The Village-based Advisor (VBA) model is FIPS’ flagship, community-led approach for delivering last-mile agricultural support to smallholder farmers.
The Village-based Advisor (VBA) model is FIPS Africa’s flagship, community-led approach for delivering last-mile agricultural support to smallholder farmers, working with partners to enable scale and local ownership. VBAs are trusted farmers, selected by their communities for their integrity and leadership, and trained by FIPS to deliver hands-on advice, affordable inputs, and practical, frugal technologies directly at the farm gate.
Using a whole-village approach, VBAs support households to test and adopt improved seeds, soil health solutions, and climate-smart practices through small trial packs and on-farm demonstrations-boosting productivity, strengthening resilience, and unlocking market opportunities.
The model is sustainable because it is market-driven and locally owned: VBAs grow into self-reliant micro-entrepreneurs who earn income by supplying inputs, offering advisory services, and linking farmers to markets.
Bridging the gap for women, youth, and marginalized groups to ensure no household is left behind.
Small trial packs enable farmers to validate technologies before making larger investments.
Community-led, inclusive approach drives village-wide productivity gains and market-oriented growth.
At the centre of our strategy is the VBA model, designed to ensure every household – regardless of gender or social status – has access to practical, affordable technologies. Through on-farm demonstrations and small trial packs, VBAs empower farmers to test improved seeds, soil solutions, pest control methods, and climate-smart practices before they invest.
VBAs provide the frequent, consistent, personalized support that many public extension systems often cannot. Through continuous training from FIPS, they translate scientific recommendations into simple, actionable steps that improve productivity, food security, nutrition, and household income.
VBAs deliver quality inputs and hands-on demonstrations while also offering climate-smart advice. They also promote low-cost (frugal) innovations that raise productivity and resilience across diverse farming systems.
VBAs help groups aggregate produce for better prices, mentor youth enterprises, and create sustainable market connections that benefit entire communities over the long term.
At the heart of our whole-village approach, the VBA model ensures every household – women, men, youth, and marginalised groups—can access practical, affordable technologies. FIPS has ambitious target for 2030 to increase its reach and impact:
Learn more about the value chains we support, where FIPS works, our impact, case studies, and publications.
Improving soil health and resilience through:
Distribution of high-yield, resilient staple seeds:
Quality seedlings, nutrition, and management:
Maximizing yield and market profitability:
Boosting dairy productivity through:
Advancing chicken health and productivity:
Coastal Kenya (Kwale and Kilifi counties)
In Coastal Kenya, VBAs are supporting smallholder farmers to rear improved chicken and grow maize, beans, green grams, pigeon pea, vegetables, pawpaw, coconuts and cashew-nuts. [Mission Grow* – also see section on Youth Enterprise]
Eastern Kenya (Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni counties)
In Eastern Kenya VBAs are working to improve food security for smallholder farmers, and improved incomes through sales of surplus and cash crops. VBAs work with options like improving varieties of cereals, and legumes; crop nutrition; tillage methods; and crop/grain protection. The focus is on increased yields in maize, beans, cowpeas, green grams, pigeon peas, vegetables, oranges and mango. VBAs are also supporting smallholder farmers to raise improved chicken breeds. [Mission Grow* – also see section on Youth Enterprise]
Rift Valley (Nakuru, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties)
In the Rift Valley VBAs are supporting access clean potato planting material through Apical Rooted Cuttings technology – transplants from tissue culture materials.
Join us in expanding the VBA model to reach more households. Together, we can bridge the gap between innovation and the smallholder farmers who need it most.