Maintaining  the lead and securing the future sustainability of the Cassava Enterprise in the Region The Fatima MPC’s ambition over a period of 5 years is to expand its cassava production and saturate the market of San Miguel, thereby making more profit for its members. It wants to increase its capacity to absorb produce by members by building more and bigger warehouses. It also wants to give loans to young enterprising farmers in the farmer associations to purchase a tractor which can work on the fields of other farmers as well, so this will increase crop production and ease land preparation and harvesting and hence reduce production costs. A further future ambition for the cooperative is to establish its own processing plant and process its own food grade cassava starch. Besides serving the San Miguel market, Fatima is also ambitions to diversify into other products like yam for Unilever’s Selecta ice cream, and bioethanol for fuel. The more immediate BHAG is on the cassava production expansion, to increase production volume by at least five times its current capacity. It needs support for preparing a business plan that aims at improving efficiency through mechanization. This can be financed through internal capitalization (members say they are willing to invest) as well as by taking a loan from Land Bank, for example. 


        Strategic Business Planning
   
         New business model for mechanization/   financial products for its members and improved business relations with SMFI
   
         Q1   2018
   
             Installation of new   finance-business system for the Agribusiness/Cassava Trade operations
   
         Separate and improved separate bookkeeping,   computerized accounting system and database for the Agribusiness department
   
         Q2   2018
   
             Explore and develop areas for   collaboration and partnership with other coop producer-suppliers of cassava   to strengthen business position in the industry
   
         Identified areas for   collaboration and partnership with other Coop for business and cassava   industry development
   
         Q2   to Q4 2018
        Advice
   
          Conduct   of sub-sector/ industry study/assessment for cassava
   
      Sub-Sector   Study/ Industry Assessment
   
      Q3 2018
   
          Conduct FS for cassava based processing   plant/facility (starch)
   
      Feasibility Study
   
      Q4 2018
   
          Monitoring and Business Advise
   
      Business Advise on demand
   
      Q1 to Q4 2018
   
          Training   
   
          Financial   management training
   
      Board   and Staff trained
   
      Q1 2018
   
          Supervisory   Board Roles and Functions
   
      Board   and Staff trained/ SB /youth included in the org structure
   
      Q4 2018
   
          Value Creator Training
   
      Board/ Mgt and Staff trained/ new business   opportunities identified
   
      Q2 2018
   
          Exchange   visit
   
          Visit   production and processing plant within Agriterra area of operation
   
      Team   exposed and informed on cassava production, harvesting, processing and   marketing
   
      Q3 2018
   
   

The cooperative seeks to increase production capacity by 500%, establish 1 processing plant and develop a new market for its processed products.