Farmers in business

Monday, March 29, 2010

With a special focus on economic activities and farmers’ business, Agriterra is trying to expand her list of clients. The business plan competition for agricultural cooperatives and farmers associations, fits perfectly in this approach. The main goal of this contest is to collect business plans and to facilitate contacts between cooperatives and banks and investors who are interested in supporting these projects.

About 80% of the farmers’ organisations supported by Agriterra, has a focus on advocacy, while 20% gives special attention to economic activities of their members. Agriterra believes that focusing on economic activities is an important task of the organisation. The board and council of Agriterra, formed by members of Dutch farmers’ organisations, also emphasize the importance of this theme. Of course lobby and advocacy are crucial for a strong farmers’ organisation, but starting cooperatives, creating agricultural companies and marketing their products is not less important.

After a visit to several farmers’ organisations in Zambia earlier this year, Agriterra welcomed two organisations as ‘potential client’. Northern Bio-Fuels Association and the Isoka District Rice Association, both active in Northern Zambia, can present a proposal for advise or financial support from Agriterra. Both associations were set up for an economic purpose. Isoka District Rice Association (IDRA) is an organisation with 715 paying members, mainly rice farmers, but also some rice traders. The main target of IDRA is to increase the incomes of the rice farmers by producing rice of good quality, which suits the requirements for export. This farmers’ organisation promotes research, production, processing, marketing and distribution of rice from the Isoka district.

The Northern Bio-Fuels Association (NBFA) represents 8.000 jatropha producers. Jatropha is a tropical plant whose seeds are used to produce oil. To become a member of NBFA a farmer has to own at least one acre (1666 trees) of jatropha. Except of their focus on jatropha producers, the target of NBFA is similar to the one of IDRA.

Agriterra will support NBFA and IDRA by developing good business plans, building a transit shed for rice and a jatropha oil processing company. For both enterprises Agriterra is looking for investors, who would like to support these Zambian organisations financially with setting up these companies. For more information, please contact Cees van Rij.