“Cooperation is the way to accelerate prosperity."
There are 175 undeveloped countries, with over 550 million smallholders in them. Each country, culture, crop, history, politics, and farmers differ.
So much variation; can we have a blueprint, a model, to lead those countries and farmers from poverty to prosperity? Could there be such a business model?
These questions kept my mind occupied for years while working with smallholders.
Then it occurred to me; the answer was always in front of me. As a farmer from toe to head, I know what farmers, and particularly smallholders, want.
They are not looking for someone to sell them more high or low agro-tech. They also don’t look for advice from those they don’t trust.
Smallholders are looking for long-term partners, those ready to walk the talk, take personal risks, and will work hard to help farmers, and investors, benefit!
After decades of repeated disappointments, smallholders expected only one thing – to increase their income. That’s it.
They do not want charity, subsidies, philanthropy, or any of that kind. They are ready and want to work hard to increase their income from its current $1.5 to $5 per day.
Looking through my farmer’s glasses, I set a target to help smallholders increase their income based on tested working business model principles.
My goal remained unchanged, to move into the prosperity zone with as many farmers as possible.
TOXIC VS HEALTHY PRINCIPLES
TOXIC
Having a goal of coupling smallholders’ success to business principles is not apparent – especially in times when multi-billion $ projects like AGRA aim to do the same. An endless stream of money energizes those projects from philanthropists like Bill Gates and funds like USAID.
AGRA’s project, like others, believes that the lack of money to buy advanced technologies is standing between farmers’ poverty and their future prosperity.
Sadly, 15 years and $60B after the AGRA program began, farmers in the program are not doing better than control groups (without the program support).
Furthermore, if we consider taking AGRA’s route, we would need to invest over $100B annually (!) with little hope for a substantial income increase.
Do you see this happening sometime soon or ever?
History shows that philanthropy does not create prosperity but preserves poverty.
HEALTHY
In contrast, when we run a program based on solid business principles, the more extensive the project is, the more profit it generates. But unlike philanthropy, if it is ineffective, it immediately stops.
With good intentions, philanthropy creates human suffering, while the business approach creates prosperity.
In the past two columns (1, 2), we discussed how and why Senegalese mango growers, under the Dream Valley 2,500 hectare program, doubled their income, and the country doubled its mango export with an additional 13 million kg to EU premium markets.
All this in a single(!) year.
Please think of the impact size when Dream Valley cooperates and extends its activity, and works with a hundred times more farmers.
This would mean a hundred times more farmers would benefit, and so will investors. Now, think of what it will do to those countries economies.
What would be the impact when Dream Valley is run with a thousand times more farmers?
In light of this, you may realize that programs like AGRA are, in practice, “poisonous” to Africa.
Such multi-billion $ failed initiatives don't bring the expected results. They give a bad reputation to Africa and smallholders, keeping business people and investors away, seeing Africa and smallholders as “toxic” investments, a game they can never win.
In contrast, Dream Valley is business-oriented and designed to bring results that must satisfy farmers and investors.
As a pure business, Dream Valley must satisfy its clients and investors and must profit, or else it is doomed.
Proven results, good business, and high profits attract more farmers and investors to join the Dream Valley program and increase everybody’s satisfaction and prosperity, as indicated by the message below. Isn’t it what we want!?
Prosperous businesses are the only way out from poverty to prosperity.
Which path (toward prosperity) do you prefer, the “free” charity/philanthropic or the business-oriented partnership?
As a farmer and a business person, the charity path was never my cup of tea.
Therefore, I have made it my mission to show the stakeholders (farmers, nations, business people, and investors) that there is a bright side to doing business with smallholders, wherever they are, and it can be highly profitable.
DISTINCTION
My goal is a scalable and profitable agro-business program that can expand fast and generate prosperity and profits among smallholders, value chains, and investors.
In addition to eradicating poverty, such a program will have an immense impact on global food availability, and the involved producing/exporting economy.
Like a thousand-mile journey, which begins with one step, our first step starts with agreeing on goals and how we measure success.
Goal – creating prosperity among smallholders.
We measure – farmers’ income per hectare.
The second step is defining the ways of increasing the income per hectare.
We do this by maximizing each of the following parameters;
Yield per hectare.
Quality of the produce.
Value of each fruit $/kg.
The merging of Wealth Cycles 1 and 2 creates a new type of Wealth Cycle predesigned to increase its stakeholders' wealth rapidly.
In the previous column, we have seen that smallholders must become an integral part of the Prosperity Cycle to escape poverty. (If you didn’t read the last column, stop here and read it first.)
The merging of Smallholders (Cycle 1) with the Premium Market and the High-Quality Value-Chain elements (Cycle 2) creates a new Cycle (1+1>2), the Dream Valley Prosperity Cycle (Cycle 3).
Each of the three Cycles is self-maintained, but each generates a different amount of wealth, where Cycle 1 generates the least, Cycle 2 more, and Cycle 3 generates the most.
As it is, premium markets and high-quality value chain providers are unwilling to initiate collaboration with smallholders.
This is where Dream Valley steps in and provides a novel operational concept and business model based on cooperation and supported by a physical and digital platform.
Furthermore, Dream Valley is a trusted partner, enabling $ millions of transactions between businesses.
Export and selling to premium markets is the lifeline for millions of smallholders and their national economies. Dream Valley makes it doable even under smallholders’ current reality.
MERGING THE ELEMENTS
The serenity prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." (Reinhold Niebuhr)
Smallholders and underdeveloped economies need, can, and want to change. But often, they don't know what (and how) to change and what they can't change. And too often, they fail to tell the difference between the two.
To enable them smooth transit from poverty to prosperity, it is our responsibility to let them change what they can and let us help them change the things they need to change but can’t.
Dream Valley applies this attitude in its first commercial crop to market – Mango.
Intentionally we choose a high-added value crop, which suffers extremely high crop protection damages, reaching 30% to 80% yield loss.
In Senegal’s case, Dream Valley understood well what farmers and the country could change and what they could not and completed the rest. The result was beyond imagination; everything was doubled!
Thanks to Senegal’s 2021 mango campaign, smallholders could produce much more top export-quality mangos sold in the EU premium markets.
This achievement was thanks to Dream Valley's dedicated direct support. Indeed, in 2022 when Dream Valley was not involved, mango export plunged by 50% back to their baseline.
Dream Valley strives to offer millions of consumers the best culinary experience when buying its mangos.
This opens endless opportunities to mango experts, growers, and investors looking for lucrative investments with high ROI.
Currently, the average income of a smallholder mango grower in Africa is $500 per hectare versus the $50,000 that the Israeli grower collects from a field of the same size.
Dream Valley aims to help smallholders reach $12,000 in income per hectare (please calculate the percent of income increase).
Although this will bridge just a tiny part of the professional gap, it will create prosperity among farmers and business success among investors.
Therefore, it is natural that Israel will serve as the primary source of experts and providers for small hold farmers.
Dream Valley sees Israeli experts providing high-quality technologies and services, while funds are sourced from various global investors, probably primarily those in the USA.
The USA is the most significant financial market, which makes its investors most suitable to support Dream Valley global initiative.
US premium markets will also benefit from Dream Valley’s higher quality mangos and lower phytosanitary risk once it begins operating in LATAM.
A Wealth Cycle, which includes smallholders producing top-quality mangos (and later other fruit crops) with the help of Israeli experts and technologies, supported by long-term strategic investors, offers high profits to all.
Such Israeli – African (and other underdeveloped economies) – Strategic Investors alliance can change the world while creating a unicorn that thrives thanks to smallholders.
Do you have a mission related to helping those who are not as fortunate as you are?
Do you want to directly impact the economy of millions and 175 countries?
Do you believe in growing by helping others succeed?
If you believe in those, I invite investors who wish to impact the lives of millions while making a handsome profit to contact me (+972-542523425 text).
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TAKEAWAYS
Ø THERE IS a blueprint, a business model leading smallholders to prosperity.
Ø SOME efforts to help smallholders are "toxic."
Ø COOPERATION amongst “the best in the category," based on novel business models, is a game changer
Ø ISRAEL should take a far more active part in the agro sector of underdeveloped economies.
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*** Mental and Economic Freedom Are Interconnected. ***
See you soon,
Nimrod
Text me: +972-54-2523425 (WhatsApp), or e-mail nisraely@biofeed.co.il
P.S.
If you missed it, here is a link to last week's blog, "How Does “The Global Agro-Paradox” Creates Poverty, And How To Fix It?"
Link to recent columns.
P.P.S.
Please look at the video series “The Agricultural Gap." I explain the historical roots of the agricultural gap between African and Western countries with short videos.
I see this video series as "uncompleted," as I am waiting to gain more confidence before completing the chapters with The Solution, as I perceive it.
If you like it, don’t forget to share it with those who need to see it and Subscribe.
Change Begins With A Decision
That The Existing Reality Is A Choice
And Not A Decree of Fate