Marcel is not really convinced : “ Well , in any case , the processor makes much more profit than you do , it is always like that . Look at Promofruit ’ s directive on inducing pineapple flowering , where you had to take account of your neighbours ’ production calendar , but in the end it is the processor obtaining a regular supply of pineapples !”
Concrete benefits
Still , Athanase has plenty of counter-arguments : “ Ah , but you do not understand that those speeches as you put it , generate money in a very concrete way ! They lead to better coordination between all the actors involved , helping them to become more competitive . And this goes on at all levels – from the field to processing and even beyond . Do you know that because I am a member of the ABC , with the support of our platform , the CLCAM ( local branch of the mutual agricultural credit institution ) granted me a loan at only 11 % interest ?” Marcel then exclaims : “ What ? But the normal rate is 24 %!!” Athanase continues : “ Indeed , we are now involved in the pineapple partnership , which is considered as a kind of guarantee ! By the way , the processor also benefits from this positive image . They received a bonus of 1 % on their investment credit – and as we are talking about millions , even 1 % counts !” Marcel still needs more convincing : “ Okay , but your work as a farmer is in the field in the first place and not in a meeting or a banker ’ s office !” Ever patient , Athanase keeps explaining to his cousin : “ But being a member of the pineapple partnership also serves my purpose ! Do you recall seeing the plastic sheet covering my pineapple field ?” Marcel responds : “ Oh yes , it avoids you breaking your back from weeding .” Athanase : “ Precisely . It is saving me a fortune on labour costs for weeding . In fact , the idea of that plastic sheeting came up during our meetings , and it was because we bought a large amount of it as a group that we were able to pay an affordable price . It was the same for that bag of fertiliser over there … Perhaps your cotton would not appreciate it , but believe me , we are very happy that we could finally buy fertilisers with nutrients specifically assembled to meet the needs of pineapples . This did not come about by knocking one-by-one at the door of the supplier . It happened because we were represented by a platform that groups nine pineapple ABCs as well as other local actors in the value chain . We are talking about more than 3,600 farmers ( of which 1,600 are women ) which is an impressive number of people ! When you add up all the new develop ments , our yields increased from 35 to 60 tonnes / ha . And even better is that we no longer have low graded pineapple due to small-size pineapple , non-uniform coloration , etc . and the price we get is negotiated with the company .” With all these arguments , Marcel starts to falter : “ Okay , Okay , you have some good results , but then I do not see why you still spend your time in meetings – and by the way , what are you going to discuss this time ?”
Coaching : now and beyond 2SCALE
Nina who didn ’ t miss a single word of the exchange and was very happy to hear Athanase ’ s arguments , now speaks : “ You know , in business , if you do not keep moving forward , you will fall behind – and this goes for farmers too . In the next session we need to think about our future . Maybe Athanase did not tell you all the details , but 2SCALE has been supporting the farmers technically for several years , also with capacity strengthening programmes adapted to our needs that helped us to improve our coordination and collaboration . Along with a team of coaches for the different ABCs , we facilitate coaching sessions on group dynamics , how to professionalise the platform , good governance , enterprise management , and so on . But as you may know 2SCALE is withdrawing its support by the end of this year .” With this information , Marcel has found new arguments to feed his scepticism : “ Meaning that Athanase will not have any more meetings when I visit him the next time ? We know how it goes when projects withdraw their support ! Sorry that you will not be here anymore … It is a pity , you look to be a charming young lady !” But his cousin quickly responds : “ You are wrong , actually . We are grateful to our coaches who share information and help us manage our enterprises and business relationships better . This is why we started to develop a system to finance internal coaches : we will set aside a small number of CFA francs from each kilogram of pineapple supplied to the processor . In this way , the coaching cost will be spread over all the actors , including the processor , Promofruit . You will understand by now that we are all in the same boat !” Marcel finally gives in to defeat : ” Okay , I give up , I am really impressed … but in any case , I will wait to see if your plan will work !” Nina adds a final point : “ We shouldn ’ t underestimate the challenges ahead of us , however . Because , to be able to pay all the coaches with this contribution , the processing unit will have to operate at full capacity – that is , it will need to process 135 tonnes of pineapples a day instead of the present 60 tonnes .” Still she ends the conversation with a laugh : “ Anyway , without challenges to be met we would be bored ! See you next year Marcel , I will certainly still be here !”
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8 The pineapple platform is formed by representatives of all the locallevel ABCs and some other regional actors involved in the pineapple value chain .
9 Caisse locale de crédit agricole mutuel .
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