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Phase: Review

Creating guaranteed market of cereal and legume crops at the local rural for smallholder farmers to discourage deforestation

We have created guaranteed market of crops grown by smallholder farmers to concentrate on farming as source of income unlike charcoal

Photo of Chaka Ng'ambi
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Purchasing common beans from woman at the local rural to motivate her to concentrate on farming as source of income unlike charcoal burning. Purchasing common beans from woman at the local rural to motivate her to concentrate on farming as source of income unlike charcoal burning.
Bulk common beans purchased in 2016 from smallholder farmers and sold to United Nations World Food Program to feed families affected by drought in Zimbabwe because of climate change. Bulk common beans purchased in 2016 from smallholder farmers and sold to United Nations World Food Program to feed families affected by drought in Zimbabwe because of climate change.
Empowering smallholder farmers in rural areas with available technology such as Solar water pump systems with total dynamic head of 90 metres and pump flow of 4600litres of water per hour and guaranteed market of crops such as pulses(legumes) like common beans, cowpeas, maize etc at the local rural level. This will provide many solutions such food security by increase in production, increased income, access to clean piped water, reduce attacks of women and girls from crocodiles when drawing water from rivers as well as save time to do other activities like studying for girls. Depending on settlements of these people and topography of the land, a system could be put in place so that they could start to grow crops throughout the year using just one solar pump system for many households and is the one we are trying to put up in Mafinga District, Muchinga Province Zambia in a place called Chitapo if funds could be sourced. It will mean more than 200 households will be growing crops throughout the year under irrigation using Solar water Pump Systems and natural irrigation but would want to improve by putting in measures such as supervision and poly pipes so that many smallholder farmers could grow crops throughout the year of which the market will be guaranteed at the local rural level so that smallholder farmers concentrate on increasing production of nutritious food crops like common beans, cow peas, maize, groundnuts etc.. The area to be irrigated could be estimated to be more than1000 hectares meaning more food could be produced to feed other parts of the world affected by climate change and drought. This will motivate smallholder farmers to concentrate on farming as source of income and increase income at household local rural thereby stopping the cutting of trees for charcoal and poaching wildlife as source of income near North Luangwa Game park. By so doing the nature is preserved while the rural communities prosper. The legumes ( pulses) such as common beans, cow peas etc are to be aggregated at a bulking centers from smallholder farmers and sold to bulk buyers and processors such as UN World Food Program unlike them moving from place to place to look for commodities. Creating guaranteed market of crops grown by smallholder farmers in rural areas by increasing the volume and value of agribusiness while providing guaranteed supply to bulk buyers and processors that meet the quality, type, quantity and at market price. Training smallholder farmers about improved way to do farming using new innovative methods by installing solar water pumps for irrigation so that they have increased income and food security by growing crops throughout the year as well as overcome the risk of drought and adapt to climate change as well as stop cutting down of trees for charcoal as source of income.

Explain your idea

Creating guaranteed market of crops grown by smallholder farmers in rural areas by increasing the volume and value of agribusiness while providing guaranteed supply to bulk buyers and processors that meet the quality, type, quantity and at market price. Training smallholder farmers about improved way to do farming using new innovative methods by installing solar water pumps for irrigation so that they have increased income and food security by growing crops throughout the year as well as overcome the risk of drought and adapt to climate change as well as stop cutting down of trees for charcoal as source of income. Develop necessary capacity to smallholder farmers to solve new climate change challenges in agriculture, knowledge and skills required to run the agribusiness enterprise to meet current and future agricultural challenges and food security by being able to design business models which will help smallholder farmers in rural areas manage natural resources as well as formulating innovative business plans that work for the enterprise while meeting rural community expectations and all stakeholders. To increase the volume and value of agribusiness based on the output of smallholder farmers in rural areas.To explore practical options available, design and develop new systems to meet expectations of smallholder farmers in rural areas in the solution of climate change in agriculture so that there is enough food for them and to meet quality and quantity expectations of bulk buyers and processors of crops. Visioning, building new business models and coming up with innovations to meet current and future agricultural challenges, such as water, climate change, health, waste management, social stability, culture, food and income.

Who Benefits?

The beneficiaries are both smallholder farmers at the local rural and bulk buyers and processors of cereal and legume crops as well as the environment. The smallholder farmers will have increased income from guaranteed market of crops at the local rural and that they will be growing crops throughout the year by irrigation because of the solar water pump systems to be provided on long term loan basis. The bulk buyers and processors will be able to get the commodities by type, quantity at market price unlike moving from place to place to find the type, quality and quantity needed at market price. The environment will also be preserved because smallholder farmers in the rural will concentrate on farming as source of income. More permanent jobs will be created for both youths and women in both rural and urban areas because of continuous production of different crops throughout the year.

How is your idea unique?

What is unique about our business model is that we want to prosper together with the rural marginalized smallholder farmers at the local rural while preserving nature. Our operation centers will be uniquely in the rural to take innovations to the marginalized because we have the passion to prosper with the rural communities. The unique advantage we have is that we are multi-skilled and that the majority people who live in the rural will have trust and confidence in us by being with them at the local rural and providing guaranteed market for their crops and at the same time by making these as our customers for solar water pump systems which will be selling to them on long term loan basis since we know that they will be successful by partnering with us to be producers of the crops to be sold to bulk buyers and processors of cereal and legume crops. These smallholder farmers will also be our producers of crops which we shall sell to bulk buyers and processors thereby conserving nature.

Idea Proposal Stage

  • Piloting: I have started to implement my solution as a whole with a first set of real users.

Tell us more about you

Our organization Muchinga General Enterprises Limited was founded by Mr Chaka Ng'ambi after seeing challenges smallholder farmers face in the rural for marketing crops like legumes and the perception many people have about those who live in the rural. Its head office is strategically at the local rural in Mafinga District Muchinga Province, Zambia previously this province was under Northern Province. Our mission and goal is to prosper together with the smallholder farmers in the rural. We shall construct permanent warehouses at the local rural for storage of crops purchased from smallholder farmers at the local rural. Each operation center in the rural will have solar power system and internet facility for communication and e-commerce. Mr. Chaka Ng'ambi who is the founder is trained in business management, entrepreneurship and how to size and install all solar system equipment. He was also selected in 2015 and involved in rigorous training in entrepreneurship by the Tony Elumelu Foundation.(www.tonyelumelufoundation.org). An initiative to transform Africa. Mr. Allan Jere is a technical expert in the installation of irrigation systems with more than five years experience. Ms. Mavis Chiyambi is the Company Secretary/Director. Mr. Kennedy Simwinga is an accounting officer with vast experience in accounting. In 2016 , International Fund for Agriculture Development(IFAD) through Ministry of Agriculture provided a grant of USD3000 to support the initiative of creating guaranteed market for smallholder farmers in the rural. The company is linked to 55 African countries by the Tony Elumelu Alumni Network by sharing innovations and solutions available in various industries. If funds are sourced, many warehouses will be constructed in various rural Districts for storage of crops to be purchased from the smallholder farmers at the local rural. The bulk buyers and processors of cereal and legume crops will purchase the type, quality and quantity needed at the local rural at the market price. The solar water pump systems have to be purchased from our business partner to implement the project even though us we shall give these solar pump systems as long term loans to smallholder farmers so that they could concentrate of farming as source of income unlike cutting of trees for charcoal for sell. This will mean increased income for the rural communities since they will be growing different types of crops throughout the year under irrigation and because of the guaranteed market at the local rural.

Expertise in sector

  • 3-5 years

Organization Filing Status

  • Yes, we are a registered company.
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Attachments (2)

certificate of incorporation.pdf

Certificates of registration of the company

Common beans sold to UN World Food Program 2016.pdf and 2017 increase in production.pdf

Common beans sold to bulk buyer United Nations World Food Program in 2016 and increase of production of cereal and legume crops by the smallholder farmers because of guaranteed market provided at the local rural to discourage deforestation for charcoal as source of income thereby preserving nature and poaching wildlife as source of income.

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Spam
Photo of Ashley Tillman
Team

Hi Chaka, I enjoyed reading about the important work you are doing! In your pilots how many farmers are you currently working with and how many do you plan to work with in the next 1-2 years?

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Spam
Photo of Chaka Ng'ambi
Team

Hi Ashley,
Thank you very much for you compliments. We are working with 200 farmers in Mafinga because we do not have enough resources as you saw in one of the pictures of the motorcycle we were using last year 2016 to carry common beans from poor rural woman who could not afford to take the commodity for sell. We are creating guaranteed market at the local rural and if possible you could connect us to investors who could partners with us so that we could purchase a tractor and implements and solar water pump systems so that these smallholder farmers could be growing crops throughout the year under irrigation and they could also satop using hoes for cultivating farms which make the to age quickly. In need $100000 to invest in the purchase of USD25,000 for tractor and implements. USD25000 for purchase of solar water pump systems ,USD10000 for building warehouse for storage of crops purchased and USD40000 for purchasing common beans from the smallholder farmers and selling to United Nations World Food Program. The common beans is ready now for purchase. The picture you have seen was last year and United Nations World Food Program was feeding households in Zimbabwe who were affected by severe drought because of the climate change.We need to work together to provide solution to nature otherwise the future generation will blame us , we need to develop in people a culture of responsible behavior. I am trained to size, and install solar equipment systems by African Energy. In the next1-2 years we need to purchase 6000Metric tonnes of common beans if we could be funded with the above resources and we could reach the 12000 Smallholder farmers in Mafinga District. The solar pump systems we want to use could pump 4600litres of water per hour visit www.cedarsolar.com. I could be contacted on this platform or muchingagel@gmail.com

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