INTRODUCTION

For rural development and poverty alleviation, marketing of agricultural produce by smallholder farmers is key. Markets provide the means through which the rural poor participate in economic activities as producers, as employees and as consumers of goods and services.

Smallholder farmers’ production is not linked to the market. Linking smallholder farmers to existing and new income-generating agro-processing enterprises is necessary for rural development and poverty alleviation. This training programme aims at building the agro-enterprise capacity of rural development practitioners to enable them facilitate the market integration of the most vulnerable beneficiaries. The participants will be guided through participatory processes for identifying market opportunities and developing viable agro-enterprises that are sustainable and which are geared towards improving the incomes of rural farmers, processors, and traders.

DURATION

5 days

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This course is intended for various actors in the Agriculture Extension (Agricultural extension officers, senior agricultural officials and policy makers) working with communities, in governments, funding agencies, Research organizations and non-government organizations among others for Agriculture support activities and other Development programmes.

COURSE LEVEL: Foundation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the course, participants will:

• Help farmers engage with markets.
• Apply skills in participatory methods for farmers in Market analysis and decision making.
• Guide in market identification and selection of attractive enterprise options, based on information gathered from the market and market chain.
• Build agro-enterprise skills within the community so that groups can continue to effectively engage with the marketplace in the future.
• Able to identify what the spirit of entrepreneurship is, who has it, how to identify it and how to harness this spirit to promote sound business development.
• Understand the tools for business planning.
• Able to identify tools for working with a community.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

• Basic concepts in agro-entrepreneurship
• Overview of the participatory agro-enterprise development approach
• Developing an enterprise or intervention action plan
• Project site selection and evaluation
• The basics of marketing
• Market chain analysis
• Market opportunity identification
• Market research
• Collective marketing
• Product screening and market opportunity identification
• Tools for working with a community
• Management and partner selection
• Institutional preparation and planning
• Evaluating progress and scaling up
• Action planning for knowledge & skills application
• Application of data analysis in marketing
• Introduction GIS and RS for marketing
• ICT role in agro-based marketing

Course Administration Details:

METHODOLOGY

The instructor led trainings are delivered using a blended learning approach and comprises of presentations, guided sessions of practical exercise, web based tutorials and group work. Our facilitators are seasoned industry experts with years of experience, working as professional and trainers in these fields.

All facilitation and course materials will be offered in English. The participants should be reasonably proficient in English.

ACCREDITATION

Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with an Indepth Research Services (IRES) certificate certified by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA).

TRAINING VENUE

The training will be held at IRES Training Centre. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments and lunch.

All participants will additionally cater for their, travel expenses, visa application, insurance, and other personal expenses.

ACCOMMODATION AND AIRPORT PICKUP

Accommodation and airport pickup are arranged upon request. For reservations contact the Training Officer.

Email:[email protected].  

Mob: +254 715 077 817

TAILOR- MADE

This training can also be customized to suit the needs of your institution upon request. You can have it delivered in our IRES Training Centre or at a convenient location.

For further inquiries, please contact us on Tel: +254 715 077 817.

Mob: +254 792516105 or mail [email protected]

PAYMENT

Payment should be transferred to IRES account through bank before the course start date.

Send proof of payment to [email protected].

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