Author: Sam Webb

Jóvenes en la agricultura peruana: la pieza clave para el desarrollo sostenible del sector. 

(For the version in English please see below)

Escrito por Talia Lostaunau 

Rosario se acerca sin apuro a la mesa cubierta por pequeños bowls con café molido. Se detiene unos segundos sobre cada muestra, absorbiendo su aroma. Echa agua caliente sobre cada una y una mezcla de deliciosos olores invade el laboratorio de catación. Rosario coge dos cucharas y extrae una pequeña capa superficial del líquido. Lleva el café concentrado hacia su boca. Lo saborea.“Este es nuestro café,” dice, mostrando total seguridad en su rostro. “Lo puedo reconocer por su sabor y aroma acaramelado.” Todos en la sala quedan impresionados y, tras unos segundos, confirman que la muestra pertenece a la cooperativa Huadquiña, a la cual Rosario representa. 

Rosario Salas trabaja como Q grader en la cooperativa Huadquiña, en Cusco. Ella es encargada de que los estándares de calidad del café que exporta la cooperativa sean los requeridos por sus compradores a nivel internacional. A pesar de que Rosario realmente disfruta su trabajo, sabe que es una de las pocas jóvenes que han decidido mantenerse en el rubro agrícola. Muchos de los jóvenes que nacieron en zonas rurales, hijos de pequeños productores, no ven la actividad agrícola como rentable y deciden migrar hacia las ciudades en búsqueda de oportunidades laborales que muchas veces son difíciles de encontrar. 

Las cifras son claras. De acuerdo al Censo Nacional de Población 2017, más del 51% de los peruanos tiene menos de 30 años, sin embargo, tan solo el 12% de los agricultores en el país tiene menos de 30 años (de acuerdo al último Censo Nacional Agropecuario, 2012). El futuro de la actividad agrícola está en riesgo, así como el futuro de los jóvenes, quienes enfrentan situaciones de subempleo y desempleo.

En mayo de 2019, Producers Direct llevó a cabo su reunión anual en Pangoa, a la cual asistieron representantes de 6 de las 9 cooperativas cafetaleras que conforman su red. En dicha reunión se exploró los problemas a los que se enfrentan las cooperativas, identificando como uno de los más urgentes la falta de involucramiento de los jóvenes. El equipo de Producers Direct decidió que era de suma importancia seguir trabajando con los jóvenes en Perú. Para ello, ha decidido integrar a su modelo basado en Centros de Excelencia las innovadoras herramientas digitales que han venido piloteando durante el último año en África. Estas herramientas permiten que los pequeños productores ingresen data sobre su productividad en diferentes cultivos, la cual más tarde será accesible para que ellos mismos puedan tomar decisiones basadas en información. Los jóvenes juegan un rol clave en el uso y difusión de las herramientas, dándoles la oportunidad de tener un empleo formal y motivador. 

Las herramientas digitales integradas a los Centros de Excelencia son solo un camino para lograr el involucramiento los jóvenes. El caso de Rosario fue diferente, pero también muy interesante. Ella estudió Industrias Alimentarias en la Universidad Nacional Agraria de la Selva y, tras terminar la carrera, decidió volver a su comunidad, pues la cooperativa Huadquiña le ofreció un empleo formal y la posibilidad de seguir capacitándose para crecer profesionalmente. Rosario ni siquiera lo tenía entre sus metas antes y, ahora, es una Q grader certificada. “Estoy feliz de que la cooperativa Huadquiña me haya dado la oportunidad de trabajar y ahora estoy contribuyendo al desarrollo de mi comunidad en Santa Teresa, Cusco,” cuenta Rosario.

Si quieres conocer más sobre el trabajo de Rosario, puedes ver este video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrSkufYL1og

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ENG

Young people in Peruvian agriculture: the key piece for the sustainable development of the sector.

Written by Talia Lostaunau 

Rosario walks casually over to the table covered by small bowls with ground coffee. She stops a few seconds on each sample, absorbing its aroma. She pours hot water on each and a mixture of delicious smells fill the laboratory. Rosario takes two spoons and removes a small surface layer of the liquid, brings the concentrated coffee to her mouth and tastes it. “This is our coffee,” she says, completely confident in her claim. “I can recognize it for its sweet flavor and aroma.” Everyone in the room is impressed and, after a few seconds, they confirm that the sample belongs to the Huadquiña cooperative, which Rosario represents.

Rosario Salas works as a Q grader at the Huadquiña cooperative in Cusco. She is responsible for ensuring that the quality standards of the coffee exported by the cooperative match those required by its international buyers. Although Rosario really enjoys her job, she knows that she is one of the few young people who have decided to stay in the agricultural sector. Many of the young people who were born in rural areas, children of smallholder farmers, do not see agricultural activity as profitable and decide to migrate to cities in search of job opportunities that are often difficult to find.

The figures are clear. According to the 2017 National Population Census, more than 51% of Peruvians are under 30 years old, however, only 12% of farmers in the country are under 30 years old (according to the last National Agricultural Census, 2012). The future of agricultural activity is at risk, as is the future of young people, who face under- and unemployment.

In May 2019, Producers Direct held its annual meeting in Pangoa, which was attended by representatives of 6 of the 9 coffee cooperatives that make up its network. At that meeting, the problems faced by cooperatives were explored, identifying as one of the most urgent the lack of involvement of young people. The Producers Direct team decided that it was very important to continue working with young people in Peru. To this end, it has decided to integrate the innovative digital tools that have been piloted in Africa over the past year. These tools allow small producers to enter data on their productivity in different crops, which will later be aggregated and made accessible so that they themselves can make decisions based on the information. Young people play a key role in the use and dissemination of tools, giving them the opportunity to have a formal and motivating job.

The digital tools integrated into the Centers of Excellence are only one way to get young people involved. Rosario’s case was different, but also very interesting. She studied Food Industries at the National Agrarian University of La Selva and, after finishing the degree, decided to return to her community, since the Huadquiña cooperative offered her a formal job and the possibility of continuing to train to grow professionally. Rosario didn’t even have it among her goals before and, now, she is a certified Q grader. “I am happy that the Huadquiña cooperative has given me the opportunity to work and now I am contributing to the development of my community in Santa Teresa, Cusco,” Rosario says.

If you want to know more about Rosario’s work, you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrSkufYL1og

Written  by Brian Ngetich

Without a doubt mobile technologies are offering new opportunities aimed at addressing the most pressing social problems in emerging economies across the globe. However, the success of any innovative mobile solution depends on how a given market inside an emerging economy accounts for the specific economic, technical and human limitations. including: lack of internet or low internet speed, low financial liquidity, low technical and financial literacy levels and lastly lack of electricity. 

FarmDirect is one such innovative solution. As a service, FarmDirect is developed in such a way that it takes into consideration the contextual factors and is therefore well positioned to be successful. FarmDirect structures unstructured value chains, improves market linkages, tracks productivity and analyses profit and loss. Additionally, FarmDirect aggregates historical and real-time weather data enabling farmers to make better decisions, building resilience and improving crop quality. All of this done from the farm-level up and is supported by local youth networks in the product bundling, logistics and transportation of crops from the farmgate to buyers. 

A good user experience like the one provided by FarmDirect, is one of the most important success factors of mobile-based services and products. In order to ensure it is suitably adapted to the real-world aspirations and needs of the smallholder farmers, Producers Direct has been working to build in a Human-Centered Design (HCD) methodology as part of it’s farmer-led approach. HCD is an innovation process made up from multiple design methods which structurally include the product or service’s end-users into its conception, development, testing, maintenance and upgrade. For FarmDirect, the intense end-user involvement throughout  the development process sees to it that it will meet the real needs of the smallholder farmers while communicating their dreams and aspirations. 

For Producers Direct, the use of the HCD process makes sure that FarmDirect and all other farmer-led solutions both leverage and take into consideration the habits, working practices and capacities of smallholder farmers in order that these solutions can seamlessly fit into both their working and private lives. FarmDirect has been piloted in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and continues to be tested and iterated by all members of the farming community including women’s groups, youth groups and farming cooperatives. Further, FarmDirect is backed by a strong in-person, farmer-led model providing access to training, financing, markets, and data through our partner Centres of Excellence. Similarly, the digital services are supported by networks of young people and women through in-person training, market access and transport logistics, promoting sustainable, smallholder-inclusive value chains from the base of the pyramid. 

Apart from the use of HCD, the commercial success of FarmDirect as a mobile-based product targeting smallholder farmers in emerging economies is very much dependent on various factors including sensible pricing, effective communication (workshops and training), trust inspired by renowned global or local brands (Producers Direct and the Center of Excellence) and lastly, quality output in an actionable, accessible, timely and easily understood format (Real time easy to understand charts). Mostly, no single entity in the entire mobile value sector has the ability to bring together the different but important aspects. However, the success of FarmDirect is also attributed to its strong focus on value for the end-user and all the partners. Together with Producers Direct’s mission, this has led to the development of a business model which accounts for each actor in the smallholder farming ecosystem. 

In conclusion, FarmDirect as an example of an innovation in the m-based agriculture sector directs our attention to two important aspects aimed at generating societal and business value. The first is that it uses Human-Centered Design to maintain its farmer-led approach from design to launch to upgrade. The second is that it brings together partners around one central aspiration: the continued success of smallholder farmers. Therefore guaranteeing that the partnership improves the success of the entire agricultural sector. 

OpenIDEO and the GHR Foundation announced Producers Direct as one of 5 winners of the 2018 BridgeBuilder Challenge. 675+ ideas were initially submitted to address urgent global challenges in radically new ways. As one of the 5 winners, Producers Direct was awarded $256,575 in seed funding to launch YouthDirect, a youth-led agricultural enterprise.

The future of food is at risk, as is our planet. By 2050 our population will reach 10bn. Food production will need to increase by 70% to match this growth, placing significant strain on limited resources. 500m smallholders are responsible for producing 70% of the world’s food supply, but they are ageing, with the worldwide average over 60 years. With growing populations, we are also seeing increasing youth unemployment. In the next decade, 1 billion youth will enter the job market. 600 million of them will not find jobs.

YouthDirect solves these growing global threats. It offers young people an exciting opportunity to lead a pioneering youth-led agri-enterprise, driving sustainable food production in Africa. Nairobi-based Sylvia Ng’eno, Producers Direct’s Head of Programmes said, “We are living in an era of Peak Youth – with more young people on the planet than ever before. This provides us with an exciting opportunity to empower youth to solve the world’s greatest threats.”

Over the next 24 months, Producers Direct will utilise seed funding to launch a youth-owned food brand: YouthDirect, transforming food production and food value chains from the ground up. YouthDirect will empower the next generation of agripreneurs. It will initially work with a group of 5,000 youth and local farming cooperatives to promote inclusion in global food systems, providing a viable – and sustainable – livelihood for young people, while safeguarding the future of food and planet.

“Together, we will provide exciting and meaningful opportunities for youth” said Producers Direct’s Youth Coordinator Gilbert Misoi “we are working with youth to innovate and share new ideas with their peers. This has been such an amazing opportunity and we are very excited to link up with youth from across East Africa and build on our successes.”

The BridgeBuilder Challenge, led by GHR Foundation in partnership with OpenIDEO, was designed to use open innovation to identify and strengthen solutions to urgent global challenges at the intersection of peace, prosperity and planet. Learn more about the BridgeBuilder Challenge here: http://www.ghrfoundation.org/producers-direct.html 

We are seeking an enthusiastic User-Centered Developer to work with our award winning NGO supporting smallholder farmers in East Africa and Latin America to access, understand and interpret data to make life changing decisions on their farms.

Additional Application Instructions

If this sounds like you: Please send your CV, and a cover letter (1-page) to: info@producersdirect.org 

In your cover letter, please include one paragraph addressing the following question: How would you work with farmers in isolated, unconnected rural settings to co-design tools that can help analyse on-farm data and make decisions based on the analysis.

Application Deadline: 28th September 2018 Please note: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted