Smallholder Alliance for Sorghum in Haiti (SMASH)

Spurring economic growth by linking farmers to buyers through mobile technology

Amid the struggles of Haiti’s economy, pockets of opportunity exist that, if used effectively, could improve the standard of living for thousands of people. Agribusiness is one sector that offers high potential for development. 

One of these promising opportunities came to Haiti in 2011, when Heineken International bought the national brewery, which has been in existence since the 1970s. The Dutch beer producer pledged to buy 60 percent of its ingredients locally, creating an outstanding prospect for Haitian sorghum farmers. But because sorghum is typically grown on tiny plots, meeting Heineken’s quota would mean solving the logistical hindrance of dealing with thousands of individual farmers. Outdated, paper- and cash-based methods made the purchasing process even more inefficient.

Through the Haiti Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement (LEVE) project, a USAID-funded effort to stimulate job creation in the agribusiness, construction, and apparel and textiles sectors, RTI conducted a case study examining Haiti’s sorghum value chain and established a relationship with the Smallholder Alliance for Sorghum in Haiti (SMASH).

Creating a Modern Network of Sorghum Growers

SMASH was a public-private partnership between USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Brasserie Nationale d’Haïti (BRANA S.A.), the Heineken-owned brewery. The effort was managed by Papyrus, a Haitian management firm. The goal of SMASH was to improve the livelihoods of Haitian subsistence farmers through a market-driven approach to increase yields of high-quality, locally grown sorghum in place of imported malted barley in the production of Malta H, a non-alcoholic nutritional beverage produced by BRANA-Heineken.

Following the initial case study, through which we assessed the sorghum market and the potential for both farmers and Heineken, Papyrus and RTI realized that mobile technology could help overcome the obstacles Heineken faced in working with smallholder farmers. To develop the application, we turned to Dimagi, a social enterprise and certified benefit corporation whose CommCare mobile data collection platform is designed to serve low-resource settings. Together, RTI, Papyrus, and Dimagi customized the CommCare platform for agricultural extension agents. The application helps SMASH agricultural extension agents stay in touch with farmers, monitor crop quality, and respond to typical challenges in agriculture such as pests, accidents, and destructive weather, while also tracking sorghum from the field to the grain storage center in Port-au-Prince.

With the application, SMASH extension agents worked more efficiently and quickly with farmers, helping them improve the quantity and quality of the sorghum they grow. Extension agents saw a 90 percent decrease in the time they spent filling out data collection forms, freeing up time to spend more time consulting and advising farmers.

SMASH built a sustainable arrangement in which farmers gained a steady customer, Heineken fulfilled its local sourcing pledge, consumers enjoyed a quality product, and all parties could operate more effectively. The application generated data to inform daily, monthly, and annual decision-making. 

The rollout of the mobile platform faced some significant obstacles. For example, Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in the fall of 2016, in the middle of our pilot test. Many sorghum farmers lost their crops in the devastating storm, but we were able to regroup, and moved ahead with development in the 2017 growing season.

In supporting SMASH, we drew on our worldwide experience in agriculture and workforce development, our technological expertise, and our strong relationships with Papyrus and other partners in Haiti.