Agribusiness: Building a garri empire with innovative ideas.

  Echbee Foods, turning ordinary garri to extraordinary products. We are building a garri empire one recipe at a time providing nutritious food for children, empowering women and ensuring food security.

  Why garri? why not?  There is no home in Africa where garri is not on the menu at least twice a day, crunch the numbers and see the possibilities. If a larger % of the population eat garri, the cassava is here in the country, processing is done here then there is a market, a perpetual market.

 Introduction of garri to people is not necessary the catch here is to show how ordinary garri can be nutritious and affordable. Garri is easily accessible, affordable and a larger portion of the population are accustomed to the food.

Echbee foods thus decided to fortify what was already common in most homes to achieve our purpose of balanced meal with garri. Garri which is the most common by -product is food for over 800 million people in the world, thus fortifying the garri to produce a highly nutritious cereal can generate over 120 billion naira as revenue. 

  Welcome to the garri empire, a world of possibilities. We are changing the way people eat garri, one recipe at a time.

 The signature product of Echbee foods is our cassava flakes, which can be a snack or cereal.

 

  This is how most people drink #garri.

                                             #garri as  #snack and cereal.                                                 

Why drink #garri when you can have it #flaked? Follow us  for more mouthwatering recipes. For your next event try our garri puff-puff, cakes or finger foods.

Promoting Agribusiness with Value Chain Development.

Dr. Henrietta Bolanle Ojuri

Dr. Echbee, my resume: read

Value chain strategist.

Business development.

Waste to wealth advocate.

 Design thinking. 

Agro-processing

Agribusiness: How to develop a gender -sensitive value chain.

  Gender equality to achieve zero hunger, food security and a sustainable food systems. Developing a gender sensitive value chain will entail mapping out activities within the chain and analyzing actions of operators and key players within the chain. 

 One of the approaches commonly used to access processes and actors contributing to food systems and to determine which actions to undertake is the value chain approach. Value chains are  key components of agrifood systems and to better understand gender- based constraints a mapping of activities are necessary.  

 Activities that will monitor tasks and those assigned tasks within the food production cycle such as interactive sessions with players within the food chain  use of surveys, questionnaires and gender -based focal groups are  important to pin point constraints and also provide a platform to champion necessary actions.

               How to conduct a gender sensitive value chain analysis.?

Choose the value chain of interest then :

 1)  Carry out a gender sensitive value chain mapping by going through all activities within the chain and matching tasks against gender.

2) Identify gender based constraints along the chain .

3) Analyze the gender based constraints  and proffer solutions.

   

Agribusiness : creating gender -sensitive value chain.

Gender equality is the fifth sustainable development goal(SDG) and to achieve zero hunger, food security with sustainable food systems there is the need for developing gender sensitive value chains.

 There is a gender -sensitive value chain frame work developed by Food and Agricultural organisation which has added 2 components to the core value chains. 

The frame work looks or analyzes the value chain based on individual and household level of involvement in the production circle.. This analysis will enumerate gender-based constraints along the production cycle as well as along nodes of production making it easy to proffer solutions.

  The adoption of the SDG goals and the execution necessitates the need to reshape and restructure our food systems to be:1) More inclusive of the marginalized population. 

2)Environmentally sustainable. 3)Capable of delivering healthy diets.

                 Why is gender relevant to value chains? 

48% of Agricultural labor force in the low income countries/ under developed/developing countries are women. 

The contributions of women to production and value chain development are usually not acknowledged,because  the services rendered are usually not rewarded with wages as most of the work are regarded as an extension of the domestic chores.

        

 

The analysis of operations and actors within the food chain and along the production cycle will show constraints encountered by players and also give an idea how to address the constraints.

 Women  within the value chain are challenged  in terms of access to land, livestock ownership, credit facilities,  access to information,access to technology and education. These constraints are fundamental and when tackled  will create  gender sensitive value chains were contributions of women will be highlighted, addressed and rewarded.

  Empowerment is the key to developing gender-sensitive value chains,where women gain power and control over their lives and acquire  ability to make strategic choices. 

Education is a chief component of the necessary action to stop  gender -based constraints  in value chains.

 Lets access the constraints in a value chain and proffer solutions.: Cassava value chain.

 

RED MEAT VALUE CHAIN: Processing And Packaging Options.

Red meat can be hygienically packaged and sold in meat shops. The packaging are usually of different parts or as specified by customers. The packaging can be in clear transparent bags that are air tight or the use of food trays for easy stacking in chillers. 

                    

Meat can be processed further by frying, this is packaged in beautiful handy packs . The packaging can be plates,trays or decorated bags. Women in beef processing  have various ways to prepare and process beef and beef products.

          

 Meat can be processed into beef jerky. This is done by cutting meat into thin slices, add spices then dry to produce the jerky. This delicacy is a spicy variety of  processed red meat popularly called, KILISHI.

 The export potential of this product is very high and the profit margin is high.  The  product is light ,easy to pack and very handy to ship out.

                                            

                                 

 Spicy beef jerky.

      Other processing options?  See                           

AGRIBUSINESS: MEAT SHARING AND CROWD COW IN THE RED MEAT VALUE CHAIN.

 We have been discussing about franchising as an option in the red meat value chain.  Discussions have spanned various models of making profit in the red meat value chain from owning an abattoir to running a meat shop.

Livestock business 

  The force of collaborations in form of franchising to grow a business is a tested and proven strategy. Crowd sourcing method can be remolded and used in the red meat value chain. Meat sharing aptly termed crowd cow.  scenario 4 

  Meat sharing and crowd cow: interested in the red meat value chain but dont fit into any other highlighted options? Then this is for you.

   Meat sharing and crowd cow; this method allows various individuals to buy parts of a cow, the cow is only slaughtered when all parts are sold. These are then dispatched to individuals or they pick up at your shop. 

                             

Meat sharing and crowd cow is  risk free because interested buyers pay before cow is delivered.  The business strategy is crowdfunding, different individuals are paying for shares in a cow. It is the business owner that will determine price per share based on the price of cow he intends to purchase.

 The meat sharing and crowd cow needs an advertising platform to get people informed of operation. The platform will announce dates and time of crowd cow with timeline to opt -in. When the  target is reached then the business owner moves in the abattoir to slaughter and pack the beef as desired by investor.

 Advantages of this model is 1) No risk attached because you pay to opt-in. 2) No waste or loss because the client has paid and must pick up . 3) No extra cost of freezing left-overs. 4) Business is based on demand per time, no slaughtering on  assumptions. 5) Minimal cost of start -up, a social media page and means of dispatch is all you need.

Franchising : A business growth model.

  

 Franchising your business to expand frontiers and smile to the bank.. Thinking of starting a business? use the franchise method to shorten the learning curve. Are you an established brand thinking of scaling up? thinking of creating a global influence? use the franchising method, it is a win- win situation. 

  One shop, one brand scattered all over creating employment and servicing more customers then franchising is the model. 

  Franchising in agribusiness,..read more here