Farm On Wheels

Jocelyne Agbo is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Farm On Wheels a social enterprise that works with small holder rural farmers providing with farm inputs, services and market linkage. She has over 7 years social entrepreneurship experience and a passion for low income families. She and her team developed and manufactured a powdered detergent for low income families that is sold across Niger state. 

Jocelyne is a computer science graduate from Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu state, studied Business and Entrepreneurship at University of Wisconsin–Stout as a Mandela Washington Fellow, a D-prize award winner, a GSBI alumni and an Echoing green finalist.

She develops and drives implementation of marketing and distribution strategies, brand development, build partnerships and addresses the challenge of lack of funding by fund raising to enable the project scale up it’s operation leading to the project being self sustaining.

Problem: 

8 out 10 farmers we interviewed during town hall meetings in various communities lacks access to farm inputs and resources, they also experience Post harvest loss due to lack of proper storage facility and/or market linkage.

Solution;

Our solution caters for family farmers from production to sale of harvested produce through direct access to improved quality inputs such as quality seeds, fertilizer, agro chemicals, insurance, extension services and credit facility at 0% interest, training on modern farm practices and proper application methods and direct access to storage and market linkage.

Elevate humanity:

Our solution enables family farmers reduced cost of production, increase production capacity, yield by 80% and income by 50%. It also reduces post harvest loss empowering farmers to sell their produce at prevailing market price without the risk of spoilage or having to sell to middle men below the cost price.

Small holder rural farmers produce 80% of the food in the country but they remain undeserved, lacking access to critical information and resources required such as capacity building, quality inputs, access to credit, storage and market which results in them perpetually living below the poverty line (USAID Feed the Future).
8 out of 10 small holder rural farmers we interviewed during town hall meetings in various communities experiences the following challenges.
1) lacked access to quality inputs and experience as low as 40% in yield due to reusing seeds that are not viable and no/or wrong application of fertilizer and agro chemical.
2) experienced Post harvest loss due to lack of proper storage and market linkage forcing them to sell their harvest to middle men below cost price loosing an average of 30% of their income.
3) They are often unable to produce sufficiently for their families and communities consumption or has no motivation to produce more than what they need due to lack of access to credit facility.

Farm On Wheels provides small holder rural farmers with comprehensive package of agricultural resources such seeds, fertilizer, agro-chemical, training on good agronomic and agribusiness practices, credit facility, insurance, storage and market linkage directly to their communities.

We reach out to these farmers through their co-operatives, train them on best agronomic practices and basic business practices which prepares and makes them eligible to access our services, supply of quality inputs and credit facility enabling them increase their production capacity and yield by 80%.

Our extension officers ensures implementation of best agronomic practices by providing guidance and hands on services to our farmers. We monitor and evaluate their progress in three stages, planting, weeding and harvest season enabling us observe their practices, help them adjust to the modern farm practices and also closely observe the yield during harvest and how they record their sales.

After harvest, our input loan are recovered in farm produce equivalent, stored for 3 months and sold to our partner agro processing companies. We also facilitate market and provide access to storage facility which reduces post harvest loss and increases sales by 40%.

We work with small holder rural farmers in remote communities specifically that lack access road which prevents them access to required agricultural resources and market for their harvested produce. Small holder farmers are considered high risk by financial institutions and cannot afford to pay upfront for all agricultural resources they need to become financially sustainable within their communities and these resources most times are not comprehensively offered by existing private and government organizations.

Farm On wheels are providing them with all they resources they need, on credit and to be recovered with farm produce equivalent. This enables the farmer to increase production capacity, yield and income.

We conduct town hall meetings in these rural communities, bringing the farmers together to better understand what their challenges are and how best we can help them achieve maximum results. 

1) first dimension:

Most of the farmers communities we work with are literally left behind with no internet or road access, travel miles to access market, never received any form of training on modern farm practices and still rely on archaic practices. our solution brings the resources and services directly to their doorsteps.

2) Third dimension:

Our project also relates to the third dimension as most farmers are set in their ways but our training and hands on assistance of our extension officers has enabled them change their behaviors towards farming especially on seeing positive results from training and demonstrations.

wWhen i was working with rural families under MDGs Niger state, I noticed that 90% of these families are small holder farmers. I also noticed that their soybeans seeds looked shriveled and was very tiny. 

On talking to the farmers, I learnt that they use seeds from previous harvests and don’t use fertilizer. I told them about quality seeds, they wanted sample so I sent some samples and more farmers wanted too. Their willingness to improve motivated me to start supplying them with seeds at the initial stage.

Being that I come from a family of small holder rural farmers, I have a firsthand experience of the reason for the “low risk, low yield” mindset which has kept majority of small holder rural farmer below poverty line and also the psychological reasoning that farmers are meant to be poor. 

Coming from a rural family of 6, our major source of food is farming. Being the eldest, I was involved in sowing, weeding and harvesting. As a child, it was very disappointing to experience poor harvest and pest infestation after the hard work. 

Growing up I learnt that they are seeds that can triple yield, fertilizer that enriches soil and chemicals that protects the plants from pests but these are resources that small holder rural farmers don’t have access to. This inspired me to start Farm On Wheels to provide access to these resources that small holder rural farmers needs to transform their lives, change the “mindset” and propel them above the poverty line.

Jocelyne Agbo is a social entrepreneur with 7 years experience and a passion for low income families. she developed a powdered detergent for low income families that is sold across Niger state.

I am a computer science graduate, studied Business and Entrepreneurship at University of Wisconsin–Stout as a Mandela Washington Fellow, a D-prize award winner and a GSBI alumni.

My expertise is in developing and driving implementation of marketing and distribution strategies, brand development, build partnerships and addresses the challenge of no funding by fund raising to enable the project scale up it’s operation leading to the project being self sustaining.

At the age of 15, I was admitted into the university but because we couldn't afford it, I lost the opportunity. To ensure that never happens again, I  went to village markets to buy food stuffs that are difficult to find in the urban market and supplied to civil servants and market women in the urban area. This helped me to save up money which I used to process my admission into the university the following year.

After I gained admission, each time I travel home on break, I went to village markets to buy and supply my customers with enough food stuffs to last them till my next break. This also contributed immensely to funding my education.

My family farming background and my experience selling farm produce gave me the unique edge to understand the challenges of farmers both from the production and access to market perspective.

We encountered a challenge in Takuti Shaba, one of the communities we are working with. During town hall meeting with community head and leaders, I noticed that none of the women came for the meeting.

On the agreed date for training, only men came for the training so I decided sensitize the men about women empowerment instead of the training and it's benefits to them and their communities as would help reduce their family responsibilities if the women could help out. This was successful as there was a large turnout of women for the next training.

Another issue was that when the women came for the training, they sat at the back and would not actively participate in the training; again i turned to the men to encourage the women to participate in the training. Once encouraged by the men, the women came to the front and were very active
throughout the training sessions.

These women are now part of our best farmers, they asked and were given farm lands which has never happened before we came along. They now spear
head our activities in their communities.

when i was hired by Al-tinez group of company as a marketer for Abuja, i was given the objective to supply 30,000 products in Abuja in 6 months. After 3 months, i realized the potential market in neighboring states and drafted a proposal to build a team with new set of goals. The proposal was approved and i researched and built my team of 5 team mates. I lead my team to establish marketing channels in 4 states in the north central exceeding the initial goal of one state and 30,000 target to 4 states and 370,000 products in 9 months.

Unlike other organisation that provide some components at stringent conditions but are unable to provide other components that are crucial to the survival of farmers, such as organizations that provides training without inputs, seeds without fertilizer or agro-chemical, storage and no market linkage or promise to provide these resources and end up disappointing the farmers.

Our unique edge is the ability to provides access to a comprehensive package of agricultural inputs and services such as quality seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, training, credit facilities, insurance, storage and market linkage, directly to their various communities at 0% interest rate.

Other edge we have includes:

1) Directly distribute to their various communities.
2) 0% interest rate credit facility for distributed inputs at prevailing market price.
3) The input loan is recovered in farm produce equivalent after harvest making it easier for the farmers to repay the input loan.
3) Training farmers on modern farm practices and at the same time allocate an extension officer to ensure that they implement what they
learnt with their inputs.
4) We ensure that we distribute puts at the agreed time it's needed.
5) Access to storage facility and market by facilitating market for the farmers which saves them from post harvest loss as a result of spoilage or selling below cost price to middle men for fear of losing harvest to spoilage.

Theory of change: 

Farm On Wheels is focused on directly distributing a comprehensive package of affordable quality farm inputs and services to smallholder farmers in remote communities enabling them increase their production capacity, yield and income.

Mission: Enable small holder rural farmers improve food security and way of life at the family level first, with deeper mission of providing better life for rural women and youths to reduce poverty in hard to reach rural communities.

Activities: Farm inputs and services such as quality seeds, fertilizer, agro-chemicals, training, credit facility, insurance, storage facility and market linkage are made readily available and affordable for small holder farmers in  remote communities 

Outputs: Direct distribution of the comprehensive package of inputs and services to smallholder rural farmer in their communities and at no interest rate.

Outcomes: More smallholder farmers in remote communities have access to affordable quality farm inputs and services.

Impact: Smallholder farmers have increased production capacity, yield and income

We have currently trained over 5000 small holder rural farmers and has provided inputs for 320 of them for 1 hectare of land each.

We are working to distribute input to 1000 small holder farmers by 2021 and through our radio training program, we will be able to reach and train over 500,000 small holder rural farmers in over 100 communities in their local dialects.

In the next 5 years, we will be distributing inputs to 5000 small holder rural farmers in over 500 communities, will also reach and train over 3 million of them in their various local dialects.

Our growth plan to achieve our next year goal to distribute inputs to 1000 and train 500 thousand farmers includes:  

1) Radio training program: connect and train farmers in local dialect thereby increasing our customer base, sales and impact at a reduced cost of 60%.

2) Seed multiplication of soybeans, rice and maize to reduce cost of inputs by 40%.

3) Warehouse receipt system that will enable us document and provide our farmers with a cash equivalent receipt for stored produce after harvest to encourage the culture of storage and savings.

The strategic initiative for our 5 year goal of training 3 million farmers and distribute inputs to 5000 of them includes:

1) Farm On Wheels Online commodity trading platform that will connect our storage facility to bulk and individual buyer, off-takers and agro processing companies, truck driver and farmers to ensure ease of doing business this will help absorb increased production, regulate and introduce transparency in pricing, serve as an information board for farmers across the continent can share their challenges and experiences.

2) Develop our Input credit access platform (ICAP) this will enable us on-board verified farmers that are eligible for input credit from input companies.

3) Develop and blend region specific fertilizer that will increase yield and reduce the cost of production for the farmers and reduce our cost by 40%.

In 5 years, the name Farm On Wheels will be synonymous to small holder rural farmers, small agro processing companies, and a cashless input/commodity bank. 

1) Lack of funding: The inability to provide agricultural resources to the continually increasing number of our farmers poses a great challenge as these resources require funding.

2) Bad debt due to difficulties during repayment by farmers which could be due to flooding, inadequate rain, pest infestation or poor yield.

1) We will mitigate the lack of funds challenge by growing organically and work with the number of farmers we can at the time, building the trust of our farmers as we grow.

We will also source for investment funding in the form of grant for the early stage, then debt and equity from financial institutions and organization as the organization gets bigger with continuous revenue generated.

2) The bad debt risk will be mitigated through our co-guaranteeing process. We will only work with farmers that cooperative member. These farmers will be guaranteed by their cooperatives, cooperative head and also each cooperative will be guaranteed by the community head.

We also help the farmers prepare for any climate change challenges through our training program where we train them on effective farm practices and system that will enable help them prevent and/or avoid such challenges.

The process of recovering the loan through farm produce equivalent has made it easier for the farmers repay their loan with farm produce and not cash.

And most importantly, the farm lands and harvests will be insured to help cushion the shock of the bad farm year.

Our partners includes

1) Niger state agricultural mechanization and development agency (NAMDA). Farm On Wheels has entered into a formal agreement with NAMDA, a government organization to enable us have direct access to small holder rural farmers and their cooperatives in various communities. They also have a vast network of agricultural extension officers that are not put in use and we are leveraging on this vast network of extension workers which is a huge contribution to the implementation of this project.

2) IITA Abuja, Nigeria: The international institute of tropical agriculture, Abuja Office is a research and development organization providing solution to hunger and poverty by developing high quality seeds. Farm On Wheels and IITA Abuja office is in a formal partnership of providing Farm On Wheels with access to quality seeds and training for small holder farmers.

3) Cultivating New Frontier in Agriculture: CNFA Manages the Nigeria agribusiness investment activity for USAID Feed the future Nigeria. CNFA provides business development service, introduction to identified government and private organizations that can provide funding or additional support. They also help in developing monitoring and evaluation strategy and also marketing strategy support.

4) Partnership with 58 cooperatives in 58 communities. These cooperatives provides us access to genuine small holder farmers we work with training and distributing inputs to them.

Operation model

At the beginning of every farming season, we work with our partner to train smallholder farmers on good agronomic and agribusiness practices after which we select the farmers to work with.

Our partner input companies supply us with inputs to be distributed to our farmers providing credit facility through their cooperatives.

We monitoring and evaluation twice before harvest and after harvest, we recover our input loan, aggregate and convey the harvested produce from the farm directly to the storage facility and/or our purchasing partners.

Revenue model

Inputs are supplied at discounted rate, which is distributed to the farmers at prevailing market price with a margin. At harvest, we store the recovered loan produce for 3 months and sell at a margin.

We aggregate for our purchasing partners facilitating access for them and market for our farmers at a price for the agro-processing companies. we also provide access to storage facility for farmers and aggregators for a fee.

Compelling Reason why smallholder farmers needs our solution:

We provide training on good agronomic and agribusiness practices coupled with extension services to give them hands on assistance.

We distribute inputs directly to farmers in their communities, on credit, at 0% interest rate and at prevailing market price. We also ensure that inputs are distributed at agreed and needed time.

The input loan is paid in farm produce equivalent for easy repayment. After harvest, we provide access to storage and market which drastically reduce post harvest lose and increases income.

We will leverage on a combination of fundraising activities to raise the fund we need to implement our strategic initiative. 

1) The first phase of fundraising will be sourcing for grant from local and international non-government and government organisation to start the first phase phase of our strategic initiative in our growth plan. This funding will be used to:

a) Reach and train smallholder rural farmers through our radio training program in local dialect create awareness about Farm On Wheels across the country.

b) Multiply Quality seeds which will enable us launch our first product of FOW quality seeds that will be distributed to our farmers and also sold in the open market. 

2) The second phase of fundraising will be done internally whereby the FOW quality seeds will be distributed to our farmers and also marketed in the open market thereby generating revenue that will also be fed into more seeds production and developing our Online commodity trading platform that will give direct access to market for our partner farmers and agro-processing companies.

3) The third fundraising phase will be sourcing funds from financial institution and investors in the form of debt and equity. This funds will be used for our region specific fertilizer blending that will be distributed to our farmer and also sold in the general market.

Following these fundraising phases, we will keep to our growth plan, generate revenue, operate at full capacity and pay off our debt without sourcing for external funding.

Our first funding is a grant award of $14,000 from D-prize which was received in 2018.

We are also generating revenue from input distributed to farmers during the farming season. the recovered input loan produce and aggregated produce are stores for a period of 3 months and then sold with a margin.

We aggregate and up-take for our purchasing partners who pay a fee and we also offer them the opportunity to use our storage facility for a fee to store their commodity.

In 2019, we generated $35,000 in revenue.

We are seeking to raise $1,300,000 by 2023. $ 800,000 in grant and donations, $500,000 in equity.

$77,000

The Elevate prize will help us overcome one of our major challenges which is lack of funding which is needed to enable us distribute farm inputs and services to our farmers.

With Elevate Prize, we will be able to:

1) introduce seed multiplication which will enable us produce enough quality seeds of soybeans, rice and maize to reduce cost of inputs by 40% and will be distributed to the over 5000 small holder rural farmer members of our organisation within 2 years. .

2)  Connect and train farmers on good agronomic and agribusiness practices in local dialect through our radio training program thereby increasing our customer base, sales and impact at a reduced cost of 60%.

3) create and implement our warehouse receipt system that will enable us document and provide farmers, aggregators, up-takers and agro-processing companies with a cash equivalent receipt for stored commodity.

2) Develop our Farm On Wheels Online commodity trading platform that will connect our storage facility to bulk and individual buyer, off-takers and agro processing companies, truck driver and farmers to ensure ease of doing business this will help absorb increased production, regulate and introduce transparency in pricing, serve as an information board for farmers across the continent can share their challenges and experiences.

1) Funding: since we are looking to raise more funding in other for us to implement our growth plan, will will need the support to enable us identify and source out organisations that is align with our mission and will be willing to work with us. 

2) Board members and Advisory: We would really love your support with helping us find and get onboard members with the same passion and goals as us to be part of our board and advisiry board.