Farmer to Farmer: Empowering African Agriculture Through LbH

Farmers are a key part of society and the food systems. According to the World Bank, the agriculture sector is up to four times more effective at increasing the income of people than other industries. However, farmers around the world face diverse sets of problems. In Ghana and Rwanda, some of these issues include lack of access to tools, financing, and fair commercial practices. We spoke with Ato Kwamena, founder of LbH and a former farmer himself, about how to empower the agricultural sector and its individuals.

The Oxford Business Group estimates that 7.3 million individuals operate a farm in Ghana. As a third-generation farmer himself, Ato Kwamena experienced several challenges. “I had a poultry farm, and suddenly I had to deal with either a feed shortage or a 25% increase in its price. To cut a long story short, I had to close my business,” he shares. However, this was just the beginning of his current project, LbH, through which he has helped more than 12,000 farmers improve their finances.

 

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“Rural farmers face two main challenges: they are financially excluded and they don’t know how to access quality agricultural inputs and services,” Ato explains. This realization came after the shutdown of his farming business and led him to conduct field research on the issues faced by different farmers. What he discovered was the AHA moment to found LbH. This is particularly noteworthy considering that, according to Ato Kwamena, “In Ghana, over 85% of the farming population consists of rural smallholder farmers, who produce over 75% of our gross domestic agricultural output.” 

How does LbH help farmers?

LbH’s mission is rooted in the statistics that Ato mentioned. In his words, they are trying to accelerate Africa’s transition to becoming a net exporter of food. How are they doing this? They connect farmers to finance, data-driven agronomy services, and premium markets so they can increase their earning potential while reducing post-harvest losses. They do this by working with an extensive network of agents already in Ghana; these agents use their technology to assess the farmers. “At the end of last year, we were working with 4,000 farmers. This year we’ve literally tripled that already,” Ato mentions. By working with them, they also help farmers increase their income.

“Peter Addai, one of the first farmers I visited, holds a special place in our story,” Ato recalls. “When I first went to his community, Peter not only welcomed me warmly but offered me a place in his home. I spent a week living with his family, learning directly from the local farmers about their needs and how we could assist. Peter has seen firsthand how our platform has evolved, yet our core mission to enhance the value we deliver to farmers like him remains unchanged.”

 

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“Some of the farmers we’ve reached out to had no bank accounts, like it’s building infrastructure from scratch. That’s why we also work with field agents,” he adds. Their solution combines digital solutions and in-person coaching, which also leverages government infrastructure. “As of now, we have a feature called ‘warehouses,’ and we are using abandoned silos to let farmers store their commodities while we find a market for their products.”

Going beyond the original plan

Ato’s agricultural management platform evolved significantly during his participation in the accelerator program Validate Global. Initially designed as a unique tool for his own business to manage agricultural information and farmer relationships, the platform’s potential expanded when Ato brought it to Rwanda.

In Rwanda, other agribusinesses quickly recognized the value of the platform for their own operations, particularly in how it could enhance their dealings with rural farmers. This feedback prompted Ato to rethink the platform’s exclusive nature. He redesigned it to be more universally applicable, allowing other agribusinesses to also benefit from its features. This redesign transformed the platform into a broader tool that could be shared with and adopted by other businesses working with smallholder farmers.

 

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“During Validate Global, I was still very early in my career, I mean I was still very fortunate to be selected because I look back and I keep asking Diego Heatherman (Program Manager at Impact Hub Vienna) and Rozaliia Pait (Program Manager at Validate Global from INiTS) , ‘What did you see in me?’ “I’m very grateful for that”.

The evolution led to a scaling of the platform’s impact—from initially enhancing Ato’s own business operations to facilitating improvements across multiple agribusinesses in different markets. This broadened application helped to triple the number of farmers Ato’s platform reached, from 4,000 to 12,000, and opened up opportunities for these farmers to connect with lenders and other crucial services through the enhanced platform.