New Projects, New Experiences

As always, things continue to change for me here in Kenya. The Millennium Village project is now officially over. We submitted our report, and wrapped up.

Since I was a free agent, many of the other business advisors were asking me to help them with their projects. I was being pulled in many different directions, and that began to drive me crazy-I couldn't work this way for the next month.

So I sat down with the country director, to discuss my “free agency” and figure out what he wanted me to focus on, and more importantly, on which projects he wanted to charge my time. The director decided he had numerous projects that could use my help, and actually took me up on my offer to extend my stay here at the Nairobi office. Instead of returning home on September 1, my flight home is now scheduled for October 1...tentatively.

At the moment, I am working on a dairy development project here. Last week was spent traveling in western Kenya, meeting with a couple of farmer dairy groups, in various beginning stages of forming organizations. These rural farmers have historically sold their milk to local sellers (“hawkers” as they are called) or a handful of bigger processors-depending on the village. The process of selling milk, without any bulking or cooling facility, is tedious, time consuming, and unpredictable. Believe it or not, a relatively large portion of milk is wasted each day (moreso in some areas as compared to others) because the market is just not developed. Kenya is a milk-deficit country. Demand is higher than supply nationally; yet in some areas, significant quantities of locally produced milk is thrown out, or as the farmers say, “thrown to the dogs.”

My company is providing the business technical assistance to the farmer organizations, and we are working with a good partner on the ground that provides the livestock management technical assistance. Together, we can incorporate both sides of the business in one coordinated effort.

My experience so far with rural farmers is one of inspiration; these farmers are extremely perceptive, know their farming business, and have been burned in the past by failed donor programs. What they lack, by their own admission, is business management expertise. Our (my) mission over the next couple of weeks is very simple. We spent last week meeting the groups on a fact-finding trip. We are now putting together a business plan, or a blueprint, of various costs that will be incurred in the farmer organization, and the number of members, and the corresponding volumes of milk, required to sustain the organization. We will then return the blueprint to the group, and present our findings. It will be up to the groups to decide if they can meet the membership and volumes proposed in the plan.

The business case is this: if farmers can organize, group their milk together in a centralized place, a significant volume of milk can be found in one place every day. Processors, or big buyers, will be more willing to make one stop, for a decent amount of milk, instead of doing the current bus-stop routine each day, going from farm to farm to pick up 10 to 20 liters per stop. It would be much more efficient to make one stop and pick up 3,000 liters.

The farmers will also have better bargaining power, have more time to spend on the farm caring for the animals, and receive a constant, consistent source of income, among other benefits.

The business case is clear, and it has worked successfully in other areas. I have found the main issue to be one of motivation. As in any “development” work, the people on the ground have to be motivated on their own, with a desire to make the business work. This program is completely farmer-funded; there is no donor promising equipment, or aid, or any sort of handout. Farmers are paying dues to the association at minimum, with the extra possibility of share purchases for equity ownership in the business. This farmer-sourced funding will provide the initial capital required to fund the organization.

A textbook example is a comparison of two groups that we met with last week. They were exact opposites. One group had been brought together by a local leader (who I believe has political aspirations). The farmers we met with were not sure why they came together, had no evident motivation of their own, and were looking for “help.” It seamed that their leader was forming the group in an effort to attract outside help from various NGOs. Many of the group members, it appeared, were simply following the leader without really knowing why.

On the other had, the second group was well formed, with a clear leader on the ground that the farmers respected. This leader was, in fact, a dairy farmer himself. He may not have had the most cows, nor produced the most milk, but was capable of bringing farmers together for the right reasons, and generating the necessary motivation and moral within the group. These farmers were telling us what they wanted to do; they explained problems they were facing, and gave us possible solutions to the problems. They were happy. They were excited. They were in charge. And they were very serious.

As with any program, issues certainly exist. Risks are evident. But I was at least motivated by the people I met, and look forward to putting together a plan that the groups can use for their formation and planning.

During the last two weeks in August, I had originally planned to return to Tanzania and visit the many friends made during my stay in 2004; included in that trip was a stay at the school where I taught. However, due to various reasons, included work permit issues, that trip has been postponed until the last two weeks in September.

Instead, I will be managing an eight day business training seminar for winners of a national youth business plan competition. Specifically, I will oversee the seminar for the local winners in and around a town called Nyeri, near Mount Kenya, in those last weeks of August. This will be something completely different for me, and I am very much looking forward to it. The business plan competition was co-sponsored by TechnoServe, the Ministry for Youth Affairs, and various private sector companies, including Lenovo. (Note: the term “youth” here apparently refers to anyone aged 18 to 35. The really good news is that, in Kenya at least, I am still a youth!)

That is about it for now. Hopefully, you can tell that everything is good here. The experiences are new, exciting, challenging. Even my past dairy experiences in Zambia are paying dividends today.