Building capacity across Africa

Transforming two decades of field experience into expert training in climate-smart farming, enterprise skills, and systems thinking.

Small Farms, Big Futures

Training across Sub-Saharan Africa

The VBA model is now one of Africa’s most recognised community-based extension innovations. Adopted by AGRA and integrated by governments, NGOs, seed companies, and private sector partners, it is being rolled out in more than 20 countries.

VBAs strengthen pluralistic extension systems, helping governments expand their reach and improve impact. Through training and strong partnerships, FIPS keeps the model low-cost, scalable, and effective. This is transforming how knowledge, markets, and technologies reach millions of smallholder farmers and supporting resilient rural economies across the continent.

Our regional impact supports partners in 15+ Sub-Saharan African countries to adapt our  extension, youth, and enterprise models to local contexts. FIPS works with NGOs, governments, private sector actors, and research organisations to ensure every model is locally owned and scalable.

With two decades of experience, we provide the technical expertise partners need to deliver high-impact enterprise programmes across the continent.

Our international training is designed to:
  • Build institutional capacity: Strengthening local systems rather than substituting for local delivery
  • Foster sustainability: Supporting partners to design self-sustaining, enterprise-led extension systems.
  • Transfer knowledge and strengthen cross-learning: Sharing practical methodologies, tools, and lessons learned from our two decades of working alongside farmers in Kenya, while enabling partners and communities to learn from each other and adapt what works.
FIPS' training typically covers:
  • VBA programme design: Management of Village-based Advisor (VBA) networks.
  • Market systems integration: Embedding enterprise and market system approaches into traditional extension services.
  • Technology adaptation: Tailoring solutions to different agro-ecological and market contexts.
  • Evidence-based management: Utilising monitoring and learning for data-driven decision-making.
And may include:
  • Youth enterprise models
  • Designing and delivering Farmer Research Networks
Two decades of regional expertise

Scaling success across the continent

FIPS supports partners across Sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from two decades of experience in delivering the Village-based Advisor model and other enterprise programmes.

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Farmers reached

Explore our work

Learn more about the value chains we support, where FIPS works, our impact, case studies, and publications.

Staples

Distribution of high-yield, resilient staple seeds:

  • Maize
  • Sorghum
  • Sweet potato
  • Legumes
Chicken

Advancing chicken health and productivity:

  • Improved breeding
  • Vaccination
  • Quality feeds

FIPS Africa works with a range of organisations to develop the self-employed VBA–Small Pack model across the continent. It is currently supporting teams in 16 countries—including Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Haiti, Madagascar, Malawi, Senegal, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, Mozambique, and Tanzania – working with around 50 organisations in total.

Access all our case studies here.
Access all our publications here.
Empowering Farmers

Join us in supporting your local farmers

FIPS works with partner organisations to help them adapt our models into their own country contexts. FIPS has experience of working in 20+ countries across Africa.

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