Team Wazua, I need you to poke holes, advise, critique, question, add ideas etc in an idea I have. The objective of the project is as the subject says. Empower peasants farmers back in the village economically. Tere are so many people living not so good lives economically. Despite there being resources like Land and water, there remains challenges that has made wealth creation for the majority a mirage. I have broken the issues into the following:

RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
1. Land
2. Water
3. Hardworking people
4. Numbers(Can mobilise about 10,000 people to form a group)

CHALLENGES:
1. Source of Capital
2. Lack of Market for produce
3. No compensation for crops destroyed by adverse weather.
4. No access to modern farming practices
5. Greedy brokers
6. Lack of leadership
7. Small scale projects that cant give the individual farmer any bargaining power on all touch points of the farming.

OPPORTUNITY
1. Fix the funding
2. Fix the market
3. Fix Insurance
4. Fix the way farming is done

REQUIREMENTS:
1. Type of crop to pilot with
2. A ready market
3. A willing financier
4. A willing Micro-Insurer

SUGGESTED MODEL
1). Organize the farmers into groups. Target would be having about 10,000 farmers there growing the produce together. This would make it easier to train them in acceptable modern farming standards and practices. The easiet crop to start with would be horticulture, specifically, French peas
2). There are several companies that could offer the market for such eg Homegrown, East Africa Growers etc. If one of them is willing, they would guarantee that they shall buy the french peas once they are ready at an pre-agreed price. So market is sorted.
3). Approach a micro-finance/Bank that is willing to fund this activity. The bank shall not give cash to the farmers. Instead, we shall identify agents who sell the farm inputs (seed, fertilizer, chemicalsetc) where the registered farmers shall go collect the farm inputs and the bank shall pay for them.
4.) At very small rates, the micro-insurer shall insure the the produce against adverse effects like rain and drought. The insurance shall be factored in the financers rates such thus the farmers shall not be expected to pay any cash directly

EXECUTION
1. Register the farmers
2. Bring the different stakeholders on the table(The BUYER OF PRODUCE,The FINANCIER, The INSURER, The FARM INPUTS AGENT, The FARMERS' REPRESENTATIVES) to agree on all the terms.
3. The farmer applies for the financing, the bank authorises and sends them a shopping voucher with specifics of what has been approved, the farmer takes the voucher to an agent and redeems farm inputs, the farmer goes to plant.
4. The buyer will be sending field officers to train farmers and offer other such support.
5. After 3 months when the produce is ready, the farmer harvests, takes the produce to the buyer who records clearly how much has been produced.
6. The Buyer shall not pay the farmer directly but rather through the financier. The financier deducts the cash they led to the farmer and gives the remaider to the farmer.

=>The farmer makes money
=>The financing bank makes their money from the interest. They are also happy coz the produce is insured in case of complete failure. They are also happy coz of the power of numbers. If each farmer is led KES 5,000, for 10,000 farmers that would be 50,000,000. At 10% pa, that would be good business.
=>The buyer has an assured source thus they are able to supply their customers overseas or wherever.
=> The agent is happy for the "guaranteed" sales

All parties are able to bargain for favourable terms since they are able to ride on the numbers involved...Thus

1. Lower lending rates for the farmers
2. Lower farm inputs prices from the agent
3. Lower Insurance rates from the insurer(Some financing organization also does insurance so that could be a better combination)
4. Better prices for the farmers(No broker)

There you are. Would this model work? What are the loopholes? Do you think there are institutions out there that would be willing to enter into such an arrangement?

I respect you boss but huku utapata mawaidha timamu kweli si ungepeleka huku market/sme/investor for the sane goggless Kenyans to advice.

@Mukiri, I dont wana be a gavana. I wouldnt be ready to go through the routes that most of them go through to be gavanas. And even if I wanted, 10k people wouldnt make me one. For now its purely business. If I got someone who can run with it and use it for whatever they want, I wouldnt mind as long as at the end of the day, the farmers are empowered.

@KingG, thanks for that. I get your point. I hope even on this popular side I can get a few points. Its still an idea at this stage so feedback is welcome from all quaters. Najua lady admin will move it soon.

Aha. What number would you suggest @Am? 1000? 500? I dont wana bite too much you know.

Thank you. I appreciate your contribution.

@mkonomtupu The system is currently broken...Brokers all over hovering to pick from the few farmers who av afforded to farm. Others will farm and when its harvest time, their produce wont be touched because they used the wrong mix of chemicals. Others want to farm but they dont have a way of getting funds. Institutions has money to led but the farmers are not in any organized way where the institution can fund, thus the risk of lending to individual farmers is too high....Its a whole complex thing that leads to a lose-lose situation. How do you suggest we fix it for now? I want a way where these guys can afford to utilise the land instead of leaving it idle and suffering in poverty. I would appreciate your idea on the same.

@washiku, my first business was that of a broker buying maize horticulture from farmers in December, you had to buy the best produce because that's what the consumer wants. You buy only from the very best farmers with good produce. That's the way the market works it helps those who help themselves and does not forgive those who don't know what they are doing. I burnt my fingers trying being nice to farmers by buying produce which was below consumer standards to assist farmers get school fees, medical bills. I didn't see those farmers coming to assist me so please please come to river road sometimes huko nyamakima na marikiti and see how the brokers and the market works it's very very unforgiving.

My idea is to let the market work those farmers will naturally up their game to match consumer tastes and standards just like any other producer. You start organizing them you will end up like the coffee sector wachana nayo!!!

Thanks guys...I am taking notes. Thnks @Bigchick & @Mkonomtupu

10000 is more than enough to form a farmers co-operative society!

Try the value chain way. Example:

Chicken business

1. 100 farmers who have minimum x amount of land each recruited (they provide land)
2. 50 youths from the area recruited, trained on how to make the best chicken coops, maintenance. Equip them with tools and skills (they provide high quality chicken quarters and maintenance at competitive rates to no. 1)
3. 100 farmers trained to hatch. let them devise best practice on hatching and breeding chicks to 30 days. (they provide chicks to no.1 on competitive basis)
4. 3 x 50 farmers each to build a chicken feed facility and produce high quality feed; best quality/ best price basis.
5. 100 farmers to be mobilized for marketing the chicken products. Give them specialized training and build their specialization. They shall compete with best prices at farm gate.
6. Each group above to second 3 members to a management company that ensures capacity building , training, fund raising....