The Results Inside This Issue:

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1 Volume 2, Issue 3 A Quatery Newsletter of Kilimo Trust October - December 2016 Inside This Issue: Consortium Approach to Agricultural Value Chain Development... Commercializing beans from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda... Kilimo Trust Participated In A Validation Workshop For A Rice Quality Management System... CARI Result 4 WaLETS: Validation Of Policy Recommendations Workshop... Consortium Approach to Agricultural Value Chain Development receives International Recognition CARI (Competitive African Rice Initiative) project is a four year project launched in 2014 and is implemented in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. Kilimo Trust was subcontracted by GIZ to implement CARI in Tanzania. In Tanzania, the project aims to double the incomes of 30,000 small holder rice producers 30% of which are women. In Tanzania, the project is employing the Consortium Approach with matching grant funds to leverage private sector funding into the rice value chain to the tune of US$ 4 Million. On 26th November 2015, Raphael Group Limited (RGL), the Lead Firm in Southern Highland Rice Consortium (SHIRCO) that Kilimo Trust is supporting through CARI project in Tanzania, won the AFIF Entrepreneurship Award 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. SHIRCO is a partnership Yara Tanzania, Rogimwa Agrochemicals Company Limited, Agriseed Technologies Limited and thirty (30) groups of Farmers Business Enterprises (FBEs) of 6,159 For more information about CARI go to For CARI Tanzania, please visit smallholder farmers. RGL topped other finalists from across Africa and won the award after demonstrating how the Consortium Approach to value chain development has enhanced the business operations of the company and its partners along the rice value chain in Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The approach being developed and implemented by Kilimo Trust across the entire East African Community (EAC) Region, enables business operators and necessary and sufficient supporting actors, who work independently in the supply chain, to come together and form new, more efficient structured business partnerships that deliver endto-end business services for all value chain actors involved. The consortia are built to enable all value chain actors to: Build trust and redefine their relationships around a common vision and thinking in terms of WE instead of ME ; Expand their understanding of, and sharing knowledge about, the markets and demand dynamics; Recognize that they all have to make

2 Profit while ensuring that the final price cannot exceed what the consumer is willing to pay; and Be pro-active in determining what supportive development projects should prioritize in order to up-grade their consortium as a whole. Due to the success of the Consortium Approach in Tanzania, other CARI...Build trust and redefine their relationships around a common vision and thinking in terms of WE instead of ME ; implementing countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have also adopted the approach in their sub-grant projects to the benefit of smallholder farmers. Cognizant of this, the CARI steering committee in its annual meeting on the 24thOctober 2015 approved another 6 sub-grant projects submitted by 5 companies and the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Zanzibar in Tanzania for matching grant funding. The companies are; a. Biosustain Tanzania Limited- Lead Firm in Sustaining Rice Production in Singida (SURIPRO) consortium; partnering with Ikungi District Council and 6 Farmer Business Organizations (FBOs) of 5,229 farmers. b. Mamboleo Farm Limited Lead Firm in Rice Market Hub (RIMAH) consortium in Rufiji district partnering with Namburi Seed Company and 3 FBOs of 6,000 farmers. c. Musoma Fd Company Limited Lead Firm in Shinyanga Rice for Competitive Markets (SHYRICE) consortium in Shinyanga partnering with Kibo Trading Limited, Rural Urban Initiatives (RUDI) and 14 FBEs of 5,521 farmers. d. G2L Limited Lead Firm in Mbarali Rice Consortium (MRC) in Mbarali district partnering with OBO Investments Limited and 6 FBEs of 6,000 farmers. e. Kilombero Plantations Limited Lead Firm in Smallholder Crop Finance (SCF) consortium in Kilombero partnering with NMB Bank and 6 FBEs of 2,000 farmers. f. Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR) Lead organization in Strengthening Rice Value Chain in Zanzibar (ZANRICE) consortium. The Ministry will work with 3 rice processors and 6 FBOs of 4,573 farmers in Zanzibar. Commercializing beans from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda through upgrading and deepening of value chains The Beans Enterprises and Structured Trade in East Africa Community (BEST-EAC) project; a 15 years project of Kilimo Trust received funds from FdTrade East and Southern Africa to implement its phase 1 which will run for the period from July 2015 to December The main objective is of this project is to expand structured trade of 30,000 MT/year of beans produced by between 10,000 15,000 commercially-oriented small and medium scale farmers (SMSFs), in response to specific market demand; contributing to its goal of doubling the income of the mentioned farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In order to deliver on this objective, BEST-EAC will use the consortium model where the lead firms (LFs) will be the pull factors of other value chain consortium members. Well Organized Business Oriented Experience & Dedicated to Commercial Farming Enterprises But with profitability and growth limited by pr access to competitive markets that reward quality and/or reliable supplies of quality input Farmers Business Organization Commercial Suppliers of Inputs & Services such as: Transportation Equipment hire or leasing Finance But with critical obstacles of profitability & growth caused by irregular & low volumes of demand Well Developed Invested in: Processing Plant Warehousing Transportation Effective linkage to market But with critical obstacle to profitability and growth caused by inadequate supply of gd quality products in the correct quantities and right time Lead Firm: Processor & Bulk Trader Providers of Public Gd Services such as: Foundation Seed Extension Services Quality and Standards Capacity Building WITH: Mandate to support VCD Large and significant in the Quantities Demanded; and Increase profitability for SHFs and other in the VC, by rewarding: Quality and Fd-safety Standards; Economies of scale; and Timeliness of delivery. End Market: National /Regional & International Market Consortium Model BEST EAC project implementation approach The project is designed to build strong business consortia-based partnerships of key business operators along the entire beans value chain for end-to-end linkages to guarantee markets for inputs and outputs at local, national and regional levels. 2

3 A significant number of activities have been implemented for the period October to December 2015 and the following results delivered: a. A review of a database of traders from those that have been working with Kilimo Trust, CIAT, and EAGC was conducted and an initial list of 60 traders (disaggregated by country) produced. b. About 63 firms across different categories of the beans value chain in EAC responded to an Expression of Interest (EoI) which was placed in four leading dailies: Uganda- New Vision; Kenya- Daily Nation; Tanzania -Citizen and Rwanda -New Times with a view of inviting partners to work with the BEST EAC project. The EoIs were assessed and 95% met the set criteria and will be invited to work with the project. c. A total of 10 project buy- in meetings were held in the four project countries: and one in Rwanda (Kigali). The objectives of these buy-in meetings were to: 1) Create awareness on the BEST-EAC project and Kilimo Trust as well; 2) Articulate the project implementation approach; and 3) Develop a way forward on partnership and collaboration towards forming consortia and implementation of project activities d. An intensive technical due diligence of the prospective lead firms and FBOs to be engaged in the project has been conducted on the following partners: 2 traders in Kenya (Yash Commodities Ltd and Betta Grains), 1 trader (Sarura Commodities Ltd) and 4 FBOs for bean grain (Imbarutso za Karembo, COPAMUJA, Intwali mu buhinzi, Duhurizehamwe Mugera); 2 FBOs for bean seed (Cp Abishyizehamwe, e. Strategic planning (One-on-one) meetings between lead firms and Farmers Business Organizations (FBOs) were held in Rwanda Sarura commodities Ltd and 12 FBOs for the grain consortium and Harvest Plus and 5 FBOs for the seed consortium. For the grain consortium, the period of January to March 2016, the FBOs committed to bulking 1,600 MT of beans which meets the trader s (Sarura Commodities Ltd) demand of 1,500 MT per season. On the other hand, the bean seed farmers committed to supplying Harvest Plus with 445MT of seed this season which nearly meets the lead firm s demand of MT of seed per season. The trade in bean seed will be in the second season of which harvest is scheduled in July- August Mr. Albert Ochenje - M&E Expert, ASDSP seeking clarification about the consortium model 5 in Kenya (Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu, Kakamega and Eldoret), 3 in Tanzania (Arusha, Tanga and Mbeya), one in Uganda (Kampala) Cp Codernya Ibakwe) in Rwanda, one trader in Tanzania (Raphael Group Ltd), and one trader in Uganda ( FACE Uganda). f. Bean cropping calendars for the different seasons in each of the project countries have been developed to demonstrate market opportunities in the region. Furthermore, a cost benefit analysis (CBA) for each country has been calculated and an analysis showing gains and losses associated with gd and pr practices respectively has also been done. These CBAs will guide the FBOs to make informed decisions and adopt the right practices that will reward them. During the period under review, 3 consortia (1 in Rwanda, 1 in Tanzania and 1 in Uganda) have been established while the process of formation of 3 consortia has been initiated (1 in Rwanda, 2 in Kenya). Vision for Harvest Plus & Sarura commodities consortia 3

4 MPA Results for the Period October to December 2016 i Kilimo Trust Participated In A Validation Workshop For A Rice Quality Management System For Uganda Convened By VECO EAC On the 17 Dec 2016, Kilimo Trust participated in a validation workshop for a Rice Quality Management System for Uganda convened by VECO EAC. VECO EAC is a regional program of Vredeseilan that works towards sustainable agricultural value chain in Tanzania and Uganda. Currently, VECO EAC is working towards improving competitiveness of smallholder rice production, specifically, improvement of quality of rice across the entire value chain. It is against this backdrop that the organization has developed a Quality Management System that will be piloted in Doho Irrigation Scheme, one of the rice schemes in Eastern Uganda. During the workshop, participants observed that pr quality of rice produced in Uganda reduces its competitiveness in local and regional markets, a situation that VECO EAC envisions to change. One of the representative from VECO EAC informed participants that quality of rice should be observed right from the upstream stages of the value chain from input supply to production and that when quality is not safeguarded at these critical stages, it cannot be ensured even in subsequent nodes of the value chain. Piloting is expected to take at least three seasons starting ii CARI Result 4 1. Back ground. Objective 4 of the Competitive Africa Rice Initiative (CARI) project envisions Enabling policy environment for rice sector development in the CARI countries of implementation which include Tanzania. In effect, working with Non-state actors to advocate for improvement of policy landscape in the rice value chain becomes inevitable. It is in this light that Kilimo Trust identified the Rice Council of Tanzania (RCT) as a suitable vehicle to drive this agenda. CARI Objective 4 supported the recruitment drive by way of paying for translation of the Strategic Plan into Swahili, duplication of Swahili version of the Strategic Plan, registration forms and brochures and actual recruitment drive activities. Towards RCT members recruitment, various activities have been undertaken and the following are the results: 2. Results a. More than 700 farmers, 20 processors and traders (who are not part of CARI consortium) and district agricultural officials in the various districts where the recruitment drive was conducted were sensitized about the existence of and benefits of joining RCT. b. A total of 103 members who predominantly included individual farmers were registered by way of them immediately paying annual membership fee of Tshs, 5000 and a member s card processing fee of Tshs, c. A total of 150 potential members were pre-registered pending payment of dues. These potential members pledged to pay the membership fees by between December 2015 and January SENSITIZED 700+ Farmers 20+ Processors & Traders MEMBERSHIP 253 Registered MEMBERSHIP 253 Registered FEES (Tshs) 5000 Annual Membership 2000 Member card processing 4

5 iii WaLETS: Validation Of Policy Recommendations Workshop 1. One of the WaLETS project outputs is a critical assessment of relevant policies, strategies, regulatory frameworks and investment, at regional and national levels, identifying strengths and weaknesses with respect to suitable and equitable fd systems. It is in the same line that after a thorough and critical assessment of relevant Uganda policies, a workshop was organized to validate the recommendations from the analysis. 2. The workshop was enriched with various participants who had expertise in trade, gender, environment, climate change, agriculture, soil scientists to mention a few. To validate the policy recommendations, the participants were divided into two groups which discussed the policy recommendation they had been allocated. Group presentation and discussions lead to policy recommendations validation. There is need to use most recent statistics to identify policy gaps issues and back it with most up to date statistics. In addition, it was noted that use of institutional literature is key in getting authentic information and statistics rather than individual reports and studies. 3. However, in the discussion, the following key aspects were highlighted to be given priority during policy review and formulation: Complimentarily and harmonization of the policy is very important and this is done by the sector. Furthermore, the sector component group/review always holds a forum to harmonize the synergies from the various sections. The sector forums are in-charge of determining priorities that are reflected in the budget. There is need to identify all the possible policies pertaining the policy component that needs to be reviewed because some of the issues could be addressed in one or the other policy There is need to know the stage at which the policy is, so that appropriate steps are followed during the policy review process. 5

6 ... VECO EAC is working towards improving competitiveness of smallholder rice production, specifically, improvement of quality of rice across the entire value chain. 6

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