Agri-agence Fert

What Agri-agence Fert does

Association Fert (Agri-agence Fert) is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901) founded circa 1986 and headquartered in Paris at 5 rue Joseph et Marie Hackin. It functions as an international agricultural cooperation agency — an "agri-agence" — that accompanies farmer producer organizations (OPs) across 10 countries: France, Spain, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Tunisia, Georgia, and Madagascar. The organization works through a four-tier hierarchy of farmer groups (4,700 local OPs feeding into 60 regional/national federations) reaching approximately 60,000 farming families. Its central operational model is a farmer-centered "co-construction" methodology in which technicians work alongside producer organizations to jointly diagnose constraints and design locally adapted solutions rather than imposing top-down prescriptions.

Fert's service portfolio spans strategic advisory to farmer organizations (e.g., Cap Malagasy), professional and leadership training (Fekama and Formagri), agricultural financing intermediation (Cecam), applied agronomic experimentation with technical advice on fruits and vegetables (Ceffel, including a 20-hectare experimental site and in-vitro plant tissue culture laboratory for healthy seed potato production), commercialization support, and animal and plant health services. Underlying technologies are biological and methodological rather than digital: participatory field research, experimental crop and livestock trials, in-vitro potato seed propagation, and an emerging market information service (SIEL, launched November 2025). Documented outcomes include +20% yield increases in supported operations, -60% poultry mortality reduction, and reduction of potato bacterial wilt infestation from 100% to below 10% in co-constructed research partnerships with FOFIFA.

Fert is governed by a board led by President Jean-François Isambert and does not generate commercial revenue. Its operating model is project-based development cooperation, funded through institutional donors including the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, IFAD, GIZ, and private foundations (Louis Dreyfus, Avril, Fondation FARM). Go-to-market is community-led: field accompaniment by embedded country teams, biennial international Rencontres gatherings for peer learning, and institutional alliances with French technical institutes (Arvalis, CIRAD, Institut Agro Montpellier) and international networks (AgriCord). The organization has no parent company and operates as an autonomous association in the international agricultural development sector.

Name

Agri-agence Fert

Legal name

Association Fert

Website

https://fert.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Association Fert (Agri-agence Fert) is a French non-profit founded in 1986 that accompanies farmer producer organizations across 10 countries in Africa and Europe, reaching 60,000 families through advisory, training, financing, and agronomic research services funded by institutional development donors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Development Cooperation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Animal Production (11521), Support Activities for Animal Production (115210)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG / Carbon & Conservation Program Advisory (AFACAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory) (AFACABAL), Agribusiness, Farm Management & Compliance (EDAOAOAN)

Keywords

• Agricultural development cooperation
• Farmer organization advisory
• Agricultural professional training
• Agroecology research
• Agricultural financing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Development cooperation funding: Fert operates as an international agricultural cooperation association funded primarily through development aid agencies, foundations, and public donors including AFD, EU, IFAD, GIZ, and private foundations. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but rather operates on project-based funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fert is a French non-profit agricultural cooperation association (agri-agence) that supports farmer organizations in approximately 10 countries through strategic advisory, professional training, leadership development, agricultural financing, agricultural experimentation, commercialization support, and animal/plant health services. Its core work is farmer-centered accompaniment of producer organizations at local, regional, and national levels, complemented by an international peer-learning platform (Rencontres) that circulates field experience across countries.

Product overview

Fert is an international agricultural cooperation association (agri-agence) that does not offer a traditional product platform. Instead, it provides a coordinated suite of services to support family farming across 8 countries: strategic advisory services to farmer organizations (Cap Malagasy), agricultural professional training (Fekama), leader development (Formagri), agricultural financing (Cecam), and experimentation with technical advice on fruits and vegetables (Ceffel). These services are organized hierarchically from local farmer base organizations (OPB) through communal unions to regional (OPR) and national organizations, with the international Rencontres program facilitating cross-country learning and experience exchange.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conseil stratégique aux organisations paysannes (Cap Malagasy-style strategic advisory) Strategic and technical-economic advisory services to farmer organizations, helping them improve practices, manage operations, and deliver services to members. Targeted at farmer organizations (local, regional, national) and indirectly at the smallholder families they serve.
• Formation professionnelle agricole (Fekama) Agricultural professional training and youth insertion program preparing future farmers and rural professionals. Targeted at young people entering family farming and rural professions in partner countries.
• Formation des leaders agricoles (Formagri) Leadership development program for farmer organization leaders, strengthening governance and management capacities of producer organizations. Targeted at elected and executive leaders of farmer organizations.
• Financement agricole (Cecam) Agricultural financing services offering credit and financial services tailored to the needs of family farms. Delivered through the Cecam cooperative network within the Fifata group. Targeted at family farms and smallholder farmers in Madagascar.
• Expérimentation et conseil en fruits et légumes (Ceffel) Research and experimentation center providing technical advice on fruits and vegetables, with 20 hectares dedicated to agricultural experimentation and a plant tissue culture laboratory for healthy potato plant production. Targeted at farmer organizations and smallholders producing fruits and vegetables in Madagascar.
• Services de commercialisation Support services for agricultural product marketing and commercialization, helping farmer organizations access markets and improve sales. Targeted at farmer organizations seeking to commercialize member produce.
• Santé animale et végétale Animal and plant health services, including vaccination programs, disease management (such as potato bacterial wilt control), and phytosanitary surveillance. Targeted at smallholder farmers and farmer organizations managing livestock and crops.
• Rencontres Fert et OP partenaires

Quantifiable outcome

• +20% yield increase in supported farming operations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ertoba (Georgia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Georgian farmers association partnered with Fert since 2011. Together they initiated dairy advisory services and demonstrated farmers' ability to organize themselves. In Samtskhe-Javakheti region, Ertoba works with Fert to support transhumant livestock farmers.
• FOFIFA (Centre national de recherche appliquée au développement rural)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMadagascar's national agricultural research institute collaborating with Fert and farmer organizations of the Fifata group. FOFIFA conducts research on crops, livestock, and farming systems to develop innovations adapted to local realities, working directly with farmers to co-construct solutions.
• ArvaliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural technical institute, partner of Fert, providing expertise in crop production, livestock, and agricultural techniques. Hosted Santatra Ravelomanantsoa during her France visit to understand French technical and applied research institute operations.
• AgriCordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of farmer organization support agencies that Fert collaborates with as part of its alliance strategy, enabling South-South cooperation and knowledge sharing.
• Institut Agro MontpelliercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural higher education and research institution in Fert's alliance network, contributing to capacity building and knowledge development for agricultural professionals.
• CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural research institute for development working with Fert on research and knowledge sharing, contributing to scientific collaboration and capacity building.
• Fermes de FigeacminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural cooperative providing solidarity and development support to Fert's international programs through farmer-to-farmer exchange and knowledge sharing.
• Ceffel (Centre de Formation et d'Expérimentation de Fénérive-Est)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural technical center of reference in agroecology in Madagascar, with 20 hectares dedicated to agricultural experimentation. Part of the Fifata group network, providing experimental platforms, trial plots, and in-vitro culture laboratory for healthy potato seed production. Fert supports Ceffel activities.
• Fifata Group (Fikambanana Fampandrosoana An'ny Tantsaha)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Malagasy farmer organization network that Fert has accompanied for nearly 40 years. Comprises local organizations, communal unions, regional organizations (Fimami, Fikotamifi), and national federation. Provides services including advisory (Cap Malagasy), training (Fekama, Formagri), agricultural financing (Cecam), and research (Ceffel).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• World Food Programme (WFP): UN agency addressing food security with significant smallholder farmer market-connection programming in Sub-Saharan Africa; adjacent mission and overlapping geographies but emergency/humanitarian orientation.
• CIRAD: French agricultural research institute for development, a Fert partner; broader public-sector mandate covering tropical and Mediterranean agriculture with a research-first orientation versus Fert's farmer-organization accompaniment focus.
• IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development): UN specialized agency and Fert financial partner financing rural development programs in developing countries; addresses the same smallholders Fert serves but as a funder/policy actor rather than a field-implementing agri-agency.
• FAO: United Nations agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger; overlaps with Fert on smallholder support, agroecology and farmer-organization engagement but at vastly larger scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Farm Africa: UK-based charity working with farmers and farmer groups in eastern Africa on productivity, market access and sustainability — closely comparable in targeting smallholders and partnering with local organizations.
• Self Help Africa: Ireland-headquartered NGO supporting smallholder farmers and farmer organizations across Sub-Saharan Africa; directly comparable model, geographies (Kenya, Malawi, Burkina Faso) and target beneficiaries.
• Trias: Belgian international NGO supporting farmer cooperatives and entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and Latin America; similar agri-agency model and farmer-organization strengthening focus.
• Iles de Paix: Belgian development NGO running farmer-organization programs in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Benin, etc.); directly comparable mission and country overlap with Fert's Sahel footprint.
• AgriCord: International network of agri-agencies supporting farmer organizations in developing countries; Fert is itself an AgriCord member, making it the closest structural peer in terms of mission, donor base and operating model.
• AFDI (Agriculteurs Français et Développement International): French farmer-organization-led international solidarity NGO supporting producer organizations in Africa and elsewhere; directly comparable mission, French HQ, and farmer-organization support model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-fert

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agri-agence Fert