CYNP – Agro Enterprise Service Center

Problem:

The need to support existing farmers realize profit in production and also challenges facing farmers in producing quality products such as; modern farming method, quality seed and seeding supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, access to smaller farming tools, processing and marketing linkages.

Solution:

Community Youth network Program (CYNP) - Agro Enterprise Service Center Functions as a one stop shop; to provide agriculture services to 5,000 farmers for quality and quantity food production and giving access to tools, farm supplies and market linkages opportunities to food producers. The business create awareness for youth participation in the agriculture Sectors and recruit them to serve as Argo service providers to provide agriculture services for affordable fees.

Impact:

Increase local sustainability in food productivity, bring economic returns to farmers.  Create jobs for youth and produce quality food accessible to local communities’ dwellers and the world at large for consumption.

About 70% of the population in Liberia resides in rural communities where two out of three of the population greatly depends on agricultural activities for survival. Production in time past has been characterized by diverse factors that have negatively affected the sector. Subsistence farming practices in times past coupled with reliance on NGO support has not allowed farmers see agriculture as a business. Moreover, little education of simple record keeping of what goes into production has kept farmers not realizing profit in food production. Agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in food production, including farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing and retail sales. It encompasses broad marketing techniques wherein international comparative advantage is harnessed to the best potential by globally sourcing commodities. Farmers in Liberia previously did not see agriculture as a business thus have not been able to translate work done in planting into cash.  Many farmers want to improve their level of cultivation, sizes of their farms and may even want to acquire loans from Banks but do not have the requisite knowledge and procedure in doing so.

The Community Youth network Program (CYNP)  – Agro Enterprise Service Center Functions as a one stop shop to provide agronomic training, farm business development skills, modern production method and market linkage information, sales ago-inputs (planting material, fertilizer, ago-chemicals), provide access to storage and transportation to market opportunities, technical support services for improved and sustainable food production; which will build farmers capacity, increase harvest, reduce post- harvest losses, and also linkage to market. The business also create awareness for youth participation in the agriculture Sectors and recruit them to serve as Argo service providers to provide agriculture services for affordable fees. The enterprise intends to serve up to 50,000 people at the end of the three years beginning 2020 – 2023.

Direct beneficiaries are:

5,000 local and rural farmers 60% female and 40% male living rural communities in Liberia.

Indirect beneficiaries are:

Over 45,000 person including Local community’s dwellers,Owners of supermarkets and restaurants, Petit traders selling agriculture products, Company owners and  Exporters of farm products.

Impact:

Increase local sustainability in food productivity, bring economic
returns to farmers.  Create jobs for youth and produce quality food
accessible to local communities’ dwellers and the world at large for
consumption.

This project will build farmers capacity, increase harvest, reduce post- harvest losses, and also linkage to market; which are in alignment with the challenge goals of Supporting small-scale producers with access to inputs, capital, and knowledge to improve yields while sustaining productivity of land and seas; and also Improve supply chain practices to reduce food loss, scale new business models for producer-market connections, and create low-carbon cold chains.

Our biggest competitors are NGO who have as part of their project to provide machinery for their beneficiaries who should be potential customers of our business. Supplying free services whilst we are providing the same services for fees makes the competition difficult.

Free services will always have more costumers over services charged. However when NGO are providing free services it is not regular, constant nor effective. This is due to factors that NGOs target specific areas of the institutions intervention zone whilst a business model will move to the length and breathe for profit. A business will ensure that its machines are always ready and operators are always ready to provide the services.

The competitive advantages of our product /service are our price and quality of our products, locally produce and also provide social benefit to farmers and our mean producers. CYNP Inc. is a local institution that has its extensions in the field and has built strong bonds and ties with the costumers over the years. Our services will always be on time, affordable and will be at all-time willing to perform services for our clients. We will reach zones far and near to attract more customers.  We will also provide quality services which can be equated to the value of fees we are charging. Our marketing strategy of door to door service will put us at a relative advantage over our competitors.

Our business usages Behavioral Technology to improve farmers capacity, skills and method in quality and quantity food production. Also Manufacturing Technology such as farming machines to create large farms and reduce labor and increase food production and bring more income for producers. 

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The CYNP – Agro Enterprise Service Center Functions as a one stop shop to provide agronomic training, farm business development skills, modern production method and market linkage information, sales ago-inputs (planting material, fertilizer, ago-chemicals), access to storage opportunities and technical support services for improved and sustainable cocoa and vegetables production in Nimba County; which will build farmers capacity, increase harvest, reduce post- harvest losses, and linkage to market. The business also create awareness for youth participation in the Cocoa and vegetables production agriculture Sectors and recruit young people to serve as Argo service providers to provide agriculture services for affordable fees. The enterprise intends to serve up to 50,000 people at the end of the three years beginning 2020 – 2023. 

In our survey participants were asked to rate thirty-five specific problems or challenge areas that their groups may be facing by indicating whether the matter is of high, medium or low priority. The top two areas of concern relate to production matters, especially the timely access to inputs and the lack of access to improved production technologies while three of the concerns relate to marketing matters and two areas deal with organizational issues as noted in the table below which includes only those topics where at least 50% of the groups polled indicated that it was of high priority:

Problem/Challenge Area of Highest Concern

###b#< of groups Responding

“High Priority”

Timely access to production inputs

100%

Access to improved technologies, e.g. equipment, sprayers, for purchase or hire which reduce fuel, water and/or labor costs

75%

Transportation to markets

50%

Member participation in group meetings and decision-making

50%

Market arrangement for commodity after harvesting/raising

50%

Adapting product/service to respond to market demand

50%

Development of goals and business plan for achieving them

50%

We are currently working with 124 farming cooperatives comprising 4,600 Cocoa and vegetable producers. in the next 2 - 5 years we will reach

50,000 farmers.

With support in the next 1 - 2 years, we will reach our established 124 farming cooperatives comprising 4,600 cocoa, vegetable producers; to acquire new knowledge and methods in cocoa and vegetable farming. They will have access to modern farming equipment and tools, their incomes will increase thereby improving their livelihoods, and more persons might be attracted to cocoa and vegetable farming as a result of these interventions.  In the next 5 years we will extend to the balance 14 counties of Liberia reaching up to 70% of estimated at 3.5 million nation populations; Recruit and trained at least 40% youth in the agricultural sector which will increase the present 3% of youth participation in the agriculture sectors of Liberia.

The need investment cost of (US$ 276,400.00) Two Hundred Seventy six Thousand Four Hundred United States Dollars.

The funding will be used to purchase Farm supplies and Inputs, Smaller farming equipment, seeding and vegetables farm establishment, construct one solar dryer and one vegetable greenhouse, centers operational and salary cost and also buy farm products to sell locally and export and scale up

Agribusiness Expert to serve as volunteer to provide technical services. 

we will lobbied and also generate income from services currently being provided.

lunched invitation for volunteers in Agribusiness sector.

No

5 person full-time, 2 person part-time, 4 person contractors

CYNP senior management team are highly qualified and competent with 10 years of experience in working with youth, women and children, agricultural and livelihood projects and hold a worth of experience in managing similar initiatives. The team comprises of young people with BSc in Agriculture, Bachelor Social Work, and BA in accounting and 1 to 3 years of Managerial studies; 40% female and 60% male.  This team includes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Project Manager, CYNP Gender Base Officer, Financial Officer, Extension services Head, and Business Development Head. CYNP have its Standard of Operating Procedure (SOP), HR Manuel and CYNP Financial Policy which is used to manage human resources, logistics, and finance.

We are currently partnership with

Solidaridad West Africa as a Co Share Grantor

CYNP Agro Enterprise Service Center is a physical center which functions as a one stop shop to provide sustainable agricultural services to farmers to enable then improve their capacity, increase harvest, reduce post- harvest losses, linkage to market, create awareness for youth participation in the Agriculture Sectors and recruit them to serve as Argo service providers to farmers for affordable fees from now up to 2030.

The center provide different types of services including market linkages between buyers and sellers; providing business advisory services such as business planning and support in accessing micro-financing, farm management and extension services,  engage (either directly or with partners) in market based agribusiness activities such as buying, storing and marketing agricultural produce like vegetables, rice, cassava and inputs;  provide transportation services to farmers by carrying their products to local markets and processing center; renting modern farming equipment locally to farmers to increase their size of farms, train young people to operate and repaired agricultural farming and processing equipment.

We generate income from our fees for service model.

The need to support existing farmers realize profit in production and
also challenges facing farmers in producing quality products such as;
modern farming method, quality seed and seeding supply, agrichemicals,
farm machinery, access to smaller farming tools, processing and
marketing linkages.

CYNP Agro Enterprise Service Center is a physical center which functions as a one stop shop to provide sustainable agricultural services to farmers to enable then improve their capacity, increase harvest, reduce post- harvest losses, linkage to market, create awareness for youth participation in the Agriculture Sectors and recruit them to serve as Argo service providers to farmers for affordable fees from now up to 2030.

The center provide different types of services including market linkages between buyers and sellers; providing business advisory services such as business planning and support in accessing micro-financing, farm management and extension services,  engage (either directly or with partners) in market based agribusiness activities such as buying, storing and marketing agricultural produce like vegetables, rice, cassava and inputs;  provide transportation services to farmers by carrying their products to local markets and processing center; renting modern farming equipment locally to farmers to increase their size of farms, train young people to operate and repaired agricultural farming and processing equipment.

To fund our work  to be able to provide needed Agricultural services to food producers ranging from Technical, Equipment Rental, Farm supplies, Seeding and Vegetables productions, Market linkages and become commercialize to generate more income.

Agriculture Company, Investor in Agribusiness and Grant

Our work focus on women and youth empowerment, this project support and engage up to 65% of women farmers participation. The prize funding will be use to provide needed Agricultural services to women food producers ranging from Technical, Equipment Rental, Farm supplies, Seeding and Vegetables productions, Market linkages and become commercialize to generate more income for their livelihood.

Our project use digital equipment like GPS mapper to measure farmers farms and collect farmers data, we also use virtue digital equipment to provide training to farmers for easy learning. The prize funding will be use to by modem farming equipment, food processing and packaging equipment to add value to farmers products for market and storage.