Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essay Example

Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essay â€Å"DEVELOPING AND FINANCING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS† Experience from CRDB Bank Plc Samson Keenja, CRDB Microfinance Services Company Limited, Dar es salaam, Tanzania INTRODUCTION Agriculture is the leading economic sector in Tanzania, providing a livelihood to 80% of the population. It is the primary source of food and raw materials accounting for 50% of the GDP and a leading export sector. It remains important for achieving sustained growth, poverty reduction and rural development. Agriculture in Tanzania is dominated by smallholder farmers (peasants) cultivating an average farm sizes of between 0. 9 hectares and 3. 0 hectares each. About 70 percent of Tanzania’s crop area is cultivated by hand hoe, 20 percent by ox plough and 10 percent by tractor. It is rain fed agriculture. Food crop production dominates the agriculture economy 5. 1 million ha. are cultivated annually, of which 85 percent is under food crops. The major constraints facing the Agriculture sector includes. 1. The falling labour and land productivity due to application of poor technology. 2. Dependence on unreliable and irregular weather conditions. Crops are adversely affected by periodical droughts. 3. Unreliable markets for the farm produce, affected not only by the principles of demand and supply but also by the Government policies on food security. 4. Poor road infrastructure for supply of farm inputs and transportation of farm produce to the markets. In Tanzania, most of production, processing and marketing functions have been assigned to the private sector. We will write a custom essay sample on Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However despite efforts by the private sector in investing in processing of crops yet a substantial amount of crops are sold unprocessed including crops such as cashew nuts and cotton. Agricultural value chains are becoming more complex over time due to change in the market environment driven by various factors among them being changes in demand, regulations, government policies and changes in lifestyles. As a result of these changes then product and market standards change which in turn, require changes from various actors in the chain that supply these products including their inputs to meet arket requirements. A critical input in the business of creating value in these changing agricultural chains is finance. Financial products need to also respond to the changing market requirements in the output markets. Mechanisms in terms of improving effectiveness of financial products, access and repayment need to be examined (Southeast Asian Regional Conference Value Chain Financing, 2007). What is a value chain? In order for a product to reach the consumer or user, there often are many processes or steps involved. Each step must have a direct link to the next in order for the processes to form a viable chain. At each stage, some additional transformation or enhancement is made to the product. Hence, a value chain is often defined as the sequence of value-adding activities, from production to consumption, through processing and commercialization. Value chains, or supply chains, in agriculture can be thought of as a â€Å"farm to fork† set of processes and flows – from the inputs to production to processing, marketing and the consumer. Each segment of a chain has one or more backward and forward linkages. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and hence the stronger the links, the more secure is the flow of products and services within the chain (Calvin Miller and Carlos da Silva, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome) Value chain in summary: [pic] Source: Paper on â€Å"Value Chain Financing in Agriculture† by Calvin Miller and Carlos da Silva FINANCING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS Finance is critical to increasing efficiency, improving product quality, and raising the productivity and income of value chain actors. Without access to finance, small farmers will continue to make little investment, have low-return production systems, and be unable to use their farm resources optimally. Similarly, financial constraints may prevent small and medium-scale traders and processors from expanding their capacities, thus limiting the amount of produce they can buy from small farmers and other local raw material suppliers. Finance is therefore critical in the various stages of the value chain. As noted in the above diagram, at each stage of the value chain i. e. from inputs to consumption, usually there are needs for inance to cover for various requirements ranging from inputs procurement to loans for crops stocking for traders. In each segment in the chain there are different needs and capacities to access finance. Therefore CRDB Bank has developed specific products and services that are tailored into serving players in each segment of the value chain. Usually loans are advanced to participants in the chai n who have organized themselves in various forms. Example of actors in the agricultural value chains financed by CRDB Bank; 1. INPUTS PRODUCTION: AMCOS, FARMER GROUPS, SACCOS, UNIONS and small to medium agribusiness entities. . PROCESSING: CURING COMPANIES, GINNERY COMPANIES and CASHEWNUTS PROCESSORS. 3. DISTRIBUTION: Loans to meet (1) transportation cost of inputs to farmers (2) meeting transport costs of harvested produces to factories, storage areas or market place. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS CRDB Bank has been participating in developing effective agricultural value chains through variety of ways. In an effort to offer better services to our clients, special departments and in other case establishment of a dedicated Company to serve certain type of clients has been established. Our agriculture customers who fall in the value chain are normally segmented in the following categories (1) Microfinance customers (2) SME’s customers and (3) Corporate customers. In all three segments above, efforts are made by the bank into ensuring that there is effective agricultural value chain that address default risks while in turn reduce production unit cost, increase production volume while strives to add value in the chain. Activities that are aimed into attaining this are: ? Engage in promotion and establishment of various farmer cooperative societies such as AMCOS, SACCOS and UNIONS. Provision of technical assistance to these associations ? Assist in product designing ? Infrastructures loans such as for building irrigation system, warehouses and office buildings. ? Training and coaching our customers plus their staffs SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES (SACCOS) are exclusively served by the CRDB Microfinance services Company Ltd, a subsidiary of CRDB Bank P lc that has been established specifically to serve micro-entrepreneurs through financial intermediaries. To develop the MFI the Company undertakes sensitization of the communities to establish microfinance institutions in areas with demand for financial services but without a financial institution. On the other hand, it takes onboard weak local microfinance institutions, building their capacities to offer tailor made products and services that really address the needs of their communities. The Microfinance Institutions, benefits by receiving free: 1. Technical assistance 2. Capacity building 3. Marketing as well as 4. Product design assistance. On the other, hand the Company initiate and manage microfinance loans on behalf of the Bank. These loans include agriculture loans (for farm inputs and cultivation), equipment loans for powertillers, tractors and irrigation systems, stock finance loans and office building loans. The Company has a team of dedicated staffs who are responsible for providing technical assistance to the affiliate intermediary institutions on regular basis, capacity building assistance and marketing assistance. They are also responsible for guiding the MFIs in accessing banks products and services. Farmer’s Groups, AMCOS, UNIONS, Company’s and Individuals engaged in agricultural activities are served by two departments of the Bank depending on their size  and credit requirement. Those departments are the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Corporate Department. Customers served by SME are those with loan requirement of up to TZS 200 million. Customers with loan requirement above that amount are served through the Corporate Department of the bank. It has been realized through experience that capacity building before lending especially to those taking loans for the first time is vital for effective utilization and management of the loans. Therefore, training is conducted to the beneficiaries to improve their entrepreneurial skills but also in business management to ensure loan repayment. . CRDB FINANCING TO DIFFERENT ACTORS [pic] EXAMPLES OF PRODUCT AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CRDB BANK TO ACTORS IN DIFFERENT VALUE CHAINS Examples of products and services offered by CRDB Bank Plc to various agricultural value chains: A) PADDY VALUE CHAIN S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | | | |Powertiller/tractor loans | |2 |Storage |Stock finance loans | |3 |Processing |Loans to millers | |4 |Distribution |Loans to cover transportation costs | | | |Crops purchase loans | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles | B) COFFEE VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | |2 |Processing |Loans to curing companies | |3 |Distribution |Loans to cover transportation costs | | | |Crops purchase loans | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles | | | |Loans to cover export costs (CIF costs to the buying | | | |country) | | | |Crops purchase | C) SUGARCANES VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | |2 |Harvesting |Loans to purchase harvesting equipments e. g cane loaders | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles to ship canes from | | | |farms to factories | |3 |Processing |Loans to sugar factories | |4 |Distribution |Loans under SME to distributors who sells sugar to retailers| D) TOBACCO VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Inputs purchase loans | |2 |Harvesting |Burns constructions loans | |3 | Processing |Loans to tobacco factories | [pic] SOME NOTED CASES ON IMPACT OF FINANCING THE VALUE CHAINS Sugarcane Financing Bank has been financing sugarcane production in various stages of the value chain from production to delivery at factory. One example is that of financing farmers at Turiani ward in Morogoro region through their TUR SACCOS by providing them with loans for farm development, maintenance and transportation to factory. The result of financing in the past seven years has been remarkable as shown in the table below. It will be noted that between 2007 and 2008 there was a rapid increase in all aspects of production, this was contributed by the decision by the Company to finance farmers (through their group) to purchase grab loaders equipment to facilitate harvesting of sugarcane. As in the previous years, not all sugarcanes from outgrowers farmers were being harvested to due lack of equipment despite higher demand from factory. This was causing farmers to lose their crops and those who harvested late after start of the rain season obtained lower renderment and thus lower returns. |SUGARCANE PRODUCTION TREND AS A RESULT OF SACCOS FINANCING TO OUTGROWERS- TUR SACCOS | |   |   |2002 |2003 | |1 |Price during Harvest (100kgs) |35,000 |100 | |2 |Price at selling time after storage(100kgs) |70,000 | | |5 |Production per acre before WRS (tons) |1. 6 |100 | |6 |Production per acre after WRS (tons) |3 | | SECTOR WISE DISTRIBUTION OF CRDB BANK PLC LOAN PORTFOLIO Agriculture and Livestock constitute the largest portion of the CRDB Bank Loan portfolio with 21%, however by considering financing of the value chain then three sectors will be involved of microfinance, manufacturing/processing and agriculture with a percentage of about 34%. CONCLUSION Through financing the agriculture value chain by considering the different actors from small farmers to corporate agribusinesses it is possible to overcome the challenges o f agriculture in a country. This can only be possible through innovative approaches to serve the different segments by considering their differences in their activities, finance requirements, understanding of farming business and management of loans. It has also been proved beyond doubt that access to finance to the different actors has helped in reducing production unit cost, increase production volume while adding value in the chain. Corporate PHYSICAL FLOWS SME Corporate CRDB Microfinance Corporate CRDB BANK PLC STORAGE AMCOS. GINNERY COMPANIES AND CASHEWNUT PROCESSORS DISTRIBUTION TRANSPORTERS PROCESSING CURING COMPANIES GINNERY COMPANIES AND CASHEWNUT PROCESSORS INPUTS PRODUCTION AMCOS, FARMERS GROUPS, UNIONS, SACCOS, Agribusiness entities CRDB Microfinance SME

The Advantages of Technology Essay Example

The Advantages of Technology Essay Example The Advantages of Technology Essay The Advantages of Technology Essay Nowadays people worry about effect of new technologies on our society, they suppose that the influence of the latest developments is harmful for their lives. However, there are many people who see the advantages of technology. First of all, the products of new technologies like electronic devices are very useful in daily life. People can save a lot of time by using computers, mobile phones etc. This is especially beneficial in the workplace where employees can handle their work faster than they could in the past by using computers and the Internet. Also, new technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet have revolutionized the way of communication and finding information. The new way of communication requires less number of spent time and money. As a result, the economy benefits. However, using new technologies could also have negative effects. Many people use electronic devices too intensive and they become addicted. Moreover, we consume a lot of energy by using and developing new technologies. This may cause a disruption in the atmosphere and climate changes. Besides, not the all products of new technologies are made for simplification human’s lives. Atomic bombs, guns, radiation etc – all this stuff was made with one purpose: to kill humans. So, new technologies aren’t always harmless for society. To sum up, I’d like to say that despite the fact, new technologies have lots of benefits, we must use them very carefully. We can’t say exactly if the development of new technologies will be harmless.

Exercise for Homework Time Management

Exercise for Homework Time Management Do you find yourself rushing to complete your homework assignment at the last moment? Are you always starting your homework when youre supposed to be going to bed? The root of this common problem may be time management. This easy exercise will help you identify the tasks or habits that take time away from your studies and help you develop more healthy homework habits. Keeping Track of Your Time The first goal of this exercise is to get you to think about how you spend your time. For instance, how much time do you think you spend on the phone per week? The truth may surprise you. First, make a list of common time-consuming activities: Talking on the phoneEatingNappingListening to musicLoungingWatching TVPlaying games/surfing webSpending time with familyHomework Next, jot down an estimated time for each one. Record the amount of time that you think you devote to each of these activities per day or week. Make a Chart Using your list of activities, create a chart with five columns. Keep this chart on hand at all times for five days and keep track of all the time you spend on each activity. This will be tough sometimes since you probably spend a lot of time going rapidly from one activity to the other or doing two at once. For example, you may watch TV and eat at the same time. Just record the activity as one or the other. This is an exercise, not a punishment or a science project. Dont pressure yourself! Evaluate Once you have tracked your time for a week or so, take a look at your chart. How do your actual times compare with your estimates? If you are like most people, you may be shocked to see how much time you spend doing things that are unproductive. Does homework time come in last place? If so, youre normal. In fact, there are many things that ​should take more time than homework, like family time. But surely there are some problem areas that you can identify as well. Are you spending four hours a night watching TV or playing video games? You certainly deserve your leisure time. But to have a healthy, productive life, you should have a good balance among family time, homework time, and leisure time. Set New Goals When tracking your time, you may find that you spend some time on things you just cant classify. Whether were sitting on the bus staring out the window, waiting in line for a ticket, or sitting at the kitchen table gazing off in the distance, we all spend time doing, well- nothing. Look over your activity chart and determine areas you could target for improvement. Then, start the process over again with a new list. Make new time estimates for each task or activity. Set goals for yourself, allowing more time for homework and less time on one of your weaknesses, like TV or games. You will soon see that the mere act of thinking about how you spend your time will bring about a change in your habits. Suggestions for Success Dont work alone. Some of us need support to stick to something. A little competition with a friend always makes things more interesting. Work with a friend, compare notes, lists, and charts. Make a game of it!Include your parent. Get your mom or dad involved and have them keep track of the time they waste. Now that might be interesting!Negotiate a reward system. Whether you work with a friend or a parent, work out a system for rewarding yourself for progress. If working with a friend, you could agree to provide lunch or dinner for the time-saving winner each week.If working with a parent, you could negotiate an extended curfew for every increased minute devoted toward homework. Perhaps you could even substitute dollars for minutes. The possibilities are endless!Have a party for reaching a goal. Even if youre working on your own, you could promise yourself a party as a reward for reaching a specific goal.Make it a class project. This would be a great project for an entire class. The t eacher or group leader could keep track of progress with a flow chart. When the class reaches a goal as a group- its party time!

How to Create Quick Chapter Outlines for School

How to Create Quick Chapter Outlines for School When you read a chapter in a textbook from beginning to end, it’s easy to get swept away in a sea of details and overlook the main ideas. If you’re short on time, you might not even be able to make it through the entire chapter. By creating an outline, you’ll be sifting through the information strategically and efficiently.  Outlining helps you to focus on the most important points and gloss over excess detail. When you make an outline, you’re effectively creating an exam study guide in advance. If you put together a good outline, you won’t even have to return to your textbook when exam time arrives. Reading assignments don’t have to feel like a dull slog. Creating an outline while you read will keep your brain stimulated and help you retain more information. To get started, follow this simple outlining process next time you read a textbook chapter.​​ 1. Carefully Read the First Paragraph of the Chapter In the first paragraph, the author establishes a basic structure for the entire chapter. This paragraph tells you what topics will be covered and what some of the chapter’s main themes will be. It may also include key questions that the author plans to answer in this chapter. Make sure you read this paragraph slowly and carefully. Absorbing this information now will save you a lot of time later. 2. Carefully Read the Last Paragraph of the Chapter Yes, that’s right: you get to skip ahead! In the very last paragraph, the author sums up the chapter’s conclusions about the main topics and themes and may provide brief answers to some of the key questions raised in the first paragraph. Again, read slowly and carefully. 3. Write Down Every Heading After reading the first and last paragraphs, you should have a broad sense of the chapter’s content. Now, return to the beginning of the chapter and write down the title of each section heading. These will be the largest headings in the chapter and should be identifiable by a big, bold font or bright color. These headings reflect the chapter’s main topics and/or themes. 4. Write Down Every Subheading Now its time to head back to the beginning of the chapter. Repeat the process from Step 3, but this time, write down the subheadings beneath every section heading.  The subheadings reflect the main points the author will make about each topic and/or theme covered in the chapter. 5. Read the First and Last Paragraph of Every Subheading Section, and Make Notes Are you sensing a theme yet? The first and last paragraphs of each subheading section typically contain that section’s most important content. Record that content in your outline. Don’t worry about using complete sentences; write in whatever style is easiest for you to understand. 6. Read the First and Last Sentence of Every Paragraph, and Make Notes Return to the beginning of the chapter. This time, read the first and last sentence of every paragraph. This process should reveal significant details that might not be included elsewhere in the chapter. Write down the important details you find in each subheading section of your outline. 7. Quickly Skim the Chapter, Looking for Bold Terms and/or Statements For the final time, flip through the entire chapter, skimming each paragraph for terms or statements that the author emphasizes with bold or highlighted text. Read each one and record it in the proper section in your outline. Remember, every textbook is a little different and may require a slightly modified outlining process. For example, if your textbook includes introductory paragraphs beneath every section heading, make a point of reading those in full and including a few notes in your outline. Your textbook might also include a table of contents at the beginning of each chapter, or better yet, a chapter summary or review.  When you finish your outline, you can double check your work by comparing it to these sources. You’ll be able to make sure your outline isn’t missing any of the major points highlighted by the author. At first, it might seem strange to skip over sentences. (â€Å"How can I understand the content if I dont read all of it?†) Counterintuitive though it may feel, this outlining process is a simpler, faster strategy for understanding what you read. By starting with a broad view of the chapter’s main points, you’ll be able to better comprehend (and retain) details and their significance. Plus, if you have extra time, you can always go back and read every line in the chapter from beginning to end. You’ll probably be surprised by how well you already know the material.

Plato The simile of the cave Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Plato The simile of the cave - Essay Example At the time of its composition, scholars struggled to explain human psychology and the workings of the human mind. A tag of war between empirical psychologists and those that believed in reason led to numerous debates and this composition aims at addressing the situation at hand. The allegory is part of a series of publications, collectively titled The Republic, which address various aspects of human behaviour including; morality and justice. In previous and subsequent publications, the author uses the same style of presentation to explain human behaviour, and his view on various issues affecting human beings. At the time of publishing The Republic, Plato doubled up as a renowned philosopher and mathematician among the Greeks. Plato drew inspiration from other established scholars such as Pythagoras and through his numerous travels to Egypt, Syria, Libya, and Sicily. The main themes in the simile are ignorance and humans, as depicted by the enslaved characters and their understanding of things. The following analysis of the work by Plato aims to explain the analogies purported in the simile, the plot and the elements of literature used by the author. The analysis will go over the plot of the simile to uncover the intended message from the hidden nature in which the author delivers it. The allegory begins with a group of prisoners chained at their hands and necks. They cannot change the direction in which they are facing and are forced to constantly stare at a wall. Behind the prisoners is an elevated wall, and a pathway constructed in such a way that the prisoners cannot see people using the path, but can see shadows of what they are carrying cast upon the wall they are facing. Further behind the pathway is an elevated fire, blazing at a distance such that shadows of the prisoners, as well as elevated goods carried by passers-by, are cast upon the wall in front of the prisoners. The narrative

The Relationship between Liberalism and Feminism Research Paper

The Relationship between Liberalism and Feminism - Research Paper Example Feminism is somewhat an expansion of the liberal plan. The relationship between liberalism and feminism is very close but at the same time extremely complicated. The origin of both the principles lies in the materialization of individualism and independence as a common concept of social life; neither feminism nor liberalism is possible without a certain idea of people as independent, free, and being equal individuals, liberated from the recognized, hierarchical ties of conventional culture and society. Although moderation and feminism belong to the same foundation, their supporters have repeatedly been disparate and opposed from the previous two hundred years. The course and range of feminist disapproval of liberal concepts of the community and the public have changed to a great extent in various stages of the feminist plan. An examination of this condemnation is made more complex because liberalism is intrinsically vague about the private and the public and liberals and feminist dif fer about why and where the separation among the two areas should be done, or, according to some modern feminist point of view, if it ought to be separated at all. Feminism is frequently perceived as nothing further than the achievement of the bourgeois and liberal transformation, as an expansion of liberal values and rights to men and women both simultaneously. The need to have equal rights for every individual has been an imperative stance of feminists at all times. Nevertheless, the effort to universalize tolerance and broadmindedness has more influential results than is often cherished because at the end it unavoidably defies the liberalism itself.  

How Do We Forgive Our Fathers (Poem) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How Do We Forgive Our Fathers (Poem) - Essay Example The speaker of the poem is most probably a son, a son who faces the double dilemmas of knowing himself and knowing his father, without losing touch with his own identity. The poem suggests that a father’s masculinity defines his personality, which in turn, shapes his attitudes and behaviors as a husband and a father to his family; in other words, masculinity develops and delimits his destiny, a destiny that is intertwined with his children’s identities. In the first stanza, the poem looks at his father through the haze of the past and the future. The first line states: â€Å"How do we forgive our Fathers?† (Lourie 1). These words ask all children about forgiving their fathers. â€Å"Fathers† is capitalized, which makes it more personal because a son would say â€Å"Father† not â€Å"father.† It is in plural form too, which connotes the universality of having fathers as a shared experience. The first line also evokes the image of a father who must be forgiven. The speaker no longer asks if people need to forgive their fathers, but focuses on the process, the â€Å"how.† Apparently, the speaker does not know the process of forgiving someone as important in his life as a father. The poet continues the thought to the second line, which states: â€Å"Maybe in a dream† (Lourie 2). ... The future may be bleak when children have a hard time forgiving their fathers. The question of forgiveness is perceived with both hesitation and opportunity. The next few lines of the first stanza introduce the greatest faults of fathers in general. The third line continues to the idea of fathers’ deficiencies. It states: â€Å"Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever† (Lourie 3). Instead of answering the question â€Å"how,† the poet refers to the reasons why people have to forgive their fathers. The shift of the content from the â€Å"how† to the â€Å"why† provides a clearer explanation of the context of forgiveness. What have fathers done to be forgiven? The poet answers that fathers sometimes leave their families too much or forever, wherein â€Å"too often† means they always have to go to work, and for their spare time, they drink or spend it with their colleagues and friends. This aspect of fatherhood highlights c lass, race, and gender issues. The working class, especially low-income minority groups, spends their lifetime working to make ends meet. As fathers, the patriarchal society expects them to be the breadwinners, which is a gender issue. As men of the house, they must make money, or else, society questions their masculinity. To leave â€Å"forever,† on the contrary, means that the father has abandoned his family. He has sired a child and left him/her to his/her mother. This kind of fatherhood is criticized, but not as blatantly as mothers who abandon their children. Somehow, a masculine world condones abandoning fathers as an acceptable norm. These reasons for forgiving fathers are important because they undermine the essence of a father. A father who is gone or almost always gone can hardly be a father in