agriaccess - company profile ghana... · 2018-07-11 · farmer groups, which have an elected...
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COMPANY PROFILE
background
Agriaccess Ghana Limited is a limited liability company incorporated under the Ghana Company code, 1963 (ACT 179), by
the registrar general department with registration number CA-96,354 in the year 2011. The company was formed out of
strong desire to transform lives and impact society through Agriculture, which serves as the major sector for employment
and likelihood for our rural
communities in Ghana.
Agriaccess Limited has positioned itself as a leading sorghum aggregator in Ghana, supporting thousands of farmers in the
process. In 2014, the company committed US$1.27 million in investment to provide inputs to the out-grower market.
Located in Wa, in the Upper West region of Ghana, Agriaccess established the country’s first ever sorghum supply chain; a
value chain that did not exist ten years ago. Using a combination of its own farms, out-grower contracts, and guarantees to
farmers, the company began with 50 metric tonnes of sorghum production and has increased to nearly 6,000 metric
tonnes over the years.
Sorghum can be a difficult crop to grow in this region of the world, often offering low yields. Agriaccess has tackled this and
a number of hurdles by instituting innovative solutions. The company is currently the largest supplier of sorghum to Ghana
Guinness Breweries Limited (GGBL), with an annual supply contract of 4,000 metric tonnes. Agriaccess is the first company
in Ghana to implement a legally binding contract between aggregators and an off-taker. The three-year contract with GGBL
runs through 2017, and gives some security to the otherwise volatile local sorghum market, allowing farmers to commit
more resources without fear of risk.
Our Objectives Becoming stalwart in enhancing agricultural commodity production and marketing in
both local and international markets by building a competitive edge in quality andquantity of supplies;
Establishing a vibrant and formidable lead in the supply chain management in ouroperational theme, working to ensure accountability, integrity, reliability, accessibilityand dependability with our stakeholders;
And also to improve the living standards of farmers by improving performance toreducing post harvests loses by adhering to best practices and methods, with theapplication of modern technology.From its inception till now, Agriaccess Ghana Limited can boldly Affirm based on itsproduction and operations that these Objectives are being met and even exceeded.
Core BusinessAgriaccess Ghana limited in its business operation seeks to undertake the following:1. To 1.Produce, Supply and trade in Agricultural Commodities;2. Supply of farm inputs to farmers;3. To Facilitate farmers to access farm machinery, warehousing and post harvest facilities;4. To Disseminate new technologies to farmers through research;5. To serve as financial intermediary to farmers (Access to Credit).
SERVICES PROVIDED
Technical Services
Input Supplies
Business Development
• Training on best agronomical practices through SARI, MoFA etc
• Extension services and on-farm demonstrations through our Field officers and MoFA extension officers
• Provision of inputs such as fertilizer, seed, ploughing services etc.
• Provision of post-harvest materials such us tarpaulins
• Training in business development and commercialization of their activities
• Training on record keeping and cost analysis
STRUCTURESADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
MANAGING DIRECTOR
SITE MANAGER
SITE SUPERVISOR
SITE WORKIERS
FEILD OFFICERSPROCUREMENT
OFFICER
OPERATIONS MANAGER
STRUCTURES: RELATIONSAL STRUCTURE
structures
STRUCTURE: INPUT SUPPORT & TRACKING
• Agriaccess has extension officers who monitor the fields
and support nucleus farmers to ensure they provide support to
out-growers with regards to best agronomy practices, inputs
supply/application and post-harvest management issues.
• Out-growers are organized through community based
farmer groups, which have an elected executive member
(called lead farmer). Agriaccess’ nucleus farmers currently
manage 200-500 farmers each.
• The nucleus farmer signs up the farmers and hands the
contracts over to the Agriaccess’ extension officers or field
officer. These officers, unlike the nucleus farmers, are
company employees. The extension officer organizes the
inputs and supplies them with the lead farmer. They visits 1-3
times per month and assesses the advancement of the group’s
production and the distribution/application of the inputs.
SORGHUM
FROM
FARMER
TO
OFTAKER
FARMERS
Cultivation, Threshing and
bagging
NUCLEUS FARMER
Mobilization & payment
AGRIACCESS GHANA LIMITED
Quality checks, Rebagging and
loading to GGBL
• Once sorghum is planted and it goes through all the stages till harvesting, it is the duty of the farmer to thresh and bag them.
• Once they have been bagged, Agriaccess field officers together with the nucleus farmer go round and weigh the bagged sorghum so as to confirm the quantities produced by the individual farmers in order to prepare and come back for payment and mobilization
• After weights have been confirmed, field Officers together with the Nucleus farmer set a date/timeline for mobbing the produce, this is communicated to the individual farmers.
• On the set dates, field officers together with the nucleus farmer go round to pickup sorghum and then also buy any excesses after the farmer has paid off he’s/her credit.
Operations: NUCLEUS FARMER MODEL
AgriAccess uses a “nucleus” system, grouping farmers in teams of five to eight. Each group then
“elects their leader to serve as the contact and the mouthpiece of the group, Prices are mutually
agreed upon based on the cost of production for the season.” Agreed-upon prices remain fixed,
typically for a year. In this model, aggregators provide all inputs to smallholders on a credit basis,
to be repaid after the harvest.
While issues in working with smallholders still sometimes arise, the nucleus model discourages
common problems like side-selling, diversion of inputs, and under-declaration of produce. If one
farmer is found engaging in misconduct or in breach of agreements, the entire group is held
accountable. The threat of collective consequences deters farmers from engaging in
malpractices, lest they incriminate the entire group. The nucleus farmer selects his farmers on
the bases of credibility and integrity because he must come from the community and must be
resident in the community. Placing responsibility for credit repayment on a member situated
within the community, instead of on an outside credit lender, results in a much less default rate
than in traditional smallholder models.
Pricing Model
• Prices are reviewed annually
• Cost of production is the basis for pricing
• Prices are mutually agreed upon and once agreed remains fixed
for the period.
• Inputs and all services provided by Agriaccess are on credit and
repaid with sorghum after harvest.
• The sorghum received is then processed, packaged and delivered
to the off-taker - GGBL.
Operations: SCOPE OF OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS
NUCLEUS FARMER
MANAGEMENT
EXTENSION SERVICES
DEMO FEILDS
CLEANING AND
BAGGING SITE
GGBL
Invoicing
Document tracking
IMPACT ASSESSMENT over 2000 farmers provided with credit; received training and extension advise
Other beneficiaries:- over 3000 farmers guaranteed market access (farmers who sell
their sorghum to GGBL through AGL)
Over 200 temporal jobs created in the value chain and 12 permanent employees
Other Jobs Created: there are others created along the chain such as input suppliers,
transporters that are difficult to quantify. For example so far we’ve generated over
GHS300,000 to transporters .
Revenue to Districts and Municipal Assemblies- we contribute to the local government
revenue generation. We have so far paid GHS39,200 as revues to the local authorities
and in transforming the livelihood of rural farmers. Many are able to build better
homes, pay their children school fees etc.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: FARMER DATA
6000
1200015000
20,000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
2011 2012 2013 2014
Farmer number growth
FARMER GROWTH
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
2011 2014 2013 2014
MALE 4200 8040 9600 13000
FEMALE 1800 3960 5400 7000
Axis
Tit
le
Gender Impact and Growth
SORGHUM: THE CROP
PROTOCOLSAgriaccess Current
Operations Machine/Implement Days after Sowing
Land Clearing (especially for new lands) Manual -14
Ploughing Tractor -7
Harrowing Manual -2
Planting (untreated seed) Manual 0
Weeding Thinning and Transplanting Manual 14
Basal Fertilizer (NPK) application Manual 14-21 (done after weeding
and depending on moisture conditions)
Second fertilizer (SA) application-Top Dressing Manual
35-40
Second Weeding(Ridging Manual 35-40 ( after top dressing)
Monitoring at each stage of the activities to ensure compliance
Bi-weekly visits thereafter till harvesting
Supply Volumes (MT)
Sorghum head
1960
3600
4500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Agriaccess Revenue
-
500,000.00
1,000,000.00
1,500,000.00
2,000,000.00
2,500,000.00
3,000,000.00
3,500,000.00
4,000,000.00
4,500,000.00
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Revenue
Amount GHS USD
CHALLENGES/CONSTRAINS
Constraints include.
1. Lack of certified seeds to increase production, Most of our farmers are using
seeds for the past five years, which has reduced the potential of the seed
because of cross pollination.
2. Delay in input supplies: Fertilizer which is crucial to the main production
sometimes come late due to delays from suppliers, which impacts negatively on
the yield.
3. Cleaning facilities: We need a modern cleaning facility to process sorghum to
meet GGBL standard and also improve on the delivery cycle. Cleaning could
separate the seed size and purity to meet the standard of GGBL. ( however
currently this is being worked on together with GGBL)
4. Lack of farm Machinery: Tractors, threshers, harvesters and other machinery
needed to produce on large scale are lacking. The difficulty farmers go through
to harvest, thresh and store sorghum does not give them the appetite to produce
on large scale.