A banana producer from Cote d’Ivoire exports the bulk of what they produce to the EU, selling the rest in African countries. They have upgraded technologies on their farms to benefit from more efficient operations and achieve the quality demanded in European markets. As an ACP country exporter, they received preferential treatment in EU countries. When their profit margins began to decline with diminishing protection from the more efficient producers in Latin America and increasing competition at home, they contemplated what they should do. They could sell more in Europe but they needed to expand their farms. And they were unable to raise the required funds given their low profit margins. Their options were to diversify to other crops, such as rubber, plantain, and teak — or sell more in Africa, where they would be competitive because of their large capacity, proximity to the market, and technological advantages over other producers. A case to contemplate corporate strategy: particularly relating to producing behind protection and becoming competitive.

A self-described serial investor in Nigeria, who began with an oil and gas supply enterprise, diversifies into trading agricultural products as a way to stabilize his revenues from the oil trade. He believes that in Africa you cannot learn about anything through things such as feasibility studies; that one needs to learn firsthand. He also manages a nonprofit organization that supports small scale enterprises, which began by helping women-owned enterprises in local villages. Noticing their primitive methods of production of cassava, he becomes determined to help transform their practices. Drawing on his experience, he thinks that a large demonstration farm where they can come to work and learn would be the best way. He invited firms to participate in the endeavor to create a supply chain that represents a ‘fair collaborative framework,’ spreading benefits among all, but finds that not many investors share his spirit. A case to consider what social responsibility means in agriculture—particularly where enterprises need to work with producers; how one might mobilize investments for such a purpose; or how to take advantage of development funds for doing so. 

A poultry firm that was the leading producer and a household name in Ghana had ambitions of solidifying its position through a merger with a poultry conglomerate from the US, which was also keen to gain foothold in an African market. The founder contested in Ghana’s presidential election. Losing the election, his firm becomes an economic target of an administration, which was not business friendly. The government interfered by offering the conglomerate a partnership with a state poultry enterprise instead. It declines, and, perceiving that it might expose itself to further interference, the conglomerate withdraws from the merger agreement. Having reoriented its strategies while awaiting the merger, the firm borrowed from a state owned bank to execute a long term strategy to go on its own. When the same party returns to power years later, the bank terminated the loan, rejecting offers from the company to put its finances in order. The founder’s successors ponder how they can stay clear of politics. A case to discuss the importance of relations with private firms, mechanics to dialogue with them, and being transparent and rule based in working with private enterprises. 

A large Indian family-managed poultry business invests in a modern mechanized unit to set itself apart from the low-margin, labor-intensive operations that characterize a majority of farms. The upgraded technology, along with scaled up operations, made their operations more efficient—by reducing feed wastage, improving hygiene to reduce the risks of diseases, and using space more efficiently—and helped them produce better products. Although the government offers incentives for poultry units to mechanize, the investors cannot take them for granted in their decisions because of the way they are delivered. Upgrading their technologies also required them to innovate at every stage because the technologies appropriate for their operations were not available off the shelf. Domestic suppliers may not have advanced adequately because of the limited demand they face. The technologies that they could source from other countries required them to make leaps that were not necessary. A case to consider strategies to source technologies and challenges in upgrading technologies to become competitive.

A Ghanaian, who was a successful financial analyst in the UK, returned to Ghana itching to do something on her own. She decided to invest in producing tilapia—nearly half of which consumed in Ghana is imported from China. She considered producing only the fingerlings, which are critical to the industry because they make up about 40 percent of fish production costs. The consultants she hired initially advised her to go all the way to processing fish for exports and to invest her own funds rather than borrow. She, however, borrowed to cover nearly half of capital spending. Realizing that feed is a major cost, she also sets up a subsidiary to produce fish feed. After ten years of growth and vertical integration, she pondered whether she could have done a better job of substituting for imports. A rich case in five parts with information to teach project appraisal, financing options, and sensitivity analysis to assess risk; optimization techniques including learning to use linear programing; planning project implementation, including learning to use MS project; and analyzing industry attractiveness using the Porter’s five forces framework and the PESTLE analysis.

A multinational seed company was taken aback when the Ghanaian ministry rejected its application to import hybrid seeds into the country. An agent of the company had registered the variety in the country several years earlier. Several years later, the company partnered with USAID to make the seeds available to farmers. It donated seeds and money to the project to promote the seeds. Ghana’s policy permitted imports of seeds but it required importers to offer a plan to produce the seeds in the country, giving them a short time to assess the market potential. A dysfunctional bureaucracy that could not communicate properly and a firm that felt entitled to enter any market but only made halfhearted attempts to develop a small market, required a third party of sorts to negotiate a resolution that met the policy requirements. A USAID paid advisor to the ministry mediated between the two resolve the issue, which in the end did not result in a lasting relationship between the two. A case to discuss attracting private investments, private sector interests, communicating with the private sector, and implementing policies.

Agricultural Diversification (AgDiv), a project supported by USAID/Malawi’s Feed the Future (FtF) initiative, was mandated to help small farmers diversify away from an over dependence on cultivating maize into peanuts, soybean, and orange flesh sweet potato, to reduce poverty, improve household welfare among smallholders and to make their farming more resilient. The project found a partner in three tobacco companies that were also trying to get the farmers they worked with to diversify away from growing tobacco—the demand for which was declining rapidly. They realized that they needed to increase productivity of peanuts and soybeans to make the returns from cultivating them comparable to that of tobacco. The USAID project was able to achieve it by partnering with other programs supported by USAID, public institutions in Malawi, and private enterprises – tobacco firms unexpectedly emerged as key partners. The efforts strengthened the value chains, with incentives for private enterprises to invest along them, benefitting both the farmers and the economy. A rich case to discuss public private partnerships and deciding where to intervene to develop value chains.