Food scarcity is not a new phenomenon. Food imports into Africa since 2014 have been estimated at USD 50 Billion. Poor utilization of available arable land fit for agricultural production, post-harvest losses estimated at 40%, declining productivity, farm degradation and poor production management are all challenges that investors in agribusiness are faced with.
Other key challenges investors face include difficulty in marketing their produce, managing their farms while working in cities, evaluating viable agribusiness enterprises to venture into, accessing funding from financiers for their agribusiness ventures and falling prey to “fake” consultants, which results in huge investment losses.
The Investing in Agribusiness Primary Production Programme will seek to explore various ways of creating wealth in agricultural production, by addressing the various challenges that face primary production investors, and will provide access to financing as well as routes to markets.
The programme is also designed to help potential investors develop the right agribusiness investment ideas, equip themselves with research skills in a dynamic sector, develop viable business plans and manage their farm working capital.
For Who?
This programme is designed for Investment Groups (Chamas), co-operatives, individuals, companies in primary production, current farmers in primary production agriculture, government executives, non-government policy advisors and aspiring investors.
Programme Delivery
The programme will be delivered in two modules that incorporate a mixture of class sessions and farm visits. In addition, the programme will seek to expose the participants to successful entrepreneurs in the production field as well as experts in the financing field and potential buyers.
Key Benefits
Participants will be able to:
Explore market sector data on production value chains
Develop practical farm plan and business plan for funding if need be
Understand your products route to market
Understand the factors to consider in selecting a farming enterprise
Understand how to hedge risks in agribusiness
Understand how to structure and manage labour in your farm
Understand the opportunities in agribusiness production
Get an opportunity to network with top agribusiness entrepreneurs in the various sectors
I gained the confidence to get into full-time commercial farming on my 20 acres of land. In the past year I have increased my harvest from 1.32 tonnes to 2.2 tonnes per harvest per acre, and this year I plan to increase my production by expanding my farm.
Alex Muinde
Primary Producer - Kitui County
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