Start spreading the risk

Friday, January 6, 2012

In the Mungwi district, located in the remote Northern Province of Zambia, small scale jatropha farmers were encouraged by the Northern Biofuels Association (NBFA) to invest in their own future by adding value to jatropha. Together they started a farmer-owned enterprise, named Mulondolwa. Here jatropha is being processed into soap, lantern oil and organic fertilizer for the local market. One of the farmers and shareholders is Venantius Chembe.

Venantius Chembe cultivates 2 hectare of land. Besides jatropha, he also grows maize, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, cowpeas and pumpkin. He practices intercropping: he grows maize and jatropha on the same field. The jatropha seeds he sells to the Mulondolwa Jatropha Industry. This farmer led enterprise is based on local shareholding, the members contributed in the set up of the processing enterprise. A share in the enterprise costs 50,000 Zambian Kwacha (approximately USD 10) and each member has bought 10 shares. The enterprise has 10 board members, four of whom are women. To date, the enterprise has mobilised US$1300 through its shareholding. This money is used to leverage more resources.

Asked the reasons for investing in this enterprise Venantius Chembe says, "I invested my money in Mulondolwa as I have trust and confidence that I will make money through dividends. This will help me educate my children and contribute towards poverty eradication in my household." Mr. Chembe and his wife have six children, five girls and one boy. They all went, or still go, to school. Together with his wife he runs a shop in the Chipalila village to spread the risks in case income out of agriculture is low.

He ends up by telling that he was really shocked a few months ago when someone at night had stolen everything out of the shop, which never happened before in the village. Fortunately, he is not depending on one resource to get income out of it.