agricultrual enterprise development 2013 2014 overivew

SaveAct Savings and Credit Groupsand Small Enterprise Development

2014

What does SaveAct do?

Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor – Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!

A stepped-approach, with self-selection ‘filters’:Channelling human capital

Mobilisation of Savings & Credit Groups:• Savings as a ‘glue’ stimulating social capital• Social fund• Platform for efficient & effective support strategies

Savings & Credit

Life skills training & financial education

• Enhances awareness of risks & opportunities

• Economic literacy

• Improved coping strategies

• Consumption smoothing

• Improved capacity to take risk

Enterprise development

• Stimulates formation of enterprises

• Incubated in savings groups & commodity investment groups

• Fed by savings & credit, share-outs, Isiqalo Training

• Improved capacity for self-reliant action

People choose to participate in a structured process with rewards ...

What to do?

Towards more sustainable livelihoods & financial services for the poor

How does SaveAct support enterprise development


1. Savings Groups express interest (2-4 )- More mature

- Finalised financial education-Specific interest and groups

(FOs, CBPs)

2. CIG Initiaton process:- Introduction

-PVCA

- Prioritization of commodities

(FOs, CBPs EDOs)

3. Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs) formed

- registration of members- Action plan developed

-Chronology of intervnetions per commodity of interest defined

(FOs, CBPs EDOs)

4. Isiqalo (enterprise) training

Business plans developed (factoring in share-outs/ loan

capital & collective opportunity, eg bulk buying)

(EDOs, businses trainers)

5. CIG Activities : -Input supply, bulk buying

-production support , training

and farmer innovation

-Marketing support; joint initaitves, innovative ideas,

agribusiness inolvement and negotiation.

(EDOs , agric trainers)

6. CIGs mentored- Including bulk buying

- Further business plan mentoring- Monitoring of individual

pariticipants-Special interest meetings

-Support for local facilitators (EDOs research staff, interns, FOs)

PVCA: participatory value chain assessment

• Helps to prioritize commodities of interest for the area based on criteria developed by participants. Includes local ‘’market assessment”

• People interested in business start up training chosen from these groups – members belong to a number of local SCGS



Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs)

• CIGS set up in Matatiele for potatoes, vegetables, maize, sheep, cattle and pigs

•

Sthathi. Khubetsoana,

Mpharane, Moyaneng

Thinana/Ghobo Khubetsonana,

Mpharane, Moyaneng

Thafa, Mehloloaneng,

Nchodu, Hebron

Lubisini

Conservation Agriculture

CIGs

Scaling out with CIGs

Farmer Centre – Pontsheng;

inputs, advice, access to tolos for sharing, hiring etc

Sekhutlong-CIG

-CA learning group-5 new farmer based trials

Mapheng-CIG

-CA learning group- 2-3 farmer based trials

Pontsheng-CIG

-CA learning group -7 CA farmer mentors 2ndary level

experimentation- 35 Farmer participants linked to farmer

mentors

Nkau-CIG

-CA learning group-CA farmer mentor with 5

farmer volunteers


Inputs supply and access• Bulk buying; vegetable seedlings, potato

seed, poultry inputs– Potatoes - >300bags– Seedlings - ~25 000 (Jan-April 2014)– Poultry (chicks plus inputs)- 300– Livestock feed – 4 bags


R1-R200 R201-R500

R501-R1000

R1001-R2000

>R20000

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Bulk buying; Matatiele N=40

Seed PotatoVegetable SeedlingsPoultry PackageBreeding Stock

Business start up training; Isiqalo• Linked to the CIGs and commodities

of interest. • 4 day training leading into CIG process

of mentoring and production support.


Isiqalo training summary (2013)

Matatiele Bergville

TOTAL

Isiqalo trainee days 102 52 154Improvement of current business (acc to

business plans submitted)40 (n=69) 30 70

New businesses (Acc to new business plans submitted)

16 (n=69) 31 47

Isiqalo themes per training group: Maize

1

Poultry; broiler production 1Sheep; meat and wool 1Vegetable production and sheep

management1

Vegetable production and poultry 2

Production support• Training through local and other

specialists e.g pig production• Mentoring; short and practical

sessions on issues of concern in a commodity e.g. Grading of wool for sheep production

• Farmer innovation; tackle a whole production system and issues of efficiency ,e.g. Conservation Agriculture

• Include stakeholders in market chain e.g. Seed suppliers, agribusiness (Grain Sa and

Poultry SA)


Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor – Yakha Impilo

engcono ngokulondoloza imali!

Marketing• Local marketing mainly; Joint discussions around the issues – oversupply

at certain times, developing niches, different types of crop (e.g. different varieties of potato seed or planting different times,),joint activities such as joining together for pension days.

• New ideas – e.g. Local milling, production and supply of animal fodder – different types- teff, lucerne

• Some individual marketing in town, or buyers coming to them.• Still the best option – becomes more of an issue as production increases



Involvement in CIGs; improvements and issues

Has not improved

16%Income

improved5%

Inputs cheaper

29%

Inputs easier to access

2%

Knowledge

gained14%

Markets found

3%

Other7%

Produc-tion bet -

ter19%

Working together with community

members5%

Business improvement through involvement in CIGs; Matatiele

N=85


Credit3%

Inputs25%

Knowledge1%

Market4%

No issues18%Other

12%

Production factors

18%

Weather19%

Present business issues; Matatiele, N=85

Livelihood concerns

• Track the complex interactions between multiple and diverse livelihood activities and their contribution towards overall livelihoods

• Track increase in production, enterprise activities and income through involvement in CIGS


R1-R500 R501-R1000 R1001-R2000

R2 001-R3000

R3001-R4000

02468

101214

Income Distribution of Respondents ; Bergville N=40

CIG MemberNon-Member

Average Monthly Income

Num

ber o

f Peo

ple

>R6 0002%

Don't know2%

R1001-R200055%

R1-R5005%

R2 001-R300016%

R3001-R40004%

R4001-R60001%

R501-R100014%

Income distribution of CIG members in Matatiele N=100

Livelihoods tracking• E surveys (Dooblo) – for

tracking CIGs, isiqalo and livelihoods outcomes

• Uploaded and analysed in Excel

• Individual reports with photos and GPS points possible.

• Building up over time – interview the same people over time, increase number of people included in monitoring, provide baselines through those involved in SCGs but not in CIGS



Maize None Potato Poultry Sheep Vegetables0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Agricultural enterprise involvement; main en-terprise Matatiele N=100

No

of p

eopl

e in

volv

ed

Agricultural enterprise

CIG member; Main enterprise

Non member Total

Single enterprise

Total no Cig members involved in enterprise

Maize 16 16 1 47

None 1 14 15 15

Potato 40 1 41 3 41

Poultry 13 13 11 42

Sheep 2 2 2 12

Vegetables 13 13 8 53

Pigs - - - - 15

Total 85 15 100 25

Use of SCG loans for enterprise development

Agric E

nterpris

e

Basic N

eeds

Educati

on

House Im

provemen

ts

Non-agric

ultural

enter

prise

Other: st

art en

terpris

e

Other: Pay

off debt

Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Use of SCG loans in 2013 cycle; Matatiele

No

of p

eopl

e



Livelihoods cont.: E survey example

Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor

Question ID

Question: CIG involvement Answer

50 What activities have you been involved with in your CIG Meetings,Learning sessions,Implementation,Joint action

51 Describe any new activities you have been involved in CA trial52 How has your business improved since you have been

involved with the CIGs?Inputs cheaper, Inputs easier to access,

Production better, Knowledge gained

53 What are your present business issues? Weather, Knowledge, Moles on potatoes and insect pests

54 What further support would you like to receive? Training on production as well as home remedies in dealing with pests as chemicals

are expensive and difficult to follow properly.

Livelihoods cont.



Question

ID

ISIQALO: Question Answer

55 Have you received Isiqalo business training from SaveAct?

Yes

56 Do you want to receive Isiqalo business training from SaveAct?

57 In what year did you receive this training? 2012

58 What was the theme of your Isiqalo training?

Vegetables

59 Would you be interested in repeating the training or have additional similar training?

Yes

60 Did you fill in a business plan? Yes61 Why have you decided not to fill in a

business plan?62 What was the enterprise you filled out the

business plan for?Vegetables

63 Have you implemented your business plan?

No

64 Why have you not implemented your business plan?

She decided not to follow through vegetables as an

enterprise. Doesn’t see viable enterprise as yet but thinks

maize may be it, waiting to see on the performance.

65 What has the income been from THIS enterprise in the last year?

R 0

66 Please rate the Isiqalo training in terms of how helpful you found it.

4

Income from Agricultural Enterprises -Matatiele

• Incomes a ‘slow’ to increase through involvement in AEs and CIGs due to larger economic and structural issues of market access

• Participants mainly use production for household consumption but do contribute around 15% to their overall incomes with these activities.



Do not participate in this enterprise

R0

R1001-R1500

R1501-R2000

R201-R500

R3001-R4000

Poul

try

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Income from Poultry production

Total

Do not participate in this enterprise

I don't know

R0

R1-R200

R201-R500

R501-R1000

Vege

tabl

es

0 2 4 6

Income from Vegetable pro-duction

Total

Potato member I don't know

Potato member R1501-R2000



Potato non member R0

0 5 10 15 20 25

Income from potato production

Total


[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

agricultrual enterprise development 2013 2014 overivew

Environment