ESAFF Headquarters

What ESAFF Headquarters does

ESAFF Headquarters (Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers' Forum) is a regional non-profit farmer network founded in 2009 and headquartered in Morogoro, Tanzania. The organization coordinates 16 national smallholder farmer fora across Eastern and Southern Africa — covering Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Seychelles — and represents the collective interests of more than 130 million small-scale farmers (crop growers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, and foresters) at continental and global policy platforms including the African Union Commission, SADC, EAC, FAO, and UNFCCC.

ESAFF's core technology asset is the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT), launched in November 2022 in partnership with ActionAid under the Public Social Accountability (PSA) Alliance. AFAT is an analytical framework — not an AI system — that assesses the degree to which national budgets and overseas development assistance support agroecology transitions; it was refined with input from FAO, BioWatch, CCARDESA, and Environmental Monitoring Group, piloted in Zimbabwe and Malawi, and hosted on the FAO Knowledge Hub. Beyond AFAT, ESAFF publishes a recurring library of governance manuals, advocacy and communication toolkits, country-specific policy briefs (Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, EAC region), annual reports covering 2008–2024, a Training Manual for Farmer Leaders at District Level (November 2024), and a Popular Version of the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035 (March 2025).

ESAFF's business model is non-commercial and grant-funded. It operates as a membership-based advocacy network rather than a product vendor; revenue streams are donor grants and development partnerships, primarily from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for the PSA Alliance project and from Bread for the World for continental agroecology work. The go-to-market motion is community-led: ESAFF reaches smallholder farmers through its 16 national member organizations rather than through direct sales, and its value is delivered via policy advocacy, public expenditure tracking, social accountability monitoring, training programs, and convening activities such as the triennial General Summit and the PAN African Agroecology Workshop.

Name

ESAFF Headquarters

Legal name

Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers' Forum

Website

https://esaff.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Advocacy and Smallholder Farmer Network Services

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Compliance, Permitting & Audit Readiness (Food Safety, Environmental, Labor) (AFACAJAE)

Keywords

• Smallholder farmer advocacy
• Agricultural policy research
• Agroecology financing analysis
• Farmer network coordination
• Public social accountability

Headquarters

HQ city

Morogoro

HQ country

Tanzania

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Development Partnerships: ESAFF operates as a non-profit farmer network primarily funded through grants and development partnerships. Funding sources include the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for the PSA Alliance project and Bread for the World as a key development partner.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ESAFF is a non-profit regional network of smallholder farmer organizations operating across 16 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Its core activities include policy advocacy for smallholder farmer interests in continental processes such as CAADP and SADC/EAC, public social accountability and budget tracking in the agriculture sector, agroecology promotion, farmer-managed seed systems, and the development of analytical tools, training manuals, and policy briefs to build farmer capacity.

Product overview

ESAFF (Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum) is a regional network organization, not a technology product company. It operates as an advocacy and capacity-building platform for smallholder farmers across 16 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. ESAFF's offerings consist of publications, toolkits, training resources, policy briefs, and programs focused on farmer advocacy, agroecology, public accountability, and agricultural policy engagement. Key products include the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT), governance manuals, advocacy and communication toolkits, training manuals for farmer leaders, the CAADP Strategy guide, and annual reports documenting organizational activities and impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT) An analytical tool that assesses the degree to which national budgets and overseas development assistance (ODA) in Africa support a transition to agroecology. Developed with input from FAO, BioWatch, CCARDESA, and Environmental Monitoring Group; used for policy analysis and budget tracking.
• Public Social Accountability Programme A multi-country programme improving social accountability and gender-responsiveness in public resource management for health and agricultural services across five Southern African countries, implemented with ActionAid, PSAM (Rhodes University), and SAfAIDS.
• Non-State Actors and Media Training on SADC A training programme that equips civil society actors and journalists to engage with SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and related agricultural policy processes.

Quantifiable outcome

• ESAFF developed the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT) which has been posted on the FAO Knowledge Hub and used for climate policy analysis in South Africa

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• PSA Alliance (Public Social Accountability Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020The PSA Alliance is a consortium led by ActionAid International including ESAFF, Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) of Rhodes University, and SAfAIDS. They implement the project 'Strengthening Social Accountability and Oversight in Health and Agriculture in Southern Africa' focused on improving social accountability and gender-responsiveness in public resource management across Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF engages with FAO through La Via Campesina partnership. The AFAT tool has been posted on FAO Knowledge Hub. ESAFF participates in FAO-organized events and policy processes.
• African Union CommissionkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF participates in CAADP processes and engages with the African Union Commission on agricultural policy, particularly the Malabo Declaration implementation and Kampala Declaration 2026-2035.
• SADC (Southern African Development Community)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF engages with SADC on agricultural policy, participates in regional dialogues on RISDP, and contributes to SADC Regional Agricultural Investment Plan processes.
• EAC (East African Community)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF engages with EAC through EALA on agriculture budget summits and CAADP domestication, advocating for increased agricultural financing in the region.
• ActionAid InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developer of AFAT tool and lead organization of PSA Alliance. ESAFF and ActionAid collaborate on public social accountability initiatives.
• BioWatchminorOthersAdvisory group expert providing input on the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT) development.
• CCARDESAminorOthersAdvisory group expert providing input on the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT) development.
• Environmental Monitoring GroupminorOthersAdvisory group expert providing input on the Agroecology Financing Analysis Toolkit (AFAT) development.
• CIDSEminorOthersFacilitates community of practice for agroecology financing analysis alongside CAWR at Coventry University.
• Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry UniversityminorOthersAcademic partner facilitating community of practice for agroecology financing analysis alongside CIDSE.
• Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) of Rhodes UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of PSA Alliance implementing social accountability monitoring in Southern Africa.
• SAfAIDScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of PSA Alliance implementing social accountability in health and agriculture across Southern Africa.
• African Food Sovereignty Campaign (AFSA)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF is a member of AFSA, an alliance of African farmer and civil society networks advocating for food sovereignty on the continent.
• La Via CampesinakeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerESAFF is part of La Via Campesina, the global movement of peasants and small farmers. FAO and La Via Campesina signed a landmark agreement in 2013.
• Policy LinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided valuable materials and insights for the CAADP Africa Roaring for Agriculture campaign video production.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), Rhodes University: South African academic center and PSA Alliance partner implementing social accountability monitoring alongside ESAFF. Comparable as an accountability/research peer covering public budget oversight, overlapping in geography and methodology.
• SAfAIDS: Southern Africa HIV/AIDS and SRHR information organization and PSA Alliance partner. Operates alongside ESAFF in the consortium on health-agriculture accountability in five SADC countries; adjacent thematic scope with overlap in regional advocacy infrastructure.
• ActionAid International: Lead of the PSA Alliance consortium of which ESAFF is a member; co-developer of AFAT and co-implementer of social accountability programs in SADC. Comparable as a co-advocacy and accountability partner operating across ESAFF's geographies with shared thematic interests in public resource management.
• PELUM Association (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management): Network of African civil society organizations supporting smallholder farmer-led agroecology and seed systems across Eastern, Southern, and West Africa. Adjacent peer with overlapping member civil society organizations and shared focus on farmer-managed seed systems and agroecology advocacy.

Direct peers

• Coordinatora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo (CLOC): Latin American articulation of La Via Campesina coordinating peasant organizations across the region. Closest regional peer outside Africa: same federation model, similar grassroots-to-continental advocacy pipeline, comparable agroecology and food sovereignty agenda.
• MVIWATA (Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima Tanzania): Tanzania's national smallholder farmer network and an ESAFF member organization. Comparable as a peer grassroots farmer organization advocating for smallholder interests at national policy level; serves as ESAFF's country-level delivery mechanism.
• Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA): Regional federation of Asian smallholder farmer organizations. Functionally similar to ESAFF—aggregating national farmer federations to engage regional policy bodies—but operating in Asia, providing useful regional comparison and potential La Via Campesina coordination.
• ROPPA (Network of Farmers' and Agricultural Producers' Organisations of West Africa): Regional network of West African farmer organizations representing smallholders in ECOWAS policy processes. Functionally identical model to ESAFF, just covering West Africa instead of Eastern and Southern Africa; both engage regional economic communities on CAADP-style frameworks.
• Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA): AFSA is a continent-wide alliance of African farmer and civil society networks (ESAFF is a member) advocating for agroecology and food sovereignty. Directly comparable as a peer advocacy network targeting AU, SADC, and EAC policy on smallholder priorities, with overlapping thematic agenda.
• La Via Campesina: Global peasant and small-scale farmer movement of which ESAFF is an African member. Closest structural peer: both operate as federations of national farmer organizations engaging in FAO/AU policy processes on agroecology, seed systems, and smallholder rights.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EsaffHQ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/results?search_query=EsaffHQ%20
• Facebookfacebook.com/esaff.headquarters
• Instagraminstagram.com/esaffheadquarters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esaff-headquarters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ESAFF Headquarters