Sustainable & Inclusive Maize Value Chain – SIM VC

Agricultural Markets Development Trusts (AMDT) through BRITEN

Njombe, Songwe and Rukwa Regions of Tanzania

SIM VC is a value chain development project that aims at contributing in strengthening ties between producer and the private sector through increasing their outreach, facilitation of embedded services by service providers, strengthening horizontal and vertical linkages, not just for producers but also service providers, advocacy to improve relationships leading to upgrading of products, processes, functions and market channels for maize in Njombe, Songwe and Rukwa Regions. 

SIM VC project expected results are linked to the following specific objectives;

1. Strengthened capacities of smallholder maize farmers and farmers groups (associations, cooperatives and informal groups) to enhance productivity and post harvest losses;
2. Increased smallholder farmer access to maize markets through farmer organizations (FOs); and
3. Improved infrastructure and management of postharvest facilities, especially storage. 

From the above overall objective and the expected results, the interventions undertaken through the assignment were supposed to contribute to the results and the objective through the following: 

1. Encouraging farmers organizations and SMEs’ along the maize value chain to procure business development services that increase competitiveness and production efficiency, through market assessment and linkages, use of technology, and improvement to business planning and management.
2. Support on FOs business plan development for various management uses, including financial services access.
3. Target: 5,000 farmer organizations sensitized on products and 5 SMEs ready to take up financial products.

Sundy Merchants was engaged to provide services for organizational capacity development for farmer organizations (FOs). The following are the areas of interventions the company prepared to respond to the capacity assessment that was carried beforehand.

• Capacity building to board members in terms of training to areas related with good leadership and FOs governance, entrepreneurship, negotiation skills, record keeping, financial management, contractual arrangement, markets and marketing.
• Coaching on areas related with leadership, strategic management, entrepreneurship, negotiation skills, markets and marketing, and financial management.
• Introduction of operational and management systems to FOs and other key policies like operational manual, financial and human resources management and policy through trainings, mentoring and coaching.
• Support development of business plans to some FOs for various uses including access to financial resources from financial institutions.
• Support the introduction of para professionals’ model to FOs through trainings and coaching.
• General training on good agronomic and post harvesting practices, maize quality management and control, members’ responsibility to their FOs to farmers and/or FO members. This was supposed to be done in collaboration with the introduced para professionals and key LGA officials (cooperative and agricultural departments.
• Coaching and mentoring issues related to contracts with various services providers and search for markets..

Market Systems Development, Participatory Capacity Building through Action Learning and Incubation Processes as well as Market Linkages.