Supplying the equipment to make BOP farms successful

Paul Rigterink — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:34:55 -0400

I think AVINA could make a major contribution to helping BOP farmers if they would identify all the supplies that are needed by BOP farmers with 1-3 acres of land who wish to be successful with: Grain production (corn, soybeans, millet, sorghum, or rice), Production of vegetables, Fruit orchards, Fruit nurseries, Poultry production, Small animal production such as goats and pigs, or General purpose micro-farms. Peace Corps Volunteers, NGOs, and others could then identify if these supplies are available in the region in which they are working to determine if their farming projects will succeed. When I worked in rural community development in Cordaba Colombia I could not easily obtain the following supplies: micro-irrigation equipment, veterinary medicines, wire mesh fencing, fertilizer, pesticides and pesticide applicators, micro-loans, farming insurance, garden forks and hoes, chain saws, grindstones for sharpening machetes, appropriate seeds and nursery stock, etc. Most businesses fail because they are missing critical supplies. I believe that BOP farmers face the challenge of farming without adequate equipment and this often causes their farms to fail. BOP farmers in Colombia need more than micro-loans if they are to succeed.

Guest Post: The Transformative Sector Approach in Latin America

Derek Newberry — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:13:39 -0400

Guest blogger Emily Fintel is Regional Representative for Strategic Initiatives at Fundación AVINA, one of the largest private foundations in Latin America. AVINA partners with civil society and business leaders to promote sustainable development through a network of twenty-one offices in eleven countries through the region, and has invested more than $350M in partners' initiatives since 1994.

In this post, Fintel responds to Allen Hammond's series on taking Base of the Pyramid models to scale. This week, NextBillion.net will publish responses from a number of BoP experts and practitioners, followed by a concluding post from Hammond.

By Emily Fintel

My immediate reaction to Al's conversation with Jacqueline Novogratz of Acumen is that I too am haunted by the numbers. Within Latin America, which is the focus of our work at AVINA, hundreds of millions of people suffer from a series of market failures that prevent them from realizing many of the benefits that are enjoyed by middle and upper class winners of globalization. I completely agree with Al that the most promising avenues in order to make a contribution of significant dimension are those strategies which have a systematic approach and integrate a diversity of complementary actors in the development of new, socially inclusive business models and the transformation of entire economic sectors.

(This post continues past the break; click "Read More" to continue)

NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Guest Post: The Transformative Sector Approach in Latin America - Comments

Supplying the equipment to make BOP farms successful

Guest Post: The Transformative Sector Approach in Latin America