iCRA - building trust

21/08/2026

🌱 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 — 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐅𝐒𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! 🌍

How do we make sure that what we learn through our work does not stay with individual people or projects, but strengthens how we work as an organization?

Our own Myriam Perezd represented iCRA at the IFSA 2026 Conference in Montpellier last month, where researchers and practitioners came together to explore how agri-food systems can become more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.

For us, the conference was also an opportunity to take a research lens to our own work under the SASi-SPi program in Colombia and reflect on an important insight emerging from the field:

👉 Intermediaries and brokers can play a critical role in making food systems transformation happen.

Through our action-learning work with organizations and territories in Colombia, we see that change rarely spreads through isolated actors. It grows when people are able to connect different groups, bridge knowledge and perspectives, build trust across silos, and translate between research, policy, and what is happening in practice.

Reflecting critically on our own work helps us turn field experience into shared knowledge. It allows us to learn across teams, strengthen our expertise, and keep improving how we support people and organizations working toward food systems transformation.

A special thank you to Myriam, who brought our experiences from Colombia into the conversations in Montpellier, and to Isabelle Vagneron, Nabil HASNAOUI AMRI, Marie-Hélène Dabat and Humberto Labrada for the thinking, collaboration, and rigor behind this work. 🙏

Cirad - La recherche agronomique pour le développement , Agrosavia - Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria, 2026,

13/08/2026

🌱 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚! 🌍

How do you make sure agricultural training goes beyond farming techniques and helps young farmers build sustainable businesses? And how do you ensure that knowledge continues to spread after a programme ends?

From the field, young farmers, extension officers, and graduates are learning together to make farming a real business. Some will become master trainers, sharing their knowledge with other farmers outside the programme and helping the impact reach even further.

The training focuses on three areas: climate-smart farming, practical business skills, and building stronger connections with government and education partners. Participants learn more than just farming techniques. They also gain skills in marketing, finance, and ongoing support after the programme finishes.

It is delivered through the | Empowering People, Creating Impact - iCRA alliance, as part of RVO's Combi Track. The programme works alongside IPB University, Delphy and Arconesia, and coordinates with the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Extension and Human Resources Development (IAAEHRD) and Politeknik Pembangunan Pertanian Bogor (Polbangtan Bogor).

It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development and Nuffic Southeast Asia.

🔗 You can find more details about the programme here: https://www.icra.global/projects/millennial-farmer-training-program-indonesia/

29/07/2026

During last week's face-to-face week of iCRA’s Making Agribusiness Work course in hashtag , participants practiced active listening, group facilitation, conflict handling, win-win negotiation and much more. They also explored agribusiness partnerships in practice during visits to INVEJA, Ekoboerderij de Lingehof and Lekker Lupine.

The field visits brought lively reflection. Participants were inspired by the creativity in lupine product development and collective marketing, while also asking critical questions about consumer habits, strong business relationships and the role of government. Several participants from Lebanon even started exploring opportunities for greater value creation from lupine in their own country.

A week of asking good questions, testing new skills, learning from one another and, above all, building trust. Swipe through for some nice photos!

With .i.haidary, Nahiza Ayeb, .chehabeddine, Abd El Rahman Hesham, Sirène Radwan, Hocine Bouyahiaoui, Rania H., Dr. Naima FATEHI, Mariëtte Gross, Cees Peter van den Brink.

14/07/2026

𝐢𝐂𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐢: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐥!

Before joining iCRA’s “Making Agribusiness Work: Facilitation & Coaching”, ETCHO Fresnel was already supporting Vegetable Business Networks (Agribusiness Clusters) in Benin. His challenge was clear: production alone was not enough. Even with good yields, farmers could still face losses if markets were not secure. Fresnel’s role was to help producers, traders, processors and input suppliers work together, manage disagreements, and build lasting business relationships.

Through iCRA’s course, Fresnel strengthened the way he supported these networks. Role plays helped him practise difficult conversations. An exchange visit to pineapple clusters supported by DEFIA/Enabel showed how contracts can work in practice when they are built on trust and flexibility.

He later applied this directly in the VBN USCM cluster in Zagnanado, supported through the Projet SafeVeg (WP3) - CIRAD. Producers and women traders were facing tensions around vegetable marketing, with no formal contract between them. Fresnel first met each group separately to understand their concerns. He then brought them together, helped them analyse production and marketing costs, prepared them for negotiation, and supported the development of a contract.

Today, Fresnel has moved from coach to mentor. Since 2024, he has supported coaches from organisations such as the Union Nationale des Coopératives de Transformatrices de Soja (UNCTS) du Bénin. He also shares his experience with students at the Université Nationale d'Agriculture du Bénin and the Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques de l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi.

His journey has also been shaped by learning within the iCRA community, including fellow alumni Laurent Glin, Ph.D., Dieu-donné KONNON and Christophe Kinha, with Laurent and Christophe continuing to collaborate with iCRA today as partners.

At iCRA, we are proud to see alumni like Fresnel turning facilitation into stronger partnerships, better market connections and lasting change! 👏

30/06/2026

🌱 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚! 🌍

For agribusiness clusters, finding a market opportunity is only the beginning. The real challenge? Organising a reliable collective offer that meets buyers’ expectations on quality, volume, timing and price.

From 2–5 June 2026, iCRA, Roland Fadina and Jeanne Marie Sarr facilitated the second Learning Cycle training workshop for Agribusiness Cluster coaches under the AgriEco Project in Kindia, Guinea, implemented by Enabel and delivered by the COLEAD.link–iCRA consortium.

Building on the first cycle, this workshop focused on helping coaches support clusters to become more competitive and market-oriented. Through iCRA’s experiential learning approach, the workshop combined classroom training, field coaching and reflection. Coaches strengthened their capacity to support clusters in:

✅ Analysing competitors and market positioning
✅ Organising a reliable collective offer
✅ Planning production according to market demand
✅ Coordinating producers around quality, volume and delivery requirements
✅ Assessing production costs and profitability for better business decisions

The result? Coaches applied the tools during a field coaching session with a pineapple cluster, testing the methodology in a real setting and reflecting on how to adapt it to different cluster realities.

One key lesson stood out: market opportunities only create value when clusters can organise collectively to respond effectively to demand. Competitiveness requires coordination, planning, trust and strong economic decision-making. 💪

28/05/2026

𝐢𝐂𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐢: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐟!

Before joining iCRA, Dorsaf Ben Hassine, a passionate teacher-researcher from Tunisia, was already asking bold questions. In 2022, as an Assistant Professor at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, she wanted to do more than deliver lectures. She wanted her students to connect, think systemically, and be ready for the real-world complexity of agriculture.

That search led her to iCRA’s Making Education Work course and sparked a shift not just in methods, but in mindset.

Through Making Education Work, Dorsaf began designing learning experiences instead of simply delivering content. Her classes became more interactive, grounded in real-life challenges, and focused on collaboration.

Satisfied and inspired by this experience, she decided to go further by joining iCRA’s Making Leadership Work course. There, she strengthened her skills in motivating teams, building trust, delegating effectively, and working across complex systems.

Then came a turning point.

Shortly after, in 2024, Dorsaf stepped into new roles as Internship Director at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia and Associate Professor, or Maître de Conférences. The leadership tools she gained proved essential, helping her connect academia with the professional world, coordinate diverse actors, and build meaningful partnerships.

Today, she is actively involved in building trust through several partnerships with the socio-economic sector and key stakeholders. As International Mobility Coordinator, she works to create better opportunities and a brighter future for students at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT).

Her ambition is to keep building adaptive, system-oriented, and future-ready learning environments for future agricultural engineers.

We are proud to have been a small part of Dorsaf’s journey and inspired by the impact she continues to create. 🌱

12/05/2026

🌱 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐔𝐏! 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢 🌍

"Women look up to you, and encourage their kids: 'Be like that officer, she's among men."

That line, shared by a female District Council officer in Malawi, comes from the GIZ Malawi Step UP! Gender Scan, conducted across Dedza, Mzimba, and Chikwawa districts by iCRA and MDF - Empowering People, Creating Impact as part of our strategic alliance. It captures the power of visibility, and what it means for women in communities to see one of their own in a position of authority.

Last month, we brought 30 women working in Food Systems at district and national level together for a two-day reflection and leadership event to share the scan findings, build peer connections, and draw energy from women leading change at every level.

Director Sphiwe Msiska Mauwa of Malawi's Ministry of Agriculture spoke about keeping long-term goals in view when the environment pushed back, never losing sight of what was actually happening on the ground, and about building her own food business alongside her public service career. A concrete example of sustainable leadership.

Day two took participants into the field, visiting two community groups in Dedza facilitated by Self Help Africa Malawi: the Mnyanga Community Grain Bank, where women lead collective governance of food storage, and the Sikanadze Group, which built livelihoods through vitamin A-enriched baked goods. Proof in action of what women-led food systems leadership delivers.

The Gender Scan is clear that structural barriers remain real. But so is this: when women lead, others notice. And some of those people are mothers telling their daughters who to look up to. ✨

GIZ Malawi, Self Help Africa, MDF | Empowering People, Creating Impact, Fyness Lydia Ching'oma, Alinafe Irene Nonhlanhla Gama, Brenda Kacheche, Elizabeth Molloy

20/04/2026

𝐢𝐂𝐑𝐀 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 | 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥?

We invest a lot in technical training, but is it enough to build strong and successful agribusiness clusters? In this iCRA Expert talk, we unpack how technical training and agribusiness cluster formation can reinforce each other.

Join us on May 11 for this session led by Susan Wabocha, agribusiness and food systems specialist and member of iCRA’s Supervisory Board

👉 Register here for free: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/technical-training-in-agribusiness-clusters-essential-or-optional-tickets-1987379856650?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

iCRA Expert talk on Monday, May 11

16/04/2026

We are happy to welcome Behanzin Samson as Bid Manager & Business Development Officer for the MDF-iCRA alliance!

Based in Benin, Samson brings close to 20 years of experience in partnership building and resource mobilization across the African continent, with a strong focus on turning ideas into meaningful collaboration and impact.

At iCRA, we believe strong partnerships are built on trust and shared purpose, and Samson’s track record reflects exactly that. His experience in bringing diverse partners together and turning ideas into action strengthens the way we work and the impact we aim to create together.

Curious to learn more about Samson and his background? Take a look at his profile on our website: https://www.icra.global/team/samson-behanzin/

Welcome to iCRA, Samson. We are really glad to have you on board! 🤝

Meet Samson Behanzin: Experienced development professional with 20+ years in partnerships, fundraising, and program design across Africa.

07/04/2026

🌱 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚! 🌍

One of the key challenges in strengthening agribusiness clusters is ensuring that coaches don’t just understand concepts, but can apply them in real market conditions. In AgriEco, iCRA addresses this by putting learning into practice from the very start.

From February 24–26, 2026, iCRA, as part of the COLEAD.link –iCRA consortium, supported the launch of the first learning cycle for cluster coaches in Mamou, Guinea, under the Enabel -implemented AgriEco project. This cycle combines classroom training, field coaching with clusters, and reflection & learning sessions.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: to strengthen the capacities of internal and master coaches supporting pineapple, potato, and vegetable clusters in the Kindia and Mamou regions, with a focus on developing business relationships and market structuring.

Over three days, iCRA guided participants through key business-oriented topics, including:
✔ Market orientation of clusters
✔ Collective supply organization
✔ B2B facilitation
✔ Contracting and managing commercial tensions
✔ Marketing and market positioning

Through participatory method, blending practical tools, group reflection, and exercises, coaches prepared for the next phase: accompanying clusters in the field, where these tools will be tested and adapted to local realities. A field visit to the UGAS cluster marked an important first step, allowing participants to directly apply selected tools with cluster actors!

A big thank you to Enabel, COLEAD, and all participating coaches for their strong engagement! 🚀