devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
Defining business strategy and improving financial sustainability Established on 2014  Baixing Cooperative is relatively young and on her startup phase. Due to the strong entrepreneurial mindset of board (also served as management)  BC has a strong vision on business development. The actions of board are mainly on production and sales activities. It is understandable in the life-cycle of the cooperative. For the time being  the cash is king. Improving financial output and gaining more cash is of great importance  not only to the further development of the cooperative  but also to consolidate the trust from members as the owners of the cooperative. 
Therefore  it is expected to make the cooperative bankable and learn the management how to make a sound business plan for future and improve financial transparency for the trust of members through various advising mission and training. The goals of this project are summarized as following: 
Assessing the feasibility of building an agricultural demonstration base  supported by government funds.Defining business strategy and assist on how to make a sound business plan.Support in introducing filed-related technology from Dutch sector where there is a fit. Strengthening financial management capacity  including cash flow management  budgeting  financial transparency  etc. Project background: To gain social-economic impact by strengthening the share based membership  which is very rare in the local region and improving the income of smallholder farmers.Project objective: To support the young cooperative in defining her vision and business strategy  improving the organisation's financial sustainability. Funding: Jointly funded by Agriterra  local government and cooperative.Evaluation: The main KPIs are member shares increase  dividend rise per share  youth participation in the cooperative management  strategic and business plan in place.Cost efficiency: Apply cost-benefit analysis after the project period. Regular follow-up about the progress made by national Business Adviser.
Rehabilitation of the Union after the devastation and improving the union's output marketing performance Raya Kajewa Farmers’ Cooperative Union founded on May 10  2008 year with 26 primary cooperatives  at Kofele Woreda with 203  465 birr capital. The member cooperatives have reached to 36 with 10 325 small holder farmers, among these 9 077 are male  1 248 are women and a capital of more than 15 million birr. The union mainly produces malt barley  wheat  and different vegetable, like Potato  Cabbage  Carrot  Beet root. In the formers years  the union was doing mainly input distribution activity  but with the support of C4C project recently the union has entered in to marketing of its members produces mainly wheat and malt barley. In response to the 2013 2014 and 2015 action plans good changes has been stated to be seen both at the union and at PCs level, the output marketing performances the union and its PCs has been improved  the internal management as well as relationship with the PCs has been enhanced. Furthermore  the union has managed to improve its financial management practices through professionalizing its accounting system into Peachtree  the union started to fetch high prices for its members produces by finding better market opportunities. In general the union was bringing remarkable changes in terms of capital growth and output marketing volume. However  in February 2016 the union has faced a big devastation. Due to the unrest in Oromia region and in the union working area most of the union assets and office documents are damaged: to mention them the union’s Office building  one Combiner harvester  one Isuzu  all union document  six desktop computer and two laptops are total damaged. The total loss is estimated a round 9.5 million birr. In addition to this bad incident and loss the union still has some more challenges that need improvements, some of the union PCs are still weak (do not have their own weighting scale and warehouse  poor store management practice and crop quality controlling at pc level)  lack of good cooperative governance and leadership at the union level  low commitment and sense of ownership  absence of strategic plan  limited capital etc. The 2017 AP aim to strengthen the union rehabilitation process via internal capitalization 

The 2016 action plan will specifically focus on: -shaping the future business ambition of the union by developing strategic plan-strengthening the leadership capacity of the new union board and having clear role division between board and management -mobilizing 4 million ETB from members and other union for rehabilitation purpose- starting seed multiplication activity and improving the farmers’ agronomic knowledge- enhancing the union staffs marketing knowledge and skill- Securing 12 million birr loan from CBO for output marketing purpose Output marketing target of 10 000 quintal wheat  18  375 quintal malt barley and 5000 quintal maize
Business development - Asia Agriterra professionalises ambitious farmer cooperatives and organisations worldwide.

  

Agriterra believes in farmer ownership to fight poverty and stimulates social-economic strong and vibrant rural areas. Cooperative expertise and peer-to-peer advice from the Dutch agri  food top sector are key principles, advice  training and exchange the key methodologies.

  

 

  

Agriterra developed a range of practical training products for cooperatives and agricultural organisations in developing countries.

  

 

  

Under this project  trainings on business development are covered. Agriterra developed several products and trainings on this topic:

  

 

  

•       Training of trainers My.COOP

  

•       Marketing basics training

  

•       Financial sustainable services•       Value Creator Professional farmer cooperatives and organisations  bankable cooperatives who are resulting in profitability  solvency and higher incomes for members.
Internships in the Great Lakes Region Mapping of potential new clients  the assessment of potential new clients  conducting audit services and internships in the African Great Lakes Region in 2020. Scopings  assessments  audit services and internships in the Great Lakes Region.
Cooperative Governance Programme <p>[14-08-2017] FL: <em>project closed manually in database. No track record of set to active and finished.</em><br></p><p>Governance is the heart and motor of cooperatives. That is why Agriterra has developed a training program on Cooperative Governance.</p>
<p>During the four day training  through a very interactive process  the participants will gain more knowledge on good governance within their own cooperative. Each cooperative will complete the Governance Health Check  an instrument developed by Agriterra to indicate the status of governance in a cooperative. During the last day  a plan of approach will be drafted and presented. Six months after the program  the participating cooperatives will come back for a follow up day. They will bring their complete Board and give a presentation to the other participants of the progress made in the field of governance. </p>
<p>The objective of this training is for participants to acquire knowledge and understanding of Cooperative Governance. Output will be a first draft of a Handbook Cooperative Governance per participating cooperative.</p>
<p>Per training three cooperatives can participate. Every cooperative will send 5 participants: 3 board members  1 supervisory board member  and 1 (general) manager. The training will be conducted by a moderator (guide for the group)  Dutch Agripool expert (experienced board member  expert on the content) and the Agriterra business advisor.</p>
<p>The participating cooperatives can be very distinct. Every cooperative has its own history/origin/culture and all are in their own stage of development. During the training  the focus will be on exchange of experiences  best practices and mutual learning. Openness and willingness to share are crucial. Because the group is made up from various functions: board members  supervisory board members and managers  it is important that participants are aware of this diversity in advance. And that they are willing to put themselves in the position of others  both in their personal function and their role in the organization. During this process  the moderator acts as guide and facilitator.</p> <p>Improved governance</p>  <p>Development and pilots of a training program on Cooperative Governance.</p> <p>A plan for 2016 is elaborated to enroll the training in various countries</p>
Farmers-Focused Transformation Nepal In 2021, Agriterra entered into a ten-year (2021-2030) strategic partnership with the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, officially titled “New Decade for Cooperative Agribusiness Development”. 
In this new programme – by Agriterra called Farmer-Focused Transformation (FFT) – Agriterra concentrates on its core business of strengthening farmers’ organisations and cooperatives and increasing access to finance by (organised) smallholder farmers. Agriterra's core business aligns with the DGIS objectives of ensuring Dutch knowledge and expertise worldwide to achieve the SDGs and to take advantage of new business opportunities, since the Netherlands can make a difference in agriculture for developing countries thanks to the outstanding Dutch position in this sector.
As such, Agriterra strives for interventions with long-term perspectives that contribute to the development of a modern, vital agricultural sector which is both economically viable and socially just. This can only be achieved through concrete intermediate results in terms of job creation, mobilizing finance and increasing productivity.
Agriterra’s services will maintain a focus on strengthening farmers organisations via three-tracks: farmer-led business, sustainable services and farmer lobby and advocacy. While implementing these three trajectories, Agriterra mainstreams the cross-cutting issues of: gender, youth, and climate.
At the beginning of the FFT programme, FFT operations were carried out in 19 countries. From 2022 onwards, the FFT programme focuses exclusively on 12 countries spread through 4 regions (West-Africa, East-Africa, Great Lakes and South-East Asia). The 12 focus countries for FFT include: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo, Uganda, Philippines, Indonesia & Vietnam. The FFT programme focuses on generating evidence-based outcomes for Farmer 
Organisations via quantifiable KPIs that require systematic tracking and reporting. 
The overall evidence-based goals envisioned for FFT in its first five years (2021-2025) are:
• Goal 1: Support one million farmers through 320 farmers’ organisations. 
• Goal 2: 50 million euro mobilised because of lobby and advocacy proposals. 
• Goal 3: 60 million euro mobilised with 70 FOs linked to financial institutions. 
• Goal 4: 30 new farmer-led enterprises that improve farmers’ access to markets 
and Agri services. 
• Goal 5: 10,000 direct jobs supported. 
• Goal 6: 30,000 people trained (9,000 women and 4,500 youth), with 50 female 
leadership training courses, 30 youth councils and 20 women’s councils. Farmer Organisations and cooperatives
Re-vitalizing the Business of Organic Rice Producer in the Philippines Pecuaria Development Cooperative Inc (PDC) is located in Bula  Camarines Sur  Bicol Region Philippines. The cooperative was founded in 1991 as an Agrarian Reform Cooperative. It is a closed type cooperative  but they do accept associate members. Total members now come to around 700. PDC is now the leading consolidator of certified organic rice in the Bicol Region. The cooperative is focusing on organic rice production  processing and marketing.The country expansion by Agriterra to the Philippines led to the identification of potential cooperative  clients. That on the 1st quarter of 2017  Agriterra conducted the Philippine scoping mission and Pecuaria Cooperative was shortlisted and underwent a scoping assessment. The result of the scoping mission positively endorsed Pecuaria for Cooperative Assessment because it was a farmer's led busines and with ambitious goal.   On the 3rd week of August  2017  Agriterra conducted a cooperative assessment to Pecuaria cooperative and recommended the following:
Appoint temporarily (6 months) Consultant from outside to implement the austerity planImprove financial reportingImprove financial results (higher volume rice  reduce costs of goods sold and overall costs  staff  social events)Strengthen financial positionCollecting loans and accounts receivablesWithholding 2 or 3 PHP per kilo paddy for one yearRevise policies for services/activities and be strictMake a business plan/proposal for DA for investment in Muscovado To tun-around the farmer's led enterprise-  organic rice trading and marketing from weak  into a promising and high profile business in the Bicol Region and  by providing a consultant that will guide the cooperative in the implementation of  austerity plan for 6 months.  The goal of the project is to Improve financial results (higher volume rice  reduce costs of goods sold and overall costs  staff  social events) of the cooperative to continue conducting business. Programme
  
        Date
   
      Activity   
   
      Venue
   
      Who
   
          3 NovMeeting with the management team   PDC Office
   
      VS  BL
   
           4 Nov
   
      Meeting with the BOD/Level-off      VS  BL  BOD  Mngt
   
          6-10 Nov
   
      Austerity Consultation/Planning and Development
   Consultant’s 6 month intervention workplan development      VS  Key PDC leaders/ Mgnt
   
          11 Nov
   
   Draft Presentation of Austerity Plan
Presentation Consultant’s 6 month intervention workplan
Resolution adoption (BOD)         VS  Ben   Key PDC leaders/   Mgnt
   
          15 Nov
   
   Review and Finalization of Austerity Plan and Consultant’s 6 month intervention workplan
Distribution of copies         VS
   
          23 Nov
   
   Signing of Contract/Agreement Agriterra/Pecuaria
VS/Pecuaria         VS  BL  RG  RvdM  BOD and Management
   
          Onward to May 2  2017
   
      Austerity   plan implementation
   
         VS
   
   
VS=Vicky Serrato/ BL=Ben Luther Lucas/ RG=Rene Guarin/ RvdM=Richard van den Maden
Financially sustaining organisation providing profitable agribusiness services Chadiza District Farmers Association (CDFA) was formed in 1998 and the Association was officially registered on 9th May  2005 with the Registrar of Societies under the laws of Zambia. There are 13 Board Members in the Association  among the Board Members.  The association decided to develop and submit a concept to United States Development of Africa – USADF to process cooking oil from sunflower which they have been funded.This has helped them develop a business and are in cake and cooking oil business. This business has been running since 2015 and showing signs of financial independence from the side of the association. To diversify the tractor business and also increase income and sustainability of the association. A financially self-sustaining organisation providing quality services to 4 750 members towards a profitable agribusiness  by focusing on improved crop production  promoting mixed-farming and improved marketing of produce from their members. They also want to improve the sunflower business in terms of increased access to raw materials  production of quality raw materials and increase in quantities. The association has also acquired a tractor and light truck under the same USADF funding programme. This is meant to diversify the business and also increase income and sustainability of the association.
The desire by the association to diverse their income sources as a way of on increasing their capital base and reducing on donor dependency. The association also realizes the need to increase its membership base as it has an impact on their revenue  however the association sees the need to provide more membership services to its members as a way of proving its relevance need for members to affiliate.
Farmers-Focused Transformation Ghana In 2021, Agriterra entered into a ten-year (2021-2030) strategic partnership with the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, officially titled “New Decade for Cooperative Agribusiness Development”. 
In this new programme – by Agriterra called Farmer-Focused Transformation (FFT) – Agriterra concentrates on its core business of strengthening farmers’ organisations and cooperatives and increasing access to finance by (organised) smallholder farmers. Agriterra's core business aligns with the DGIS objectives of ensuring Dutch knowledge and expertise worldwide to achieve the SDGs and to take advantage of new business opportunities, since the Netherlands can make a difference in agriculture for developing countries thanks to the outstanding Dutch position in this sector.
As such, Agriterra strives for interventions with long-term perspectives that contribute to the development of a modern, vital agricultural sector which is both economically viable and socially just. This can only be achieved through concrete intermediate results in terms of job creation, mobilizing finance and increasing productivity.
Agriterra’s services will maintain a focus on strengthening farmers organisations via three-tracks: farmer-led business, sustainable services and farmer lobby and advocacy. While implementing these three trajectories, Agriterra mainstreams the cross-cutting issues of: gender, youth, and climate.
At the beginning of the FFT programme, FFT operations were carried out in 19 countries. From 2022 onwards, the FFT programme focuses exclusively on 12 countries spread through 4 regions (West-Africa, East-Africa, Great Lakes and South-East Asia). The 12 focus countries for FFT include: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo, Uganda, Philippines, Indonesia & Vietnam. The FFT programme focuses on generating evidence-based outcomes for Farmer 
Organisations via quantifiable KPIs that require systematic tracking and reporting. 
The overall evidence-based goals envisioned for FFT in its first five years (2021-2025) are:
• Goal 1: Support one million farmers through 320 farmers’ organisations. 
• Goal 2: 50 million euro mobilised because of lobby and advocacy proposals. 
• Goal 3: 60 million euro mobilised with 70 FOs linked to financial institutions. 
• Goal 4: 30 new farmer-led enterprises that improve farmers’ access to markets 
and Agri services. 
• Goal 5: 10,000 direct jobs supported. 
• Goal 6: 30,000 people trained (9,000 women and 4,500 youth), with 50 female 
leadership training courses, 30 youth councils and 20 women’s councils. Farmer Organisations and Cooperatives
Setting up an agri-agency in Spain This project has been created to administratie the funds provided to Acodea for management support This project has been created to administrate the funds provided to Acodea for its activity in Latin America
Collaboration with Zambia Honey Council in 2017 yet to be defined  after the Assessment
IS-Academy on Land Governance for Equitable and Sustainable Development (LANDAC) The “IS-academy” concept was initiated in 2005 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in order to strengthen the role of knowledge and research in the fight against poverty and for sustainable development. In 2010  the IS-academy entitled: ‘Land Governance for Equitable and Sustainable Development’ has been launched. This IS-academy on land governance will operate as a partnership between IDS (University of Utrecht - leading partner)  Agriterra  Africa Study Centre (ASC) (Leiden)  Chair Disasters Studies (CDS -Wageningen University)  HIVOS  Royal Tropical Institute (KIT- Amsterdam)  Triodos Facet and the Department for Sustainable Development of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DDE). 
These collaborating partners have a broad network of local counterparts (including universities  NGOs  producer organizations and other civil society organizations  financial institutions  ministries) and embassies with whom they collaborate in Africa  Asia and Latin America. The IS academy partners will invite their southern counterparts and other organisations based in the global south that are working on land governance to participate in activities of this IS-academy from the start. 
Land governance today is about managing diverging interests  competing claims  and processes of inclusion and exclusion. It is also about processes of institutional change  as the rules of access to land and the nature of property regimes change  covering a wide range of topics (tenure rights  land administration  land use  systems for dispute resolution  decentralisation). Land governance choices are influenced by paradigms related to agricultural development  private sector development  public administration  law  gender equity  indigenous rights  environmental governance  etc. 
A range of new  often opposing pressures and interests need to be reconciled. Land governance processes needs to strike a balance between protecting rights and promoting the most productive use of land; between economic progress  sustainable land use and social justice. Although new land policies seek to secure the rights of smallholders  these policies (or other policies) promote large-scale farming and productive use of land. Other issues that influence policies related to land are the aspirations of rural inhabitants to leave for urban areas  the implications for land rights and use of rapid urban expansion  processes of speculation in the peri-urban sphere  and ‘urbanization’. The guiding question of this IS academy is how to optimize the link between land governance  sustainable development and poverty alleviation; and thus how to deal with new pressure and competing claims  while maximizing opportunities for inclusive and equitable development. Improved coordination  agenda setting  increased understanding  knowledge brokerage  improved exchange between stakeholders  capacity development; changes in perception)
Laying foundation by increasing milk volumes <p>In June 2015 company assessment of Muruny Farmers' Cooperative Society was conducted.</p>

<p>The mission team concluded:<br>That there is no clear business case (in the sense that there is an investment needed by a financial institution) to work on since the basic practice of the company are not solid enough. The milk intake is very low and there is a huge over capacity in the cooling units. Furthermore the organization needs to professionalize their operations urgently. One of the weak points is the financial organization. A dedicated senior accountant is missing and there is no ICT infrastructure to facilitated accurate management information.</p>



<p>Amongst the members there is a low level of professional knowledge to manage good fodder which results in low yields per farmer. Currently the organization is not supporting their members with necessary education since an extension department is not operational. Finally both board and management need to be trained in governance  finance  strategy and operational excellence. </p>



<p>The mission team advise Agriterra to start a partnership with Muruny by helping them to strengthen their people & organization and to improve the quantity of milk supply.</p> <p>Laying foundation by increasing milk volumes</p> <p>The action plan focuses on strengthening of the cooperative's financial management and governance  and on increasing milk volumes to increase net margin per liter of milk resulting in a better milk price to the members.</p>