Our Projects
Prorustica breaks ground with Public Private Partnerships
Prorustica’s successful partnership model facilitates communication between stakeholders while ensuring that investments are properly coordinated within commodity supply chains by supplying supportive infrastructure and other enabling mechanisms. The partnerships we develop - as a neutral facilitator – play a vital role in helping smallholders to get access to both finance and profitable markets.
Tanzania Agricultural Partnership (TAP) We set up a local facilitation team that brought the world’s leading agribusiness players into a cutting-edge partnership. TAP coordinates public and private organisations to enhance access to inputs like seeds and fertilizers for Tanzanian farmers and improve their output markets by means of efficient value chains facilitated by the partnership.
Malawi Agricultural Partnership (MAP) We work with Africa-based organizations who know and understand socially-driven business models. Prorustica have helped build up local facilitation and partnership building expertise through the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC). AICC is working with us to replicate, improve and expand the Prorustica PPP model in a groundbreaking “coalition network” with an initial focus on scaling up quality cotton and rice production
Ghana Grains Partnership (GGP) With our local partner, MMA, we are coordinating international and local partners in the implemention and up-scaling of a grains partnership which involves smallholder development, the use of high quality agricultural inputs and the introduction of commercial bank lending to farmers.
Agricultural Growth Corridors: Beira & Dar es Salaam Our most recent work includes the design of large-scale multi-partner Agricultural Growth Corridor programmes in both Mozambique and Tanzania. Our neutral brokerage role is vital to the success of these large-scale partnerships as we coordinate key activities designed to bring about lasting change in the corridors.
Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania Prorustica leads on the development of an Investment Blueprint for the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania to be announced at the 2011 World Economic Forum at Davos.
Sustainable Supply Chains - Sub-Saharan Africa
Private Sector Development - Georgia
Sustainable Finance and Risk Mitigation - Eastern Europe
Agribusiness Risk Mitigation - India
Sector Sustainability - UK
Private Sector Development - Italy
Other Prorustica Projects
Sustainable Supply Chains - Sub-Saharan Africa
Under a joint advisory role with Traidcraft, Prorustica is acting as advisor to the Acacia Social Investment Fund. Working with major European investors and buyers in the natural gum sub sector are giving technical input into the formation of a development Fund. The aim of the Fund is to enable a more stable pricing structure for the commodity and to provide farmers with a more constant price to assist their ability to plan in the long term and develop sustainable businesses.
Private Sector Development - Georgia
Prorustica has been contracted by the World Bank to provide a guidance to the World Bank/IFAD supported Rural Development Project. We developed an action plan for the implementation of private sector/SME development, particularly for the wine, citrus and hazelnut sub-sectors. We completed a strategic analysis of the sub-sectors, provided recommendations on investment activities and developed a costed and phased action plan for implementation.
Sustainable Finance and Risk Mitigation - Eastern Europe
Prorustica provided agribusiness finance and risk management expertise for a joint Shorebank/Prorustica programme funded by the European Bank Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Shorebank is a US-based bank involved in social and economic development programmes. Prorustica and Shorebank ran training programmes in value chain assessment and credit delivery for bank personnel involved in agribusiness finance. Recent programmes have included credit and lease finance training for financial institutions in Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia.
Innovative Finance – Sub-Saharan Africa
Prorustica was seconded through Riskill, aDutch company to design a Euro 100 million African Out-Grower Development Fund (AODF) for the German Government (DEG and KfW). The work included the detailed design of a funding facility to support greater access to finance for out-growers (including farmers associations, traders and processors). This took the form of a credit guarantee facility, technical assistance and a Centre of Competence that will be focused on supporting local banks in their financing of out-grower schemes across Africa.
Agribusiness Risk Mitigation - Ghana
Prorustica is working with one of the leading agricultural companies in Ghana on the development of a pension scheme for one of the largest cocoa associations in the country. The scheme has been designed to provide for both a personal savings account and a retirement account for an initial 17,000 farmers and their families. This is one of the first such schemes to be designed in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sector Sustainability - UK
A Prorustica Agribusiness Specialist was hired by a leading London-based fund manager to review and incorporate investment criteria to be used within ‘Sector Sustainability Blueprints.’ Prorustica helped to create Corporate and Social Responsibility Checklists for the fund manager when analyzing companies involved in primary agricultural production and sourcing from emerging markets.
Private Sector Development - Italy
Prorustica assisted IFAD to design and implement a strategy for greater private sector involvement in its programmes. Working at board-level, three consultants led a team to analyze private sector partnerships, including the development of new methodologies, products, solutions and capabilities to establish more effective and sustainable relationships with private sector partners. The Strategy Paper was approved by the IFAD Board in early 2006.
Agricultural Growth Corridors: Beira & Dar es Salaam
Overview
The Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor (BAGC) initiative was tabled at the World Economic Forum held in Davos in January 2009. The aim is to bring together private and public sector stakeholders to stimulate a major revival of agriculture along the corridor, with significant social and economic benefits for the region.
Introduced at the Africa World Economic Forum in Dar es Salaam in May 2010, The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) aims to stimulate major investment in commercial agriculture in southern Tanzania and through to Zambia, Malawi and DRC in ways that deliver direct benefits for smallholder farmers and rural communities. SAGCOT has attracted the personal support of H.E. President Kikwete as a means of implementing Tanzania’s Kilimo Kwanza (“agriculture first”) initiative
The adoption of these corridor approaches is not new but other initiatives have tended to focus on road and rail improvement and associated infrastructure. In this case there is an established and direct link between infrastructure and agricultural market development.
Background
Prorustica and key partners are piloting a new type of agricultural development known as Agricultural Growth Corridors. These aim to improve input efficiency and infrastructure management in Mozambique and Tanzania as a catalyst for wider agricultural growth across the region.
The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania and the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor are the two initial corridor initiatives that are bringing together public and private-sector stakeholders to stimulate a major revival of agriculture along the corridors, with significant social and economic benefits for the region.
For many parts of Africa with high agricultural potential the urgent challenge is to catch up with international competitors, many of whom already benefit from good infrastructure and mature agribusiness clusters. Achieving this will not be easy: the private sector is reluctant to invest in agricultural situations in Sub-Saharan Africa unless it can be assured of access to affordable infrastructure, and a supportive policy and business environments; conversely governments and state utility companies are unlikely to commit significant public resources to building out infrastructure in rural areas where there is only limited commercial farming activity, and hence low demand for services.
The agricultural growth corridor model is a way of breaking the impasse and catalysing large volumes of private investment and enabling high potential agricultural regions to become internationally competitive.At the forefront of Partnership development, Prorustica’s role has been to work on the development of the concept, build investment blueprints to offer partners a roadmap for commercial agricultural development and develop partnership secretariats to manage and coordinate implementation. We are focused on drawing in commercial agribusiness operations (including outgrower programmes) within the corridors to help create economies of scale and improve competitiveness.
Partnership
Prorustica was tasked with co-partners in leading in the development of the concept and the main investment blueprints for the two programmes. Prorustica is also establishing the partnership principles and the Secretariats that will coordinate activities along the corridors.
Prorustica has identified local partnership secretariats in Dar es Salaam and Beira who will work with us to coordinate activities including relevant finance to help “crowd in” commercial agribusiness operations within the corridor. The secretariats will also help to ensure public and private sector programmes and investments are properly targeted and coordinated along the corridor.
We are also working with these Partnerships to identify areas with high agricultural potential and reasonable possible access to existing backbone infrastructure to enhance commercial agriculture. We are also analyzing the constraints on commercial agriculture and explaining how these can be honestly and openly addressed through management and mitigation.
The strength of the partnerships will depend on a mixture of incentives, benefits and goodwill. These include a commercial focus in line with broader government agendas, the inclusion of both smallholders and commercial agribusiness entities and responsive, pro-active coordination of access to financial and technical support.
Achievements
- The Concept of Agricultural Corridors launched in UN General Assembly in New York in 2008 and endorsed at the World Economic Forum in Davos in early 2009
- BAGC and SAGCOT Concept Notes endorsed by respective Governments with green light given to develop full investment Blueprints and Partnership Framework
- The BAGC is underway after the Investment Blueprint was endorsed by the main partners at Davos in early 2010 and has already attracted substantial funding from development partners
- Eight multinationals, a number of development partners and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania have provided funding for the development of an SAGCOT Investment Blueprint, to be presented by H.E. Kikwete at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2011
Ghana Grains Partnership (GGP)
Overview
The Ghana Grains Partnership (GGP) is a cutting edge private-public partnership that aims to strengthen the Ghanaian grain market, allowing farmers to increase production while supporting the development of local and regional markets.
Prorustica has provided strategic and technical input since 2007 with specific support in partnership mediation along the value chain, development of business plans/financial proposals and negotiation in other finance needs with banks.
Background
The assumption underpinning the GGP is an agreed national shortfall of 300,000 ‐ 400,000 metric tones (MTS) of maize and other grains in Ghana. This shortfall can be met through improved efficiencies in the grain value chain if undertaken with a professionally coordinated and market‐led value chain development approach. The aim is to take a grains development programme to scale by contracting smallholder farmers (minimum 5 acres) to grow maize that is purchased by a farmer association.
To attain the stated aims of the partnership in terms of maize production requires the use of additional and appropriate fertilizers, seeds and chemicals. From the commercial players’ perspective such a partnership provides both clear market opportunities and an ability to diversify markets while mitigating risk. Taking such a programme to scale also creates efficiencies in the value chain and enhanced competitiveness.
The GGP gives commercial partners (including farmers and their associations, seed and chemical companies, transporters and extension agents) with the opportunity to increase sales and for suppliers to diversify their sales portfolio. It also provides the companies with the opportunity to replicate the project in other commodities.
Partnership
The GGP requires a coordinated and focused approach to increased production of food grains. Key partners are undertaking this through a systematic and planned approach to inputs distribution and finance all along the value chain.
One of the central components of the GGP is the newly established Maize Association, Mazara N’Arziki, that manages the farmer activities, purchases inputs for and on behalf of the farmer members, supports the operation and provides accessible finances to members. The aim is to create a sustainable and profitable association which covers its running costs by purchasing and storing maize and the margin earned by on-lending.
Masara Aziki is dedicated solely to developing the project, through which the commercial partners and the farmers expect to realize their turnover and profit figures. Yara and Wienco are co-founders and providers of the inputs, with each making significant cash contributions to the Association.
Achievements
- There is a harmonized and risk-sharing approach to establishing the Association
- A comprehensive marketing strategy has been developed and awareness campaigns were launched in the local press
- Commercial short term loans secured by the Association for on lending to farmers to purchase inputs
- Prorustica has also worked with the partners to secure “matching grant” funding from the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund that has been used to develop and expand the Association
- The newly established Association, provides support for farmer training and extension, to purchase small-scale infrastructure and machinery, provide short term credit and purchase maize from farmers at harvest
- Farmers are assured of a guaranteed maize price, good technical support (correct seeds and fertilizers), financial support and access to reliable markets
Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania
SAGCOT, the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania, brings together public and private sector investment to promote transformational improvements in agricultural productivity.
Prorustica is currently involved in the development of the SAGCOT partnership organization that will help coordinate and guide investments. New financing facilities, including “social venture capital” (for start-up businesses) and “patient capital” (long-term debt) will help new farming and processing operations get established and become internationally competitive.
The result will triple the area's agricultural output, with anticipated benefits including:
- approximately 350,000 hectares brought into profitable production
- tens of thousands of smallholders becoming commercial farmers, with access to irrigation and weather insurance, at least 420,000 new employment opportunities created in the agricultural value chain
- more than two million people permanently lifted out of poverty
- and annual farming revenues of $1.2 billion
Initiated at the World Economic Forum on Africa in May 2010, SAGCOT is an international partnership of global agriculture businesses which include:
- Unilever
- Yara International
- Diageo
- Syngenta
- Dupont
- Monsanto
- Stanbic
- USAID
- The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
- The Food and Agriculture Organisation
- Norfund
- The Norwegian Embassy
- Tanzanian businesses and farmer groups
- Tanzanian government
Malawi Agricultural Partnership (MAP)
Overview
In 2007, Prorustica, working with Yara initiated a value chain project that aimed to build on the success of Malawi’s fertilizer subsidy program.
Drawing on experience from Prorustica’s similar projects in Tanzania and Ghana, it was agreed that there was a need to engage the entire value chain in a coordinated programme of initiatives related to agricultural development.
It also sought to combine commercial and developmental objectives – including an investment plan to alleviate the systematic problems in the fertilizer supply chain – involving joint risk-sharing between government, the private sector and donors.
Prorustica initially helped establish local facilitation and partnership building skills. Working closely with the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) we worked with them to replicate, improve and expand the Prorustica PPP model.
Background
To support Malawi’s progress in the fertilizer subsidy programmes, Prorustica was asked by Yara and other local partners to help design and facilitate a partnership and related value chain project. The project’s initial focus was to make the subsidy programme more effective and cost-efficient and to reduce costs along the fertilizer supply chain.
The Malawi Agricultural Partnership’s initial focus is on the development of more effective rice and cotton value chains that includes more effective and sustainable inputs use.
The Partnership
The partners within the Cotton Development Partnership (CDP) include the main commercial players in the sub-sector in Malawi including seed companies. In the Rice Partnership the group of partners is more focused with a pilot initiative involving a smaller group made up of a commercial millers/traders, seed companies, fertilizer suppliers and farmer Associations.
From the public sector the partnership includes local authorities and the Norwegian Government who is funding the facilitation process.
The CDP has set up a board of trustees and is working with Prorustica/AICC on four key thematic groups:
- Research, Extension & Production (including input development)
- Pricing & Marketing
- Credit & Financing
- Policy & Regulation
Each of the thematic groups has devised activities that contribute to the goals of the Trust. AICC/Prorustica is currently coordinating these.
The Rice Partnership is more focused with a pilot initiative involving a smaller group made up of a commercial millers/traders, seed companies, fertilizer suppliers and farmer Associations.
Achievements
The Rice Partnership has established an investment blueprint detailing each partner’s commitments and responsibilities. The key players have agreed to coordinate activities.
The programme works with 1600 rice farmers concentrating on improving the production systems.
Demonstration plots have been set up. These are hosted by lead farmers and are used to illustrate recommended rice management practices.
To help facilitate and create awareness of a viable market AICC/Prorustica have developed a marketing model that stipulates the quantity, variety and type of rice that will be bought by a particular buyer in the partnership arrangement.
There are currently three main buyers working with the partnership to purchase the rice produced.