Pakistan has one of the significantly large agricultural livestock industries in the world. Over the last few decades, farm animal populations grew so quickly that local fodder producers could not keep up with demand. Due to insufficient silage supplies, smallholder farmers must use crop residue as animal feed, which limits potential milk production. MDF identified the insufficient supply of nutritious fodder as a market growth opportunity. It is for this reason that over the last six years, MDF Pakistan developed a market system for small-baled silage – a cost effective and nutritious, maize- based fodder. By establishing local partnerships, MDF successfully introduced innovative machinery, designed and rolled-out new loan products, developed and popularised appropriate seed usage and helped mitigate risk to support local farmers to produce and sell their own small-bale silage. To reach this goal, MDF Pakistan established partnerships with rural silage entrepreneurs, a commercial bank, a farm equipment supplier and a seeds company.
Through field assessments, MDF Pakistan learned that if good quality fodder is available, milk yields can increase by up to two litres per animal per day. In January 2018, to scale-up extensive work in silage, MDF decided to bring all its strategic partners on a single platform to promote the successful, small-baled silage business model to potential entrepreneurs. The team did this through Engagement and Influencing (EI) events, branded as “Silage Baithaks,” as part of the scale-up strategy in MDF’s silage journey.
This policy brief describes why MDF Pakistan chose to use EI events in conjunction with other forms of outreach and how MDF engaged its partners to identify and connect with the right audience.
This brief will explain the benefits of EI events. These programs deepen a project’s impact within a market system and help strengthen growing business models.
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