Stories tagged: agribusiness

Agribusiness programme lays the groundwork for economic development in Africa

Agribusiness managers in Africa are being trained under a new project, which delivers a range of agribusiness management training programmes backed by contextual research. The knowledge and skills gained can then be used to help farmers increase their agricultural productivity, quality of produce and profit margin, in turn improving their livelihoods.

The Agribusiness management programmes are led by the Association of African Business Schools (AABS), a non-profit association of leading business schools throughout Africa, and funded through a $1.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  

As agriculture is at the core of Africa’s economic development the programme aims to develop new insights into African agriculture, enabling future leaders of Agribusiness to understand the way smallholder farmers operate.

The AABS says:

The Agribusiness management programmes will impart business, management and leadership skills to a range of stakeholders including development organizations, government agencies, agribusiness entities, farmer cooperatives and small and medium sized enterprise owners.

The objective is to produce a scalable model for leadership and management training for smallholder agribusiness entrepreneurs and goals for entrepreneurs are to increase turnover by at least 50% and improve consumer access.

The programme educates students through case studies and a variety of modules such as ICT innovation and financial management. It also benefits from a strong strategic advisory board which includes representation from key agricultural value chains and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Past alumni praise the scheme’s ability to transform smallholders into small businesses. One alumni says:

I’m no longer running a kitchen garden but in the business of making money. This programme changed our mindsets and the ballgame of how we operate.

The AABS currently has 29 alumni and is developing a network of innovative entrepreneurs to strengthen supply chains in Africa. The challenge ahead will be in increasing awareness of the opportunities that come from working for agricultural cooperatives.

 Graduates are primarily interested in the big NGO’s and companies, yet the assets of dairy farmers are greater than the Nairobi Stock Exchange. There is a need for entrepreneurial leaders, not just entrepreneurs

The $1.5 million two-year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help to develop the training programmes by enabling them to initiate an Agribusiness consortium of African business schools. The AABS Agribusiness Consortium now includes Universities in Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

 

More information on the Association of African Business schools can be found at: http://www.aabschools.com/

 

More information on Agribusiness Management Education in Africa can be found at: http://www.aagri.net/

 

CGIAR Appoint First Consortium CEO, Lloyd Le Page

CGIAR, the Consortium Board of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, have appointed their first Consortium CEO, Lloyd Le Page.
Le Page has a background in agribusiness, having worked with DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred as the lead on the Sustainable Agriculture and Development division, and has also designed and led a number of public-private partnerships. He grew up spending time in rural areas of Africa.
For the first time, the CGIAR has established a central, permanent consortium office to join up all the CGIAR centres around the world. The objective of this is to join up research programmes for increased efficiency and to gain from closer alliance with other partners in the public, private and non-profit sector. Le Page said,
Together with the donors, national governments, private sector and civil society, we must build a strong foundation for lasting economic growth through agricultural productivity improvements and intensity.
Speaking of the challenges that lie ahead, he pointed to the need to help improve the efficiency of research centres.
Senior scientists in the centers spend much of their time managing relationships, preparing donor reports and solving non-science issues. We need to support them more effectively to enable them to spend more time on research priorities.

CGIAR, the Consortium Board of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, have appointed their first Consortium CEO, Lloyd Le Page.

Le Page has a background in agribusiness, having worked with DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred as the lead on the Sustainable Agriculture and Development division, and has also designed and led a number of public-private partnerships. He grew up spending time in rural areas of Africa.

For the first time, the CGIAR has established a central, permanent consortium office to join up all the CGIAR centres around the world. The objective of this is to join up research programmes for increased efficiency and to gain from closer alliance with other partners in the public, private and non-profit sector. Le Page said,

Together with the donors, national governments, private sector and civil society, we must build a strong foundation for lasting economic growth through agricultural productivity improvements and intensity.

Speaking of the challenges that lie ahead, he pointed to the need to help improve the efficiency of research centres.

Senior scientists in the centers spend much of their time managing relationships, preparing donor reports and solving non-science issues. We need to support them more effectively to enable them to spend more time on research priorities.