- Published by
- PRISMA
One of PRISMA’s most important innovations has been the introduction of a sales agent model in rural farming communities. PRISMA promotes the use of direct sales agent models as an approach to increase women and men farmer access to innovative, productivity-enhancing products and services, such as livestock feed concentrates and high-quality packaged seeds.
This research paper details PRISMA's study to better understand the factors enabling and discouraging the growth of direct sales agent models and the approach’s potential contribution to women’s economic empowerment.
The study evaluated several aspects including farmer uptake and preferences, corporate strategies (e.g. marketing, agent recruitment and retention) and challenges faced by the agents.
COVID-19 Update: PRISMA Direct Sales Agent Research
This brief 3-page report (also linked above) shows key findings for a small survey conducted in April 2020 as COVID-19 started to impact the livelihoods of Direct Sales Agents (DSAs).
Despite women DSAs coping overall in the short-term the long term is less sustainable with a decline in agricultural product sales, likely attributed to the lower purchasing power of their client base.
- Read the Agrilinks blogs: Are we there yet? The quest for women’s economic empowerment at scale in agricultural market systems