What Independent Evaluators Found When They Surveyed Our Farmers

Why an Independent Evaluation?

It is easy for an agribusiness to claim that its model benefits farmers. It is much harder to prove it. FarmMoja commissioned Wellspring and Greencroft Economics to conduct a rigorous endline evaluation — using survey methodologies consistent with development finance standards — precisely because we believe the evidence must stand up to external scrutiny.

The evaluation team interviewed farmers directly, without FarmMoja staff present, and cross-referenced self-reported data against agronomic records and payment histories. Their mandate was not to validate FarmMoja's narrative but to understand what was actually happening on the ground.

Key Findings: Income and Market Access

Farmers participating in FarmMoja's export programme reported a consistent price premium of 40–60% above the domestic wholesale benchmark for equivalent-quality fruit. This premium was not a one-off: it tracked across multiple harvest seasons and remained robust even during periods of global avocado market softness, when domestic prices fell sharply.

Beyond price, evaluators found that FarmMoja farmers had materially improved market access — measured as the proportion of harvest sold through a formal, contracted channel rather than through spot sales to roadside collectors. At baseline, the majority of surveyed farmers relied primarily on spot sales. At endline, the majority were selling the bulk of their export-quality harvest through FarmMoja's supply chain.

Agronomic Outcomes

The evaluation assessed not just economic outcomes but also changes in farming practice. Farmers in the programme showed significantly higher adoption rates of good agricultural practices (GAP) — including record-keeping, integrated pest management, and post-harvest handling — compared to a control group of non-participating farmers in the same regions.

Importantly, these practice changes were found to persist even among farmers who had not yet participated in an export season, suggesting that the training and extension support provided by FarmMoja's agronomists were internalised rather than compliance-driven.

Household Wellbeing

The survey included a household wellbeing module covering food security, children's school attendance, and investment in productive assets. Across all three indicators, FarmMoja households showed positive directional change relative to baseline. The evaluators were careful to attribute causation cautiously — other factors influence household wellbeing — but the directional evidence was consistent.

What the Evaluation Means for Investors and Buyers

For impact investors and development finance institutions, the evaluation provides third-party evidence that FarmMoja's model generates measurable, attributable positive outcomes at the farmer level — meeting the evidentiary standards required for social impact reporting.

For buyers, it confirms that sourcing from FarmMoja is not simply a commercial decision. It is a contribution to a supply chain that demonstrably improves the lives of the farmers who grow the product.