Cultivating Making Agribusiness Collaboration Work for Development Collective Impact
2018
Network Results
AERES
About AgriProFocus
Agriterra Bejo Both ENDS CBI Edukans Fair&Sustainable Consulting Friesland Campina Heifer Nederland Heineken Hivos The Hunger Project ICCO ICRA ITC - University of Twente KIT
CULTIVATING COLLABORATION Making agribusiness work for development through transformative partnerships Few of the challenges humanity faces are as urgent and complex as food security. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing world population, an unparalleled, worldwide effort is required. Members of the AgriProFocus Network are dedicated to meeting this challenge in collaboration. By working together, learning from each other and unitedly pushing for change.
MDF Oikocredit Oxfam Novib Partners for Innovation PUM Rabobank RijkZwaan RVO SNV Soil&More Solidaridad Van Hall Larenstein Wageningen UR Woord en Daad ZOA
AgriProFocus brings together farmers, agribusinesses, civil society, knowledge institutes and governments. United in diversity, our members show that agribusiness and development are not mutually exclusive. Together, we find new, sustainable ways of creating impact with business. Exchanging perspectives and expecting the unexpected. Cultivating collaboration through linking, learning and leadership.
LINKING - Build successful partnerships: AgriProFocus helps you find the right people to solve problems and do business with. Whether you are looking for change makers in the agri-food sector or partners to solve specific challenges with. Our network connects (un)usual suspects, facilitates innovative ways of working together and stimulates long term collaboration. AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
LEARNING - Expand your expertise: AgriProFocus facilitates exciting learning environments aimed at innovating your business. Our members share best practices, experiences and failures in order to learn from and with each other. Reflection and sense-making around specific issues are key in our learning processes.
LEADERSHIP - Find your leverage: AgriProFocus is the space for you to set and influence the agenda in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. Our network aims to change both the ways of working and the rules of the game in the agri-food sector. By collectively improving the business environment for agripreneurs, we make sure impact is made at scale.
1
“AgriProFocus is putting member collaboration again at the heart of our work, with the primary focus on organising members to create impact together.�
2
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Sander Mager Managing Director AgriProFocus After years of decline, the number of undernourished people worldwide has risen in the past three years from 784 million in 2015 to 821 million in 2017. These are levels from almost a decade ago. We are facing a fast-approaching due date: to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030 by sustainably transforming agri-food systems. Despite all efforts and individual successes, the world is not on track to realise Sustainable Development Goal 2. This reality, and the conviction that we can accelerate progress if we collaborate more, better and deeper, are at the heart of the new AgriProFocus strategy ‘Making Agribusiness Work for Development’, which we have started implementing in 2018. AgriProFocus is putting member collaboration again at the heart of our work, with the primary focus on organising members to create impact together. Members do not work together with the network, but work together through the network. We have developed signature network solutions on linking, learning and leadership to facilitate this collaboration. These network solutions support our members to share their evidence and lessons learned on transforming food systems to reduce hunger and malnutrition. We facilitate new collaborations and opportunities to scale up and scale out those innovations that can disrupt business-as-usual and accelerate progress. AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Our new mission also means a more strict thematic focus on the interplay between private sector development and inclusive green growth, thus we have put more emphasis on the role of SMEs in transforming the agri-food system in low and middle income countries. Under this overall mission four thematic areas are now central in our work: inclusive agribusiness, climate resilient agribusiness, circular economy agribusiness and nutrition sensitive agribusiness. This highlights booklet illustrates some inspiring examples of network activities centered around agripreneurs that strive to combine purpose and profit: making their agribusiness work for development. We have also made important steps to combine the strengths of our networking and impact brokering approach with the knowledge brokering experience we have built up in the former Food and Business Knowledge Partnership, together with our consortium partners Wageningen-CDI and the Broker. We anticipate this to be an opportunity to further develop the initial ideas about a Netherlands Food Partnership to accelerate the Dutch contribution to SDG2. Cultivating collaboration for collective impact.
3
World Map 2018 191 events in 2018
Netherlands (HQ) 16 events 662 members online 17 staff
26,381 members online platform 54 staff (people, not FTE)
Mali
Niger
22 events 1,791 members online 3 staff
13 events 455 members online 3 staff
Ethiopia 15 events 1,984 members online 3 staff
Uganda 6 events 5,812 members online 4 staff
Benin 29 events 1,897 members online 4 staff
Rwanda 9 events 1,995 members online 3 staff
Kenya 27 events 3,154 members online 4 staff
Burundi 1 event 463 members online 3 staff
Zambia
4
9 events 1,561 members online 3 staff
Tanzania 13 events 1,738 members online 1 staff
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Co-creating activities within the network: Number of unique co-organisers: Average number of co-organisers per event: % Dutch members / partners involved in co-organising network events:
203 3 61%
Myanmar 13 events 165 members online 3 staff
Indonesia 14 events 1,816 members online 3 staff
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
5
The Dutch Link - Holland Pavilions across our networks Lucy Asiimwe Twinamasiko Network Coordinator AgriProFocus Uganda: “AgriProFocus is often a facilitating partner for the Dutch Embassies and Trade Mission organisers (such as RVO, NABC and NEC) for Holland Pavilions at big fairs. This fits perfectly with our ambition to cultivate collaboration and create collective impact with our network stakeholders in The Netherlands and in our country networks. Because of our country networks we are able to have a big outreach and realise a thriving networking experience. A perfect example is the Holland Village we organised in Uganda during the Harvest Money Expo in February 2018. We showcased Dutch business solutions, expertise and technologies in dairy, poultry and horticulture and connected them to the Ugandan market. Through our linking and learning services we fostered successful partnerships and made sure stakeholders could expand their reach, expertise and deepen the Dutch understanding of the Ugandan market dynamics. It was such a success that we are partnering again to organise other trade missions during the Harvest Money Expo in 2019 and 2020, while expanding the reach in numbers and introducing solutions for new value chains like piggery.�
6
Uganda Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda - Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) - Netherlands Export Combination (NEC) Trade Mission - Farm/Firm Field Visits - Exhibitions & Demonstrations - Masterclasses - Agribusiness Matchmaking 10,000 visitors to the Harvest Money Expo in 3 days 14 best farmers - 432 participants in masterclasses per day 13 Dutch companies - 13 Dutch-Ugandan companies - 14 Private sector partners of the 4 EKN Dutch Funded Food Security Programs
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Jolke Oppewal Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Mali: “As Embassy we supported a Dutch Pavilion with about thirty stands during the 2-week FEBAK (Foire d'Exposition Internationale de Bamako). We worked closely with AgriProFocus, NABC and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mali. The pavilion gave high visibility to Dutch companies, projects and programmes. Product samples were shown, as well as Dutch development instruments, all related to agri-food, industry and technology. During my visit at the FEBAK I saw proof of the good economic cooperation between the Netherlands and Mali. I can't wait for the 2020 edition!”
Mali
Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Mali NABC Exhibition - Trade Mission
Carian Posthumus-Meijjes Agricultural Attaché for Uganda and Rwanda: “During this years National Agri-Show, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Rwanda combined the presence of Dutch agri-business companies with Dutch NGOs active in the agribusiness sector in Rwanda in a vibrant Holland Pavilion. Companies such as Holland Greentech got a lot of attention by demonstrating the use of hybrid seeds, a small scale irrigation system, best agronomist practices and a solar irrigation system. The Dutch NGOs ICCO, GAIN Rwanda, PUM, Agriterra, Spark and SNV/HortInvest informed visitors of our pavilion on their activities in Rwanda: from strengthening capacities in the agriculture and food security sector to strengthening of youth agripreneurs. During the closing ceremony of the expo the Holland Pavilion was even announced as award-winning pavilion!”
Rwanda
Embassy of The Kingdom of The Netherlands in Rwanda Exhibition - Demonstrations 15 Dutch companies 47,621 in 7 days for the whole Agrishow
27,000 visitors to the FEBAK in 2 weeks 30 exhibitors
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
7
Network in Action - Myanmar: Linking Myanmar students and young professionals to Dutch businesses and organisations in the agri-food sector Interview with Bente Meindertsma - Network Coordinator AgriProFocus Myanmar The Agri-Food Bootcamp is a good example of an AgriProFocus linking, learning and leadership programme! What is it all about? The Agri-Food Bootcamp is organised by AgriProFocus Myanmar in collaboration with the Dutch agribusiness companies and organisations De Heus, East West Seed, Agriterra, Fresh Studio and ICCO. The goal is to link Myanmar students and young professionals to Dutch businesses and organisations in the agri-food sector. Together, we supported Myanmar youth between 18 and 35 years old to participate in an exciting week long training programme in April 2018. We selected a talented and extremely motivated group of 40 participants with diverse backgrounds: students from five different universities, young professionals and agripreneurs. Why is this programme important and what is the role of AgriProFocus? The creativity, fresh ideas and energy of young people are crucial to address the challenges of the Myanmar agribusiness sector. The young talents needed to innovate the agricultural sector have limited knowledge about the opportunities in agriculture and prefer other careers. For most companies and organisations, it is a challenge to
8
find employees with the right training and skills. However, the Myanmar government doesn’t have any policies yet to increase the interest and participation of youth in agribusiness. Our network is well placed to raise awareness among young women and men about the opportunities in the agribusiness sector and link youth and educational institutes to relevant Myanmar and Dutch companies and organisations. What did the young bootcampers learn in that week and what was the role of the Dutch companies? They learned about the daily affairs of agribusiness companies during field visits to the factory of De Heus and East West Seed. Furthermore, they developed skills and capacities needed for a successful agribusiness career in a pitching and presentation training by Sustainable Development for Myanmar, a business model canvas training by ICCO Cooperation and a workshop on value chain analysis by Fresh Studio. Agriterra challenged the participants to advise a Myanmar coffee cooperative on how to address its challenges by using the innovative ideas of youth. What was the outcome of the Bootcamp? During the Bootcamp, the participants AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
We are looking back at a highly successful first edition of the Agri-Food Bootcamp and it will certainly not be the last! Bob Jan Schoot Uiterkamp - Agriterra: “It was fantastic to be surrounded by so much passion, willpower and energy. I am confident that with the drive of all these young people, Myanmar's agricultural sector will be vibrant sooner than expected! Thanks for all Young Stars for giving this spark of hope and I wish you to succeed in realising your dreams!”
worked in groups to develop innovative business solutions to address five challenges shared by the Dutch agribusiness companies and organisations. Tension was rising during the week as all participants only had one goal: winning the Agri-Food Bootcamp 2018! Together with their coaches from the Dutch companies and organisations they worked feverishly until nine in the evening. On the last day, even late at night and very early in the morning, small groups could be spotted everywhere, rehearsing their presentations. At the Agri-Food Bootcamp Showcase event, all groups pitched their business idea on stage, for an audience of government officials, representatives from the private sector, NGO’s, universities and media. Their most important spectators were the high level jury consisting of Wouter Jurgens, Ambassador of the Netherlands and U Aye Ko Ko, Deputy Director General of AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
the Department of Agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. And….. who was the winner? All five groups impressed the audience with their realistic and well developed business ideas. As the enthusiasm, energy and level of presentations of all groups was so high, the jury had a hard time identifying the winning team. The winner of the Agri-Food Bootcamp 2018 was the Agriterra challenge group. They performed a great role play on how to increase the role of youth in cooperatives. The members of the team were our Youth Ambassadors in 2018; they received a Leadership training by MDF Training and Consultancy and a meet and greet with ambassador Wouter Jurgens.
Ms. Jessy Phai, student from Yezin Agricultural University: “My native town needs to develop many sectors especially in infrastructure. So I never considered to work as a farmer in my native town, just like my parents do. After I participated in the Bootcamp, I really want to support back and do something to help farmers. During the programme, I got inspired to work in my native town. I also keep in my mind that challenges are not the problem, just the way to find solutions.”
9
Holland Highlight Push your Luck - AgriProFocus Network Day 2018 Friday April 13th an unlucky day? Not for those who attended the AgriProFocus Network Day with and by our members! We provided a space for linking, learning and exchange; the afternoon was filled with inspiring sessions, a creative journey and unexpected networking opportunities. Making Gender Work KIT - Oxfam Novib - Van Hall Larenstein - Fair & Sustainable Consulting - Food & Business Knowledge Platform Is addressing gender issues just a checkbox or can it be a key driving force for social and business development in agriculture? How can you practically integrate gender in your work and profit from it? Those were the central questions during the session, where our members facilitated different tables where these topics were discussed. Tables were hosted by our members KIT, RVO and Oxfam Novib. They shared inspiring cases and participants learned from each other and their examples.
10
Caroline van der Molen Coordinator Gender in Value Chains programme: “2018 marked the end of our Gender in Value Chains programme. We have been active on this topic for several years, developing tools and knowledge on gender sensitive value chain development. We celebrated the end of the programme with an inspiring magazine. The magazine focuses on the practical implementation of the available tools and knowledge. What are the obstacles and how can we overcome these? What are the success stories and what can we learn from them? By sharing the views of experts from all four sides of the Dutch Diamond, we tried to inspire readers to start or further develop gender sensitivity in their work.�
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Postharvest - No Time To Waste Wageningen University & Research FME - SNV - ColdUnit During this session private sector and development experts explored how postharvest technologies and business investments contribute to food security in low and middle income countries. Two cases inspired the participants: the HortImpact programme by SNV in Kenya and the Milk Chilling on Solar Energy programme by Heifer. A panel with experts on postharvest, finance and technology provided SNV and Heifer with feedback and interesting insights. As a follow-up of this session, interested organisations continued collaboration on solar milk chilling and a mapping of promising milk collection centers in Uganda is being carried out.
Story Silent Disco - Inspiring stories were told while relaxing at our hang-out
Escape Room - People escaped this room by sharing knowledge and expertise on gender and postharvest technologies
Storytelling - Learning from World's Best News by Ralf Bodelier
Opportunity Room - Our country coordinators and the Dutch Working Group on Food Security presented new opportunities via video messages. AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
11
Network in Action - Kenya: Putting youth in the driving seat with the PAINT-Y programme Promoting Agribusiness, Investment, Networking and Trade for Youth (PAINT- Y) is a platform for youth in Kenya who engage in entrepreneurship to grow their agribusinesses through linkages with markets, financiers, input and other support services. It provides opportunities for young entrepreneurs to showcase their enterprises and attract the necessary support for their businesses to grow. This programme of our network relates well to Kenya's National Agenda for positioning the youth at the forefront of agricultural growth and transformation. In 2018 we held a National Youth in Agribusiness Forum for PAINT-Y themed “Investing in the Youth as the Next Frontier in Agricultural Transformation�. We brought together over 300 stakeholders in the agri-food sector (development partners, researchers, academia, government, private sector actors and farmers) and we positioned PAINT-Y specifically as a neutral platform to facilitate linking, learning and collective influencing by stakeholders who support youths in agribusiness. The PAINT-Y National Youth Forum consisted of a panel discussion and in-depth sessions about capacity development and policy influencing. It led to a collective thought about the opportunities for young entrepreneurs which fits perfectly to our mission. To enable youths’ access to markets,
12
PAINT-Y is a platform that puts youth in the driving seat of their own agenda by inspiring, connecting and facilitating collaboration.
information and knowledge, there is a need for them to develop innovative and high quality products, to market their products efficiently and to take advantage of training opportunities in the agribusiness field. Because of PAINT-Y, young entrepreneurs and youth-led AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
“I encourage stakeholders to join efforts through the PAINT-Y platform to share their successes and learn from each other’s experiences. The PAINT-Y programme will enable us to collectively mobilise resources, expertise and experiences to influence change in the youth ecosystem and shape the food system”. Maureen Munjua Network Coordinator AgriProFocus Kenya.
“I give my compliments to the close relationship on food security between the Netherlands and Kenya. PAINT-Y will give us the opportunity to exchange learnings. Knowledge exchanges between these two countries are critical as it will lead to agricultural transformation. Despite the challenges we face in the agribusiness sector, I strongly advise stakeholders to look at the opportunities, discuss practical solutions and ideas to include youth better in agriculture.”, Nynke Humalda - Food Security Expert at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
organisations had the opportunity to showcase their businesses. They received valuable feedback to enable them to scale their businesses. What’s next? The network expects that the PAINT-Y initiative will spread it wings to the 47 counties in Kenya in a bid to also reach youths in agribusiness at grassroots level. AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
13
AgriProFocus’s first year in ‘Making Agribusiness Work for Development’ Theo Koekkoek - Chairman of the Board of AgriProFocus: “In 2018, I was able to take over from my predecessor Kees Wantenaar. He has worked for many years to further strengthen AgriProFocus, and with success. In my opinion, I am still in the middle of the introductory phase at the moment. I combine my AgriProFocus work with work on my farm and other functions in and around the agribusiness sector. This means I cannot spend a lot of time on being the chairman every week. I would like to, but if all goes well, the board does not have to do much. The board helps set the framework, draws up (policy) plans and assesses whether management is doing the right things. So it’s mostly up to the professionals who (often) work full time for our wonderful organisation. And that is precisely what has been most impressive in recent months; the people I’ve met. Enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication are the three summarizing keywords for the employees. Because let’s be realistic, the governance structure can be good, the goals clear and there can be an inspiring work environment, but without these staff members, you will not succeed. That's why I'm glad I started this job and I have every confidence in the future!”
14
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Interview with Roel Snelder Director of Operations AgriProFocus 2018 was the first year of the AgriProFocus strategy 2018-2022, how did it go? I would be lying if I said it all went smoothly. In 2018 we introduced changes for AgriProFocus in at least three areas. We helped our members understand that we are moving away from ad hoc events to longer term collective projects. This meant saying no to just organising events for one member. We started focussing on our four key themes: inclusive, climate, circular and nutrition. This meant finding our niche from the perspective of agribusiness. All this has come with new roles, new systems and new M&E and learning requirements which we developed and trained ourselves in. In the process some staff left and new colleagues came on board. I can honestly say that for me as Director of Operations there was never a dull moment! What was your highlight of 2018? My top two events were my trip to Benin and the development of the Knowledge Programme with my colleagues from Wageningen-CDI and The Broker. In Benin I got together with my West African colleagues for a joint training. I also had the chance to interact directly with our network. I was reminded, and again convinced, of the strength and diversity in our network, in numbers and connections! Our Benin team organised a network event that joined SMEs, our AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Netherlands Embassy, and our Dutch members. It gave me the chance to launch our new strategy and I heard from members (Dutch, Beninoise and international) that they use AgriProFocus to find better connections, innovate together and accelerate key changes for agribusiness in the country. I also got to practice my rudimentary French in public and got a gift in return; my portrait handcrafted in Beninoise wood. What is your wish for 2019? The development of the Knowledge Programme has set the scene for stronger collaboration in the Netherlands in knowledge brokering. In the coming years we will build a stronger connection between knowledge (generation) and its use. My wish for 2019 is that we excel as a network in combining Dutch knowledge and expertise with relevant practice in the countries, feeding into each other in such a way that we craft and implement agribusiness solutions that contribute to food and nutrition security.
15
The future of the agri-food sector: youth in the spotlight! Young Agripreneurz Ambassadors in Indonesia This initiative promotes the agricultural sector by inspiring young people to become farmers and contribute to the development of their regions through collaboration with farmer groups, youth organisations and the private sector. Inspiring young ambassadors are selected to carry out a nationwide campaign to show the young generation that agribusiness is really cool and they can be successful in developing their agribusiness in Indonesia. With this, the young ambassadors flourishingly voice their opinions about development in the agri-food sector and inspired younger generations. The winner of this year was Gestianus Sino. Gestianus owns GS Organik, an agribusiness in horticulture that he has been running for five years. He won because he shows a strong persistence in developing his business and he manages to establish a company that gives the biggest benefit to the locals around the farm. Oxfam Indonesia, KRKP, KAIL and Workout.id.
16
"This innovative young farmer leadership programme shows what AgriProFocus is all about. We provide space with our network members for selected young farmers to strengthen their ability to do business, sharpen the character of leadership, and connect with fellow young farmers from various regions in Indonesia. This will lead to increased food security and will improve the business environment for these young farmers." Dedi Triadi - Network Coordinator AgriProFocus Indonesia. AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Youth in Ag
ribusiness
I AGR BUS NESS
Promotin g youth Entrepren eurship
agriprof ocus.com/ youth faceboo k.com/AgriP roFocus twitter.co m/Agriprof oc
us
The Youth Business Challenge in Ethiopia With the Youth Business Challenge we want to bridge the gap between university graduates and agri-food private sector actors. With this year’s focus on circular economy, the Challenge connects companies with a waste product with teams of interdisciplinary graduates ready to help these companies find a profitable way to use their waste. Two enthusiastic Dutch companies in Ethiopia, Chico Meat and Senselet Food Processing, both working in the agri-food sector, joined the challenge in 2018. The five groups of young entrepreneurs helped these companies in finding profitable ways to AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
deal with their waste. They learnt about the waste challenges that these companies face, connected with a local technical expert on the waste issue at hand and were given basic training in business problem solving. It was a perfect learning journey for both the companies and the young entrepreneurs. ENTAG and EKN in Ethiopia Chico Meat and Senselet Food Processing PLC
“The Youth Business Challenge is a unique opportunity for businesses. It has brought us many new insights. We benefited from the challenge by receiving a practical solution for our waste problem. Working together with young entrepreneurs is very inspiring,” Gijs van Amstel - Factory manager of Senselet Food Processing PLC.
17
The Youth Caravan in Mali
A highlight in Mali was the Youth Caravan which was organised to showcase young people who are successful in the agri-food sector. During the caravan 72 young entrepreneurs visited agricultural enterprises from different sectors, finance institutions and support service providers. In this learning journey, exchanges were made about opportunities and challenges for the youth related to entrepreneurship. This resulted in the forming of new collaborations between young agribusinesses and leading sponsors who accompanied the national youth caravan.
“We thank the AgriProFocus network and its partners for creating this framework of learning and networking between young agripreneurs and the different programmes for young people in Mali. Every year is a success and because of the motivation of the youth, the caravan delivers results we are really proud of. It is impressive to see that the caravan now visits the farms of former caravaneers, which shows that the caravan works!,� Leena Lindqvist - Regional Manager West Africa ICCO.
ICCO, BejoZaden and many national stakeholders.
18
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
The Youth Caravan in Rwanda
In 2018 it was the first time ‘The Youth Caravan’ was launched in Rwanda. This three-day agribusiness learning caravan gathered 150 young innovators and 40 stakeholders from different organisations and financial institutions that promote youth in agribusiness in Rwanda. The caravan provided a platform for sharing knowledge and learnings from real-life experiences between the young agripreneurs and agribusinesses. It resulted in discovering
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
untapped opportunities for the youth existing in the agriculture landscape in Rwanda. According to the young entrepreneurs, the multiple field visits during the caravan were a big success and the strong visibility of the government during the caravan was of real importance to create an impact for the youth in Rwanda. SNV-HortINVEST, ICCO, USAID, IFAD, the Ministry of Agriculture and many other national stakeholders
“Accessing quality inputs and new markets abroad currently requires to navigate through new skills and social media platforms which is not in reach for our usual farmers. To some extent, they are even more challenged when it comes to writing good business proposals. That’s one of the many reasons why the government is encouraging the youth to join the sector and make good use of the caravan,” Mr Semwaga Octave Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources
19
Holland Highlight The study ‘Critical Capital for African AgriProFocus, Rabobank and ICCO. Funded by Agri-Food SMEs’ byFood&Business Knowledge Platform “This highlight shows how the AgriProFocus network offers a space for members to set and influence the agenda in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. The Critical Capital Study is a perfect example on how to use each other's expertise and experiences to create collective impact in food security.”
20
In 2018 we published a report on ‘Critical Capital for African Agri-Food SMEs’ together with our members ICCO and Rabobank Foundation. This study reviewed the demand and supply of risk capital for agri-food SMEs in Sub-Sahara Africa, based on field studies by our networks in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Mali.
“SMEs are key for establishing sustainable food systems, while at the same time they face difficulties to access capital.”
During the foodFIRST conference in Utrecht on June 1st (2018), this network report was presented and officially handed over to Hans Docter, Director Sustainable Economic Development of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The collective message was clear: demand for and supply of risk capital do not match! Entrepreneurs in the SME agri-food sector in Sub-Sahara Africa have a high demand for smaller capital investments. Private equity and venture capital providers consider such smaller investments too tedious and costly, even for those set up with the explicit goal to stimulate the development of the agri-food sector. The report therefore calls on policy makers to promote a graduation strategy, that allows investors to offer an assortment of services to agri-food SMEs that match their development stage. Governments and international development agencies can contribute to such a strategy by reorganising investment funds; giving them a wider mandate and access to relevant financial resources.
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Holland Highlight AgriProFocus Food Security 2018: ICCO - HIVOS - OXFAM NOVIB Policy working group Members SNV - WUR/CDI De schijf van 6: een
The six highlights of the Food Security Policy group in ambitieuze 2018:
voedseltransitie
1. I nclusiveness was the central theme for 2018. Looking●atStimuleer 6. Ainnovatief joint poster was interventions: which are the most effective and for whom?ondernemerschap created as input An Insight Paper on inclusiveness was initiated together● Investeer for the FAO/ in klimaat en milieu with researchers from Utrecht University on definitions●ofOndersteun IFPRI conference onderfarmers as a target group and how better differentiation of "Accelerating the nemende boeren farmers can lead to more effective interventions. end of hunger and ● Maak werk van gezonde 2. A Pop Up meeting with Ruerd Ruben (WUR & Board malnutrition” in voeding voor iedereen member AgriProFocus) about the results of the IOB Bangkok. The poster ● Voorkom verspilling evaluation on food security policy over the past 6 years. contained our top ● Faciliteer partnerschappen Participants got insights into findings; discussed which policy three collective insights improvements are needed; shared experiences by means of about what works and our examples from practice. top three challenges that we 3. A ctive participation in, and co-organisation of, the Public need to work on together to accelerate SDG2. This with a dialogue 'Food for thought' - IOB review food security clear focus on the strategy of the AgriProFocus network policy: the working group provided substantive input on the 'Making Agribusiness Work for Development'. programme and structure of the sessions. Working group members took part in panels and sessions on inclusiveness and food systems. 4. T he working group has given joint input for the consultation In the of Minister Kaag. Nine statements formed the basis for the policy working lobbying approach, focusing on food systems transformation. group members of In the first policy document more attention was indeed paid AgriProFocus exchange to nutrition and inclusiveness, especially to young people knowledge, programmes and and women. experiences and work together to 5. L obbying and engaging towards spokespersons of the translate these into Dutch policy. We analyse Committee of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation trends and developments around (policy) themes of the Parliament to emphasize the importance of food on SDG2: food security, nutrition, sustainable security to Minister Kaag. This led to questions in Parliament agricultural and horticultural development; and the commitment of Minister Kaag, together with but also strengthening entrepreneurship Minister Schouten, to come up with a revised policy on and market access for producers international food policy. in developing countries and inclusive agribusiness development.
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
21
AgriProFocus Programmes: What is your highlight of 2018? Talent Pool
Jocelyne Commandeur Talent Coordinator “In 2018, five Young Experts kickstarted their Agrofood careers at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Benin, Kenya, Rwanda and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The placement of the five Young Experts is part of the Talent Pool. The Talent Pool connects Dutch embassies and ministries working in the Food & Nutrition Security field with young professionals who have an ambition in this sector. Realising this opportunity for the young professionals together with the embassies and ministries was a challenge but also one of the highlights of the project. We are looking forward to expanding the Talent Pool in the coming years and also make the following placements a success!�
22
The Talent Pool programme was carried out by AgriProFocus in 2018 on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the Embassy Support Programme. In 2019 the Food & Business Knowledge Platform, Embassy Support Programme and Talent Pool will continue as the Knowledge Programme for Food Security. Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, AgriProFocus and The Broker implement this programme financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Knowledge Programme is expected to be integrated in an envisioned Netherlands Food Partnership which is being established in 2019.
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Food & Business Knowledge Platform Nicole Metz - Knowledge Broker at F&BKP “What should be done more, less or different in the Dutch food security agenda? This was the central question during the public dialogue organised by the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Food & Business Knowledge Platform in May 2018. Reflecting on the IOB “Food for thought” review, participants formulated their recommendations for the future food security policy. I was pleased to hear there is great potential for the food system approach in the Dutch food security agenda. It was also important that participants expressed the ambition of leaving no one behind, which embeds this discussion within the broader SDG agenda. As knowledge broker working with many countries and stakeholders, I also liked the call to give local knowledge a more central role. Many specific recommendations came from the parallel sessions: prioritising consumption over production, striving for inclusive transformation, designing PPPs as transformative engines for public goals and taking into account environmental and resilience impacts of each intervention.
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
This multi-stakeholder dialogue was certainly a highlight in 2018, as it enabled very lively and forward looking debates with experts from a range of different organisations, institutions, and companies. It was great to collaborate with the co-organisers including IOB, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Embassies, and the consortium partners WCDI, the Broker and AgriProFocus, with F&BKP as a key knowledge broker. As a follow up the recommendations were taken further in the policy process of the Ministries, while we produced a series of blogs and a video which were widely disseminated and regularly used as reference in further debates.” The Food & Business Knowledge Platform supports the co-creation of better policies and practices on Food and Nutrition Security in North and South. Focus is on knowledge brokering to facilitate the creation, exchange and use of academic, applied and tacit knowledge. In 2018 the F&BKP is a programme implemented by Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, The Broker and AgriProFocus. In 2019 F&BKP will continue as Knowledge Programme Food Security.
23
Young Expert Programme Agri-Food The Young Expert Programmes (YEP) offers young Dutch and local professionals the opportunity to take their first steps in an international environment. They are employed through Dutch organisations in a number of eligible countries. The programme aims to rejuvenate the agri-food sector and ensures the continued availability of expertise for these sectors. The YEP Programme is carried out jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. Maula Paramitha Wulandaru Network Facilitator AgriProFocus Indonesia and YEP-er What did YEP bring you in your personal development and workwise? YEP enabled me to expand my personal network, expanding the horizon of agri-food related issues and learn from the best in the sector. It provided me a support system which enabled me to design my personal development plan (PDP) in a work related environment. It started with knowing myself better, utilise my strengths to boost my professional performance and plan systematically what I want to learn and improve as a young professional, particularly in the agri-food sector and within AgriProFocus. What is your most precious memory of the YEP trajectory? The friendship and network of young professionals that I got during the programme itself! We exchanged experiences and motivated each other. I also value and utilise the knowledge
24
and tools that I have got from training, online coaching sessions and masterclasses. What is the added value of the YEP for an organisation like AgriProFocus? YEP helped me to grow to be a better professional, thus it enabled my organisation as well, AgriProFocus, to grow together. Next to that, YEP helps young professionals like me to be more persistent in a challenging working environment, encourage me to find a way to solve that, and provide a neutral channel which I can rely on to seek a better perspective in understanding a situation. As a network facilitator for AgriProFocus, I also encouraged other YEP-ers to get connected and linked them to an AgriProFocus country network if one operated in their country.
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Postharvest Network Ibrahim Palaz Business Developer PHN “In April 2018 the PHN co-hosted a workshop during the AgriProFocus Network Event. Two AgriProFocus members, Heifer and SNV, were invited to present a case on how to reduce postharvest losses. After pitching their cases to a room full of diverse stakeholders - civil society, the private sector, knowledge institutes and governments - we were able to mobilize a number of organisations to further explore the Heifer case that involved introducing solar-powered milk chilling at milk collection centers. This provides a power alternative for milk collection centers that are not connected to a grid and rely on polluting dieselpowered generators. Moreover, having a stable energy supply also means that certain collection centers will be able to now also collect the afternoon milk. My personal highlight is that, after doing our homework, we have now identified potential milk collection centers and private sector milk processors with whom we can pilot this innovation. We expect in the first half of 2019 to have the required technology and implementing on board so we can start piloting this concept in Uganda. Another highlight is that in December 2018 we have supported four winners of the Food Connection Challenge in Benin and Nigeria, where we collaborated with BoP Innovation Center and Crosswise Works. These winners have received vouchers to co-finance their initiatives to reduce postharvest losses. These initiatives involve making starch from AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
potatoes (Assiba Fee - Benin), improved production methods for extracting oil from coconut (HRTed - Benin), processing tomatoes into powdered soup (Soupah Kitchen - Nigeria) and pasteurizing, bottling, drying and storing tomatoes (Smileyz Kitchen - Nigeria).� The Postharvest Network is a program by Wageningen University and Research, FME and AgriProFocus that creates concerted action of businesses, knowledge institutes, governmental bodies and civil society organisations to minimize food losses in the postharvest supply chain in emerging economies.
25
The organisation in 2018 Results Events: 191
5%
Participants: 62,518
10%
23%
6%
Events 2018: Business and B2B events Exchange fairs
5% 10%
Campaigning activities
6%
Learning events
56%
Network events
23% 56%
Respondents to our annual appreciation survey: 1,565 Average rating of AgriProFocus network: 7.5 (out of 10). Respondents would highly recommend the AgriProFocus network to others (an average of 7.9 out of 10). 51% of respondents, who participated in an AgriProFocus
After participating in AgriProFocus activities / events*,
activity*, observed a noteworthy change in their work
changes in organisations could be made:
context. Of those respondents:
• 35% improved their strategy, policy or business plan
• 53% observed change in agricultural policies
• 26% upgraded their organisational set-up or staff skills
• 51% in a specific chain or sector
• 31% enhanced the quality of their products and/or
• 52% in their business environment • 32% on a specific theme or subject
services • 28% improved their marketing and/or sales • 32% entered into partnerships or closed deals with other organisations
* 682 respondents of the total number of respondents indicated that they participated in the event or activity of AgriProFocus.
26
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Staff worldwide
54
Social media MailChimp (contacts) 2017: 31,382
-8%
2018: 28,847 Facebook (likes)
+27%
2017: 35,092 2018: 44,720 Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the AgriProFocus network in Congo
Online platform
Twitter (followers) 2017: 14,053
Professionals
+16%
2018: 21,272
2017: 22,715
+51%
2018: 26,381
Sessions 2017: 218,109
2018: 223,802
+3%
Unique visitors 2017 ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●119,881
+7%
YouTube (views)
-28%
2017: 27,300 2018: 43,776
LinkedIn (followers) 2017: 1,383 2018: 1,805
+31%
2018 ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● 127,719 AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
27
Cultivating Collaboration for Collective Impact!
28
AgriProFocus Network Highlights 2018
Colophon © 2019 AgriProFocus Photography: UNPhoto - Isaac Billy, Neil Palmer - CIAT, MASHAV, Kate Holt/Africa Practice Graphic design: Het Lab - ontwerp + advies Print: GLD Grafimedia
Cultivating Collaboration for Collective Impact
Connect with us: AgriProFocus Arthur van Schendelstraat 500 3511 MH Utrecht 030 3039745 info@agriprofocus.com @AgriProFocus www.facebook.com/AgriProFocus www.linkedin.com/company/agri-profocus