A training and validation workshop of the Seed Operations Toolkit was held in Abidjan from 14 to 18 November 2016. Designed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with AfricaSeeds, the Toolkit aims to provide guidance for capacity development of all stakeholders of the seed value chain. The workshop was attended by 27 experts from 21 African countries. The validated modules were: Module 1: Development of small-scale seed enterprises; Module 2: Seed conditioning equipment; and Module 3: Seed Quality Control and Certification.

1. 15/11/16
1
15/11/16
1
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
SEEDS
TOOLKIT
MODULE
1:
Development
of
Small-­‐Scale
Seed
Enterprises

2. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
2
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Promo?ng
and
selling
your
seed
• Sell
all
your
seed
each
season.
This
requires
good
understanding
of
the
crops
and
varie4es
farmers
desire
and
the
amount
of
seed
they
need
• Obtain
this
informa4on
through
market
research
and
use
it
in
your
produc4on
plan
• Ensure
that
you
produce
seed
in
line
with
real
market
demand

3. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Selling
all
your
seed

4. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
4
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
How
can
you
make
good
seed
sales?
• Promote
your
varie4es
and
seed
at
field
days
and
on-­‐farm
demonstra4ons
• Par4cipate
in
agricultural
fairs,
mee4ngs
or
conferences,
and
make
displays

5. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
5
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
How
can
you
make
good
seed
sales?
• Distribute
your
seed
through
sales
agents
located
in
local
markets
and
who
can
give
good
extension
advice
to
buyers

6. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
• Sell
your
seed
with
other
inputs
and
items
farmers
need
so
that
they
can
purchase
all
from
one
source.
How
can
you
make
good
seed
sales?

7. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
7
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
• Do
market
research
to
find
out
the
prevailing
market
prices
for
grain
and
seed
of
your
crop
How
can
you
make
good
seed
sales?

8. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
8
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
What
is
the
right
selling
price?
Use
three
methods:
1. Cost
plus
pricing
2. Farmers’
willingness
to
pay
3. A
combina4on
of
both

9. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
9
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Cost
plus
pricing
• Base
the
selling
price
on
your
costs
• Know
your
total
costs
and
the
breakdown
• Understand
how
all
costs
are
incurred
and
how
you
can
influence
them
• Add
a
reasonable
profit
margin
to
the
total
cost
to
fix
the
selling
price

10. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
10
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Buyers’
willingness
to
pay
• Base
the
selling
price
on
what
the
farmer
can
afford
and
is
willing
to
pay
for
quality
seed
• You
need
to
know
the
prices
other
producers
are
charging
for
the
same
kind
of
seed

11. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Combina?on
of
cost
plus
pricing
and
buyers’
willingness
to
pay
• Ideally,
adopt
a
combina4on
of
both
methods
• Calculate
your
full
costs
and
have
a
good
understanding
of
the
prevailing
market
condi4ons.

12. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Why
do
you
need
profit?
Primary
reason
is
to
ensure
the
business
con4nues
to
survive
while
selling
seed
at
a
compe44ve
rate.

13. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
How
do
you
guarantee
a
profit?
• Begin
the
season
with
a
full
store
• Sell
your
seed
at
a
good
price
that
farmers
can
afford
and
are
willing
to
pay
• End
the
season
with
an
empty
store
(at
least
aim
for
empty
store)
• Keep
good
financial
records
• Provide
good
acer-­‐sale
service

14. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
14
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
AOer-­‐sale
service
• Ensure
that
customer
service
acer
sale
is
an
integral
part
of
your
company's
marke4ng
strategy
• Deliver
quality
seed
on
4me
at
an
acceptable
price
• Con4nue
to
care
for
your
customers
acer
selling
seed
to
them
• Deal
with
complaints,
provide
advice
and
maintain
customer
loyalty
• Ask
customers
for
feedback
and
address
them

15. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Should
you
sell
seeds
on
credit?
• It
is
normal
for
some
farmers
to
ask
for
seed
on
credit
• Although
the
enterprise
may
have
a
strict
policy
of
cash
sales
and
no
credit,
in
prac4ce
some
flexibility
may
be
required,
even
though
this
could
mean
running
the
risk
of
debts

16. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
16
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
EXERCISES
AND
DISCUSSION

17. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
17
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Managing
your
seed
enterprise
In
a
well-­‐managed
enterprise,
you
must:
• Run
the
financial
affairs
efficiently
• Monitor
and
evaluate
the
success
of
your
business

18. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
18
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
What
do
you
need
for
good
management?
• Competence
and
dedica4on
of
people
who
form
the
enterprise
• Internal
organiza4on
of
the
people
working
in
the
enterprise
• Workers
must
be
able
to
undertake
the
various
tasks
and
work
together
efficiently

19. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
19
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Internal
organiza?onal
in
small
seed
enterprises
• Group
various
ac4vi4es
or
tasks
into
dis4nct
categories
on
the
basis
of
func4on
• Share
key
func4ons
and
responsibili4es
among
members
according
to
capability
and
interest
• Where
possible,
have
even
distribu4on
of
tasks
and
responsibili4es
in
order
not
to
overburden
any
member(s)
• Provide
training
in
essen4al
ac4vi4es
so
that
everyone
has
a
good
understanding
of
all
tasks
• Rotate
tasks
among
members
over
4me
as
possible

20. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
20
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Organiza?onal
structure
of
small
seed
enterprise

21. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
21
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Key
tasks
in
a
small
seed
enterprises
• Organizing
contract
farmers
and
input
supply
• Seed
produc4on
and
extension
• Procurement
of
raw
seed
and
transporta4on
• Seed
cleaning,
packaging
and
storage
• Quality
control
• Marke4ng
and
sales
• Bookkeeping
and
accoun4ng

22. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
22
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Leadership
in
small
seed
businesses
Leadership
is
essen4al
for
a
successful
seed
business.
The
role
of
the
enterprise
leader
is
to:
• Promote
teamwork
and
team
spirit
• Enhance
organiza4onal
performance
• Build
trust

23. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
23
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Quali?es
and
skills
of
a
good
leader
• Have
good
personal
quali4es
• Be
open
• Willing
to
share
informa4on
• Accept
construc4ve
cri4cism
• Proficient
in
resolving
conflicts
• Have
sound
business
management
skills

24. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
24
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Changing
leadership
• It
is
good
prac4ce
to
change
the
enterprise
leader
periodically
• The
enterprise
must
not
become
overly
dependent
on
the
direc4on
of
one
person
• The
cons4tu4on
or
by-­‐laws
should
include
this
provision

25. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
25
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Preparing
and
keeping
business
records
Prepare
and
keep
accurate
and
4mely
financial
records
by
wri4ng
down
of
all
transac4ons
in
the
enterprise
involving:
• money
coming
in
• money
going
out
• money
owed
by
customers

26. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
26
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Why
keep
financial
records?
Good
records
will
help
you
do
the
following:
• Have
good
financial
picture
to
monitor
the
progress
of
your
enterprise
• Have
wrimen
records
as
proof
in
dealing
with
banks
• Prepare
financial
statements
on
profit,
loss,
cash-­‐flow,
and
balance
sheets.

27. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
27
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Merits
of
good
record-­‐keeping
• Provide
informa4on
needed
to
make
valid
decisions
• Help
you
recall
transac4ons
• Help
you
maintain
transparency
• Improve
accountability
through
checking
and
verifica4on

28. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
28
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Keeping
your
financial
records
Where
possible,
use
computer
and
appropriate
socware
package
or
simple
ledgers,
file
folders
or
accoun4ng
exercise
books.
Keep
good
business
records
by:
• Filing
documents
in
orderly
manner
and
keeping
them
in
a
safe
place
• Using
folders
or
files
divided
into
categories
or
sec4ons
related
to
specific
transac4ons
• Organizing
receipts
by
category
and
by
date
• Upda4ng
records
on
a
regular
basis

29. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
29
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Kinds
of
records
to
keep
• A
record-­‐keeping
system
that
is
simple
to
use,
easy
to
understand
and
accurate
• Providing
summaries
of
business
transac4ons
such
as
materials
you
purchase,
seeds
you
sell
and
workers
employed
• Preserving
all
relevant
suppor4ng
documents
and
keeping
them
in
order
(e.g.
price
quota4ons,
invoices,
receipts,
sales
slips
and
paid
bills)

30. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
30
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Types
of
financial
records
There
are
four
basic
kinds
of
financial
records:
1. Cashbook
2. Sales
ledger
3. Purchase
ledger
4. Wages
book

31. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
31
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Cashbook
(peVy
cash
records)
• This
is
the
final
record
of
all
money
that
comes
into
and
goes
out
of
your
business
• Use
the
cashbook
on
a
daily
basis
for
every
transac4on
• List
everything
your
business
buys
or
sells
whether
for
cash
or
credit
See
Toolkit
Module
for
details

32. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
32
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Sales
ledger
• Enter
all
sales
whether
or
not
the
customer
has
actually
paid
for
the
seed
• Whenever
a
customer
takes
seed
and
you
issue
an
invoice,
record
it
in
the
sales
ledger
• If
a
customer
actually
pays
for
the
seed
and
a
receipt
is
issued,
enter
the
payment
in
the
sales
ledger
together
with
the
number
of
the
receipt
(stamped
as
“paid”)
• Enter
in
the
cashbook
the
income
or
amount
of
money
received
See
Toolkit
Module
for
details

33. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
33
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Purchase
ledger
• This
is
mirror
image
of
the
sales
ledger
• Enter
all
payments
to
be
made
against
the
invoices
sent
to
you
by
your
suppliers,
whether
or
not
you
have
paid
for
them
• When
you
pay
a
supplier's
bill,
enter
the
payment
in
the
purchase
ledger,
mark
the
supplier's
invoice
“paid”
• Enter
the
payment
in
the
cashbook
See
Toolkit
Module
for
details

34. 15/11/16
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34
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Wages
book
• Keep
a
record
of
all
wage
and
salary
payments
to
workers
including
any
allowances
• Detailed
record
of
payments
helps
to
address
any
financial
queries
raised
by
workers
See
Toolkit
Module
for
details

35. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
35
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Other
records
worth
keeping
• Stock
or
inventory
record
• Fixed
asset
register
• Motor
vehicle
logbooks
See
Toolkit
Module
for
details

36. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
36
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
EXERCISES
AND
DISCUSSION

37. 15/11/16
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37
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Looking
to
the
future
Cri4cal
ques4ons
to
ask
about
your
enterprise:
• Where
would
you
like
your
seed
enterprise
to
be
three
or
five
years
from
now?
• What
do
you
want
to
be
doing
by
then?
Amemp4ng
to
answer
these
ques4ons
will
help
you
look
to
the
future
and
see
how
your
short-­‐
term
plans
fit
into
your
longer-­‐term
view.

38. 15/11/16
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38
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Where
is
my
enterprise
going?

39. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
39
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Growth
of
your
enterprise
• Your
new
seed
enterprise
needs
4me
to
survive,
flourish
and
grow
• Its
stages
of
development
are
similar
to
those
of
the
seed
planted
in
the
ground

40. 15/11/16
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15/11/16
40
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Key
enterprise
growth
stages
1. Start-­‐up
2. Survival
3. Growth
4. Expansion

41. 15/11/16
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41
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Stage
1:
Start-­‐up
ACTIONS:
• Register
your
enterprise
as
legal
en4ty
• Prepare
your
business
plan
• Obtain
funding
• Select
growers
and
begin
seed
produc4on
• Do
promo4on
and
establish
market
base

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
CHALLENGES:
• Conserve
and
do
not
waste
your
cash
flow
• Be
realis4c
about
what
you
do
• Keep
checking
that
your
business
is
on
track
Stage
1:
Start-­‐up

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Stage
2:
Survival
(aOer
few
years)
ACTIONS:
• Build
on
your
success
so
far
• Seek
a
larger
market
share
for
your
seed
• Use
good
marke4ng
strategies
to
reach
your
customers
and
market
your
seed
• Maximize
revenue
by
collec4ng
payments
in
4me
to
improve
your
cash
flow

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
CHALLENGES:
• Avoid
cash
flow
problems
and
ensure
your
revenues
offset
expenditures
• Collect
outstanding
payments
as
quickly
and
as
effec4vely
as
possible
• Offer
different
different
payment
op4ons
for
your
different
customers
Stage
2:
Survival
(aOer
few
years)

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Stage
3:
Growth
ACTIONS:
• Diversify
into
new
crops
and
explore
new
market
opportuni4es
• Establish
new
distribu4on
channels
for
your
new
markets
• Consider
making
a
new
business
plan
• Hire
new
staff
and
provide
training
• Set
up
bemer
accoun4ng
and
management
systems
• Run
your
enterprise
in
a
more
formal
way
to
deal
with
increasing
sales
volume
and
customers

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
CHALLENGES:
• Watch
out
for
new
compe4tors
and
stay
focused
• An4cipate
changing
needs
of
your
customers
and
adapt
in
4me
• Adopt
improved
business
prac4ces
and
employ
skilled
staff
to
compete
effec4vely
Stage
3:
Growth

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Stage
4:
Expansion
ACTIONS:
• Expose
your
business
to
more
customers
• Strengthen
your
marke4ng
posi4on
to
op4mize
opportuni4es
for
expansion
• Use
marke4ng
tools,
such
as
diversifica4on
(new
products),
compe44ve
pricing,
and
targeted
promo4onal
campaigns

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
CONSTRAINTS:
• Choose
expansion
methods
that
best
fit
the
strengths
and
weaknesses
of
your
enterprise
while
taking
into
account
key
limita4ons
such
exis4ng
resources
(including
cash)
Stage
4:
Expansion

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Expansion
strategies
1. Market
penetra4on
2. Market
development
3. Product
development
4. Diversifica4on

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Expansion
strategies

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Market
penetra?on
• Sell
more
seed
within
your
current
market
• Encourage
current
customers
to
buy
more
of
your
seed
• Amract
customers
away
from
your
compe4tors
• Make
your
seed
more
compe44ve
in
terms
of
price
and
quality
• Improve
the
availability
of
your
seed
• Promote
new
end
uses
of
your
varie4es
such
as
value-­‐added
processing

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Selling
more
seed

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Market
development
• Sell
your
seed
in
new
markets
by
reaching
new
customers
• Go
beyond
your
current
sales
area
to
seek
new
customers
• Use
dealers
further
afield
and
send
seed
to
them
• Adopt
new
marke4ng
methods
such
as
selling
on
commission
to
increase
your
sales
volume
• Do
market
segmenta4on
by
targe4ng
your
seed
at
specific
groups
of
buyers
within
your
new
market
area

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Reaching
new
customers

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Needs
differ
for
different
market
segments

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Product
development
• Offer
seed
of
a
new
crop
or
a
related
product
(e.g.,
agrichemicals)
in
your
present
market
• It
is
risky
introducing
a
new
product,
as
farmers
may
prefer
what
they
are
used
to
and
not
much
interested
in
the
new
product

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Diversifica?on
• Introducing
a
new
crop
or
product
in
a
new
market
takes
your
business
in
a
different
direc4on
and
carries
the
greatest
risk
• There
is
uncertainty
due
to
limited
knowledge
and
experience
• But
diversifica4on
is
essen4al
to
avoid
dependence
on
one
product
or
seeds
only
and
provides
financial
security
• From
seeds
you
can
diversify
into
equipment
sales,
tractor
hire,
grain
cleaning,
etc.

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Selling
new
seed
related
product

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59
FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Guiding
principle
for
expansion
• In
the
early
stages,
use
market
penetra4on
and
development
• With
more
experience,
explore
expansion
opportuni4es
involving
product
development
and
diversifica4on

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Joining
forces
for
survival
and
growth
• Join
forces
with
other
seed
enterprises
in
an
associa4on
• The
members
in
an
associa4on
share
common
interests
and
help
each
other
survive
and
grow

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Benefits
of
seed
associa?ons
• Marke4ng
support
(networking,
amrac4ng
addi4onal
customers)
• Provision
of
services
(business
educa4on
and
training
opportuni4es
through
workshops,
conferences
and
trade
shows)
• Advocacy
and
collec4ve
ac4on
to
help
remove
barriers
due
to
inappropriate
laws
and
regula4ons
which
make
it
difficult
for
seed
enterprises
to
survive
and
prosper

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Benefits
of
seed
associa?ons
• Advocacy
func4on

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Forming
a
seed
associa?on
• Step
1.
Hold
ini4al
informal
mee4ng
to
share
ideas

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Forming
a
seed
associa?on
• Step
2.
Select
provisional
commimee
to
prepare
by-­‐laws
and
guidelines
• Step
3.
Hold
an
organizing
mee4ng
to
finalize
the
by-­‐laws
• Step
4.
Register
the
associa4on

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
Forming
a
seed
associa?on
• Step
5.
Hold
an
inaugural
mee4ng
• Step
6.
Plan
ac4vi4es
for
the
first
year

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FAO/AfricaSeeds
Valida4on
Workshop
Seeds
Toolkit
Abidjan,
Côte
d’Ivoire
14-­‐18
November,
2016
EXERCISES
AND
DISCUSSION