Agricultural markets move quickly. Prices swing with the seasons and the weather, input costs follow exchange rates and fuel prices, and buyers increasingly demand traceability back to the farm. Companies, cooperatives and development programmes that can analyse their own data respond faster and invest more wisely than those relying on intuition or annual reports.

The Data and Analytics for Agribusiness, Value Chains & Market Systems Training Course follows the path from raw records to decisions. Participants begin by mapping value chains and identifying the questions that matter to each actor, then design data collection for farmers, traders and markets using mobile tools. They clean and combine datasets, calculate gross margins, costs of production and value added at each stage, and analyse price trends, seasonality and spatial price differences. The course then turns to segmentation of producers, simple forecasting, traceability data and the measurement of market systems change, before finishing with dashboards and data stories built for managers, investors and programme partners.

Every session is computer-based and uses agricultural datasets on enterprises such as maize, coffee, dairy and horticulture. Participants should bring a laptop with Excel; Power BI Desktop and KoboToolbox are free to use, and no programming background is required.

By the close of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Map agricultural value chains and identify the data each actor needs to make decisions.
• Design mobile surveys for farmers, traders and markets that produce analysable data.
• Clean, reshape and combine agricultural datasets using Excel and Power Query.
• Calculate gross margins, production costs and value added along a chain.
• Analyse price trends, seasonality and market spreads to inform buying and selling.
• Measure market systems change using recognised results measurement practice.
• Build dashboards that communicate findings to managers, investors and partners.

Participants typically work in agricultural businesses or programmes and include:

• Agribusiness and commercial managers
• Value chain and market systems development advisers
• Cooperative, outgrower and aggregation managers
• Agricultural economists and policy analysts
• Monitoring, evaluation and learning officers on agriculture programmes
• Agri-finance and agricultural insurance analysts
• Extension and farmer services coordinators
• Government agriculture planning and statistics staff

The week produces practical assets participants can reuse, among them:

• A value chain map with the key data points and indicators for each stage.
• A working KoboToolbox form for a farmer or market survey.
• A cleaned, combined dataset and the Power Query steps to refresh it.
• A gross margin and break-even model for a crop or livestock enterprise.
• A price seasonality analysis to support buying and storage decisions.
• A Power BI dashboard built on their own or sample data.

The course is run as a series of computer labs using agricultural data, supported by:

• Step-by-step demonstrations followed by individual practice on each tool
• Datasets from cooperatives, market price monitoring and farmer surveys
• Field-style survey exercises with mobile phones or tablets
• Small-group problem solving on margin and price questions
• A final dashboard project presented to the group

Participants who attend every lab and submit the final dashboard project receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.