A strong commitment for Forest Fruits in Zambia

[chapeau] Despite the health situation and the temporary suspension of field trips, SIDI is continuing its activities and, at the end of the year, opened a new partnership in Zambia with a company that processes and markets honey products. For SIDI, this is both an opening to a new country of intervention, and a major first in terms of support for the beekeeping sector.[/chapeau]

Since 1998, Forest Fruits has been collecting, processing and marketing beekeeping products for local and international markets. It buys raw honey produced by certified organic (Ecocert) Zambian beekeepers at a remunerative price, and processes it at its Mwinilunga factory. The social enterprise then transports the production to its packaging plant in Lusaka, where the finished product is exported to the sub-region (Zambia, Botswana and South Africa) and abroad. In addition to marketing forest honey for direct consumption, Forest Fruits is developing several types of processed honey-based products (beeswax flakes, candles, honey mustard, etc.). In recent years, thanks to technical support from FEFISOL[1], the company has developed the production of honey vinegar by fermenting lower-quality honey.

Most of the company’s business and its supplier beekeepers are located around the Mwinilunga district. In this isolated region with little economic dynamism, beekeeping is traditionally practiced and represents a considerable source of income for families. Thanks to Forest Fruits, producers benefit from higher remuneration and training to improve the quality of their honey and diversify their agricultural production (trials underway for tea tree production, for example). To develop the region, the company, which currently employs 63 people, also favors local recruitment, and training to enable its employees to upgrade their skills.

Forest Fruits’ business is directly linked to the bees’ honey production periods. Harvesting is spread over two periods of the year, depending on the flowering cycle of the Zambian forests in which the honey is harvested. In such periods, the company needs working capital to enable it to pay producers in cash. FEFISOL has been funding Forest Fruits campaigns since 2014, but this year the fund, which is in transition, was unable to commit to funding for 2021. SIDI has therefore decided to step in and support the next honey campaign by granting a line of credit of $750,000 over 12 months. This loan, backed by several regional and international buyers, will enable the company to purchase 600 tonnes of raw honey at a remunerative price for beekeepers as soon as the harvest is complete.

Despite the current context, SIDI continues to innovate by opening this partnership with Forest Fruits, to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of a remote region of Zambia.

To find out more about the Forest Fruits social enterprise: https: //www.zambezigold.com/

[1 ] European Solidarity Fund for Africa, managed by SIDI.

News from UCLS in Madagascar

A long-term partnership

The Union des Coopératives Lanzan’ny Sambirano (UCLS) is a Producers’ Organization (PO) for cocoa beans located in Madagascar around the Sambirano valley near Ambanja. It was created in 2010 by an association, ADAPS[i], whose aim was to structure agricultural value chains. The UCLS was therefore originally institutionalized by a local development association. SIDI’s partnership manager in Madagascar, with her knowledge of the country and its stakeholders (NGOs from the North, in particular AFDI, the French NGO for the Development of the Industrial Sector), was responsible for the project.[ii]), came into contact with UCLS at a time when SIDI was seeking to strengthen its commitment to agriculture. UCLS and Ethiquable[iii] also wanted to commit to a long-term business relationship.

Ups and downs, but a continuing partnership

SIDI’s first financing operation took place in 2011, with the aim of pre-financing UCLS member cooperatives to enable them to acquire certified organic cocoa beans for export (12.5 tonnes, equivalent to 1/2 “standard” container). Today, SIDI financing enables UCLS to export almost 250 tonnes of certified organic cocoa beans a year. This partnership has not been linear, as UCLS has suffered slowdowns in its activity and misappropriations, which led to the suspension of SIDI funding in 2016. However, SIDI, along with other players, continued to support the Union by providing assistance, in particular in strengthening the organization’s accounting function.

Results today

Beyond the quantitative results, with volumes rising from 12.5 tonnes of cocoa exported in 2011 to almost 250 tonnes today, UCLS has made progress in its organization, reach and member loyalty. It has grown from 6 cooperatives at the start of its activity to almost 20 today, with between 300 and 400 producers depending on the year, who supply it with increasing quantities of cocoa. The relationship is established and the trust present so that growers regularly supply their cooperatives (instead of selling to others).

Despite the difficulties mentioned above, the organization has adapted to the needs of its members. It has succeeded in structuring 20 small cooperatives and supported them in the process of certification by Union agricultural agents. Despite the state of the infrastructure, UCLS manages to send containers of cocoa on a regular basis to meet its annual contracts with Ethiquable and Valrhona.[iv]. Today, the UCLS is looking forward to the collection campaigns with a little more serenity. Its campaign financing resources are more diversified (self-financing, SIDI financing, buyer’s advance, supplier’s credit) and larger.

And challenges

Despite the situation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, SIDI and UCLS intend to continue working together. SIDI’s long-term approach makes it possible to tackle certain challenges, such as strengthening the structure’s administration without overburdening its processes and costs, increasing income for producers, integrating the smallest producers into cooperatives, and encouraging young people to take up cocoa farming.

Jean-Marie CAVARROC,

SIDI Partnership Officer

[i] Association for the Development of Agriculture and Farming in Sambirano (ADAPS)
[II] Agriculteurs français et développement international (Afdi), an international solidarity association that builds partnerships between French farmers and those in developing countries.
[III] Ethiquable is a French cooperative specializing in the sale of organic fair trade products.
[IV] Valrhona is a French food company specializing in cocoa processing.