ministry staff but of course you can also study it if you are an agripreneur or have a general interest in the topic.
Of course, you will receive a certificate for each successfully completed session and for the whole course.
How does it work
Gilbert Fomukom
Senior Technical Advisor (GIZ), ProCISA, Cameroon
“ProCISA in Cameroun has introduced Cooperative Business School (CBS) for the cocoa and potato value chain in 2021. ABF team provided support for adaptation and introduction of CBS. A bilingual training of trainers (ToT) on the cocoa curriculum took place in April 2021 and roll-out to cooperatives continues. Time management and interactive didactical elements were key lessons learnt by the CBS trainers. Cooperatives have developed business services and started to implement them, with demand-based support by the CBS trainers. From the strategical perspective it is key to have a business model for the implementation of CBS from the beginning. This means discussing and deciding on cost-sharing models with the participating cooperatives for large-scale roll-out is needed, alongside with an efficient good monitoring system. For ProCISA further expansion for the cocoa and potato value chains continues involving more than 80 cooperatives.”
Mr. Adama Kone on the Agribusiness e-Academy
Khaled Amrani
GIZ technical advisor
“I would like to bring my testimony around the experience of digitization of events. The training was previously planned in person and in view of the health situation, it was necessary to adapt to the situation […]. ABF has helped us a lot to move towards this digitalization and to do the training at a distance. In the sense that first of all, we had to adapt the working tools. We had to do tests, we had to organize ourselves to do everything virtually, virtual courses, rooms, plenary sessions. The participants and finally everyone had to connect from home. And it was a success. We were able to hold the first distance learning course in November 2020. So it was a good experience […]. The only problem we had was the internet connection. But we tried to counteract the situation by trying to anticipate with other connections on other SIM cards. […] I think that we only have a small break of 3-5 min during 8 consecutive days […]. That's really the only problem, otherwise, it's an excellent experience, and it proves that finally digitization can help us to overcome possible unforeseen difficulties in the field. Of course, nothing beats training, face-to-face activities […]."
This website was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ABF / GIZ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
The Joint Action is jointly co-financed by the European Union under the Samoa agreement with OACPS and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.
