Story 10 Feb, 2026

SUSTAIN/Stories: Connecting People and Strengthening Markets

A farmer in a maize field (Sumbawanga landscape)

Local Innovations Drive Inclusive Change

For smallholder farmers and community organisations, the ability to access finance and markets requires more than capital alone. It depends on information availability, effective organisation, and trust building between producers, buyers, and institutions within shared landscapes. Across Mozambique and Tanzania, SUSTAIN is strengthening these foundations step by step: improving market transparency, building financially capable cooperatives, and nurturing local institutions that can attract and manage investment. Together, these locally led innovations show how investment becomes possible when people are connected, organised, and equipped to engage with markets on their own terms.

Information as the first investment

In Mozambique, many smallholder farmers have traditionally faced fragmented markets and limited access to information on buyers, prices and demand. Kugulissa, a web-based and SMS platform, aims to tackle the gap by connecting farmers with village-based advisors, input suppliers and buyers in real time, even in contexts with low-connectivity.

The SUSTAIN initiative in collaboration with local governments and partners such as ADEM helped producers from Vanduzi and Báruè register to the platform, supporting linkages with 11 potential maize buyers who were interested in sourcing their crops.

For smallholders, this connectivity has been transformative, enabling them to respond to fluctuating market conditions and make more resilient business decisions. Through accessing up-to-date market information, farmers have been able to better understand buyer interest, compare options and make more informed business choices. Increased transparency has strengthened trust across the value chain, while real-time data has helped farmers plan ahead with more confidence.

By turning market information into a shared public good, Kugulissa lays the foundation for more investable, transparent, and inclusive value chains.

“Kugulissa sends an SMS to every registered farmer, off-taker or aggregator, telling them who is buying what crop, at which price and where. With that information in hand, farmers decide when and where to sell or even post their own offers for buyers to see. It cuts price speculation and makes the whole market more transparent.” — Manuel Queiroz, ADEM Executive Director, SUSTAIN Pro implementing partner.

Building market-ready cooperatives

Information alone is not enough. To translate market opportunities into better incomes, farmers need organisations that can aggregate supply, manage finances, and negotiate collectively. Across Ihemi and Kilombero, My.COOP, a capacity-building programme, has focused on strengthening Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS). The tailored training programme covers governance and leadership, financial health and capital formation.

SUSTAIN/Stories: Connecting People and Strengthening Markets

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