F2.0 platform

F2.0: an online platform for ordering inputs and managing stocks

There is a need to link input suppliers and MFIs to improve farmers' access to financial services.  

In response, ADA set up the F2.0 (Farmer 2.0) web platform to connect actors in the agricultural value chain - including farmers' organisations and groups of smallholder farmers - with MFIs to facilitate their communication and the transmission of information. This increases the financial inclusion of groups of smallholders, reduces operational risk for all actors and makes the MFI’s services more efficient and more targeted thanks to tailored, demand-driven loans for smaller groups as opposed to big loans for larger structures such as cooperatives.   

ADA's F2.0 platform enables smallholders to open a bank account, source financing for inputs such as fertiliser and seeds, stay updated about market prices and contact farmers' organisations (buyers). In addition, the farmers can use the platform to order (on credit or not), receive and pay for their inputs through the sale of crops at fair prices thanks to warrantage credits.  

Furthermore, the platform strengthens links in the agricultural cycle and thereby strengthens agricultural value chains as a whole. Upstream, F2.0 enables the definition of input catalogues, orders to be placed, the MFI to finance them and the farmer organisation to monitor their delivery. Downstream, it first facilitates the monitoring of the crop collection from the farmers and then the monitoring of stocks and their sale by the farmer organisation or the trader. 

In 2021, certain modules of F2.0 were rolled out in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia with four MFIs and discussions are underway with other organisations and MFIs in Senegal for a future rollout of the platform. 

Key figures for 2021

At the end of 2021, 2 250 small farmers were able to acquire their inputs using the F2.0 platform (including 1 500 in Senegal) for a total credit of EUR 300 000.