Knowledge is power

20 May 2009, Rome – An FAO training manual on how to run an agribusiness is now available online that will assist the organisers of farmer’s cooperatives and associations in developing countries improve the economic security of their members. 

 “All over the world agriculture is increasingly driven by the market. For small-scale producers and traders to survive they need to know how to manage their firms and farms in the market place,” said Doyle Baker, Chief of FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division.  

Basic skills needed
 
“Producers and processors need basic skills that they haven’t had the chance to learn. Not every farmer and processor will become an agribusiness specialist but their organisations can help them to cope with the new market place. That is why we developed the manual,” Baker said. 

The course was designed by FAO experts in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture and is available online and in CD-Rom and booklet form in English and Spanish with regionally and linguistically adapted case studies. It will also be available in French soon. 

“This training course will improve the agribusiness management capabilities of small-scale producers and the managers and technicians of their associations to enable them to respond better to new market opportunities and the threats of increased competition”, said Geoffrey Mrema, Director of FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division.  

Remaining competitive

It is often not in production that small-scale food processors struggle but in the management of their businesses and they need support to become or remain competitive on world markets. “People that are involved in organising farmers often make the mistake of thinking that all you have to do is get farmers organised and the rest will fall in place,” said Mrema. “But what we see is that management is the hard part because farmers aren’t used to concepts such as marketing.” 

The training course includes interactive information on agro-food systems and chains, how to organize and improve the planning process of producer associations, post harvest and marketing information and business management for small-scale agro-processors.  

Among the case studies cited in the training manual are a frozen broccoli and cauliflower business in Mexico, a ChiangMai vegetables processing in Thailand and a honey bush tea cooperative of subsistence farmers in South Africa.