How can development programs move beyond ambitious targets to deliver lasting, scalable impact for smallholder farmers? The 2SCALE Ethiopia partnership with Kesem Multipurpose Farmers Cooperative Union offers compelling answers.
Over a decade, this public-private partnership reached 37,000 farmers across 33 primary cooperatives, demonstrating that strategic, targeted business development services can catalyze genuine transformation in agricultural cooperatives. The partnership’s success centered on an innovative approach: providing phased cost-sharing support for young, professional cooperative managers rather than relying solely on traditional external consulting services.
The results speak to the power of investing in local capacity. Kesem Union moved from a 50 million Ethiopian Birr loss to 47.8 million Birr profit, while internal capital grew more than tenfold. More importantly, the intervention has been institutionalized. Most cooperatives now fully finance their professional managers, with median revenue increases of $2,000 per cooperative making this sustainable.
This case study reveals critical insights for anyone working to strengthen farmer organizations. It challenges conventional approaches to inclusion targets, questions the scalability of regenerative practices without proper incentives, and demonstrates that consumer cooperatives can provide essential financing alternatives. Perhaps most significantly, it shows that when cooperatives invest in professional management, the returns extend far beyond the initial intervention.
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