Greenish Farm – Developing A Commodity Market For Small Scale Farmers In Ndola, Zambia

About Greenish Farm

Question:

Describe about the Company Description, Industry Analysis, Product, Strategy and Implementation of Greenish Farm?

Greenish Farm is a well known business in Zambia which is highly engaged in providing top quality product to the people from past many years. The company has decided to penetrate into commodity market for the small scale farmers so that a feasible market can be created to place their product and receive exact value for the product. The current business plan has highlighted different scenario such as industry analysis and market analysis to understand the condition of commodity market in Ndola, Zambia. Moreover, Porter’s five forces model has been used to conduct the industry analysis and have a clear picture. Apart from that, market segmentation and target market has been outlined to understand which famers group will benefit from the commodity market and also which class of target farmers has to be focused upon. Further, the study includes marketing plan, operation plan and also management summary to briefly explain the proposed business plan. Lastly, financial plan has been discussed to know how much benefit will be generated from the commodity market.

Greenish Farm is a Zambian based business which is located on a prominent market place whose objective is to deliver high quality, fresh, nutritional and healthy agricultural product to the people. The company supplies product to all the near and remote areas of Zambia. The Greenish Farm is owned by two Zambian partners that are Akamonwa and Bawa. Moreover, the people are well acquainted with the company and its operation. However, over the past few years, the company has noticed that farmers do not receive fair value as per the expectation and due to that they registered decline in their sales and income. Thus, it is affecting their growth and product marketing. Apart from that being said, the numbers of competitors have risen which is one of the cause that small scale farmers are not able to meet up their expected level of performance. Therefore, in order to maintain their market cap and customer circle, the company has decided to penetrate into the field of commodities market so that best product can be delivered to the customers and better value can be provided to small scale farmer (Baligh, 2007). Therefore, Greenish Farm will be developing commodity market for farmers to sell their product so that best quality farm product can be traded into the commodities market.

• To gain better market value and earn expected profit to small scale farmer
• To provide quality product service to customers
• To generate sales of approx ZWM on each business day of every month.
• To retain consumers for engendering repeat purchase
• To continuously upgrade supply chain process

The top priority mission of Greenish Farm is to trade in agricultural products in commodities market to generate handsome income and profits for farmers. Moreover, there prime importance is deliver superior customer service and provide high quality rich product for gaining effective customer base.

The commodities market in Zambia in context to agricultural products or other hard commodities is quite better which helps different business groups to earn sufficient earnings from the market. It is evident from the early published report that in last five years, the business that trades in primary products has registered significant growth up to approx 30% which helps them to receive better value for their product from commodity market (Bird, 2010). Therefore, it provides an effective opportunity for the small scale farmer to market their product in the commodity market and receive right value for their product (Barringer, 2010). Moreover, the market is capable in protecting the business during inflation or economic uncertainty. Thus, it is analysed that commodity market is feasible in Zambia and farmers that are not able to place their product strongly into the market can gain large benefit from the particular market.

Years	Growth in Commodity Market
1999	31.8%
2002	34.4%
2005	38.0%
2008	43.0%
2011	44.5%

Objectives of Greenish Farm

Table 1: Growth in Commodity Market in Zambia

Figure 1: Commodity Market

On the other hand, in order to have better understanding of the industry, Porter’s Five Forces Model will be effective and much clear picture can be drawn.

Industry Rivalry: The intense and tough competition in the industry can cause challenges to the prospect of the business (Clarke, 2010). The company, Greenish Farm can face significant competition from other companies that are operating in commodity market with hard commodities such as oil, gold, rubber, etc. Moreover, Greenish Farm can also have difficulty from existing firms that are already dealing in agricultural products. However, as the company will trade product which is grown hydroponically will help them to gain benefit and generate satisfactory profit (Dess, 2012). Therefore, in order to gain right price for product, the company will have to trade in high quality product.

Threat of substitutes: The substitute product can pose significant challenges that can affect the operation of Greenish Farm in the proposed market. The presence of organic agricultural products in the market can have serious affect on the earnings of the company and the company may not be able to increase their sales (Drummond et al. 2012). Therefore, the company will have to charge reasonable price and providing high quality product all time.

Bargaining power of buyers: As the company has decided to provide products which will be produced hydroponically, therefore, buyers may not have such power to negotiate on price on the hydroponically produced agriculture products (Finch, 2010). Therefore, Greenish Farm can gain effective price for their products and can receive healthier profits.

Bargaining power of suppliers: It is evident that if the supplier has the power to bargain then they can take away maximum earnings of the business that can decline the profit level. In the given situation, it is clear that the company will grow their product by their own therefore; there is not much influence of suppliers on the company. However, the company may require suppliers to trade the product in commodity market (Furnham, 2012). Therefore, strong bonding has to be built with the suppliers.

Threat of new entrants: The commodity market has provided great opportunity to the small scale farm to enter into the market and receive benefit from investment (Goksoy and Ozsoy, 2007). Therefore, it can be threat for Greenish Farm to operate in successful way. Thus, the company has to provide quality product all the time and in regular form so that they hold their loyal customers and clients.

Greenish Farm will deal in the vegetable products such as tomatoes, cucumbers and other products of farmers. Moreover, the products will be traded that are grown hydroponically or traditionally so that quality products can be supplied to customers (Hajro, 2012). Apart from that, growing product under high tech tunnels will help the company in gaining longer and faster growth and harvest labour can be decreased by approx 75% and also harvest time can also be declined. Therefore, the company can effectively trade in the commodity market with their specific products.

Commodity Market in Zambia

The owner of Greenish Farm has decided to penetrate in the market of Ndola, Zambia as per the assumption; the company will be able to ensure significant benefit and can gain right value for their product (Heagney, 2012). Moreover, the selected location provides effective environment for trading product and the company can generate expected customer base and clients for their agriculture products. Further, the market holds retailers such as Veg Express and Veg Centre. Therefore, company can supply their product to these retailers and other available supermarkets.

The major segment that will ensure best value to Greenish Farm will be Veg Centre and retail outlets and other shops that fall within 50 miles of the selected location. Therefore, the company will be able to increase their sales with significant margin.

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Potential Clients						Growth in sales
Veg Centre	50	63	79	99	124	17%
Retail Outlets	100	125	156	195	244	25%
Other Shops	20	22	24	26	29	10%

Table 2: Market Analysis

Figure 2: Growth in sales

The other market segments that will be considered are oriental vegetable markets that require both semi-organic and organic vegetables, processors of vegetable, commodity and farmers’ market and roadside stands. Therefore, it will help the company to market their product and receiving correct value from the market and from the clients.

The prime target of the company will be small scale farmers of rural areas. The other target market that will help the Greenish Farm to generate valuable earnings and price for their products is export markets and retail outlets in the selected market (Hughes, 2012). Therefore, company can gain high benefit from the commodity market and it can increase the value of the company and in future more number of customers may prefer to deal with Greenish Farm for the product.

The strategy of the Greenish Farm is to earn profit by receiving right value of the product supplied in the commodity market. Further, the company will utilize advanced agricultural technology so that quality production can be generated and it will help in receiving industry advantage. Moreover, exact price will be received for the supply of product. Therefore, the main goal of the company in the first year is to develop the entire project and engage all the required resources so that product can be produced all the year (Kaufman, 2010). On the other hand, the long term plan of the company is to grow more selective agricultural product and penetrate to further other commodity market from where they can generate huge profit margin.

The main competitive advantage of Greenhouse Farm is producing products using hydroponic technique which ensures whole year production. Moreover, the company has huge experience in the agricultural product industry and the company has idea that which product will do good business and will ensure better price value in the commodity market (Kleiner, 2008). Therefore, it will help the company in having a competitive edge over other new or existing competitors in the market.

The effective marketing strategy will help in gaining maximum benefit and increasing the sale of the products. Therefore, Greenish Farm will trade and supply their goods to the decided outlets aggressively. Moreover, local markets will be focused initially to have a long term benefit. On the other hand, the hydroponic facilities will be used efficiently and smartly so that the company does not fall short of products in marketing the product in commodity markets (Lambin and Schuiling, 2012).

Porter’s Five Forces Model

In order to gain higher benefit from the proposed business, the Greenish owners have formed effective marketing plan that will ensure better return and fair value for the product.

Pricing Strategy: The Greenish Farm will be fixing the price of the products as per the current market value as it will help the company to receive fair price from the retailers and other stores for supplying the products. On the other hand, the company will not fix the price below the market value as it will lead to losses for them and they will not be able to cover up their cost or invested amount (Liozu and Hinterhuber, 2012). Moreover, if company tries to charge low price for product then it can create doubt in the mind of clients about the quality of product. Therefore, accurate price has to be set so that the company can market their product effectively in the commodity market.

Promotion: Greenish Farm will promote their commodity market by putting banners and hoardings or circulating brochures in the rural areas so that more numbers of small scale farmers can be become aware about the move of the company. Therefore, farmers can turn up to commodity market in order to get right price for their product in the market. This will not only help the Greenish Farm but also it will help the farmers that are not fairly paid for their product (Longenecker, 2008). The small scale farmers can make decision about which product they want to market in commodity market so that they can generate better income out of it.

Engaging Employee: Greenish Farm will hire efficient employee that will inform small scale farmers about the benefit that they can generate from the commodity market. Therefore, the small scale will able to understand that will gain and the amount of price that they will receive for their product (Lowson, 2011). On the other hand, the employee can train the farmers how to improve the quality of the product so that they can get accurate value for each product supplied. Moreover, the company can engage different employee for different kinds of products such as agricultural products or mined products. Therefore, each small scale farmers can gain better value and profits over their cost (Luther, 2011).

Forecasting Sale: Greenish Farm will be engaged in predicting the sale that different farmers group can generate from their specific products. Therefore, it will help the farmers to decide when to take their products in commodity markets so that they can receive high margin and compete with the other people that sell products in big supermarket or retail house (Lymbersky, 2009). It has been computed that small scale farmers can be able to generate sale up to 495000 in starting year which will gradually get better in the next year. 

Situation Analysis: Greenish Farm will use the SWOT analysis to study the current condition of the small scale farmers so that better commodity market can be designed for them and receiver higher benefit. The major strength that has been noticed by the company is that the farmers have huge knowledge about the agricultural products and which products can provide them higher advantage (Mackay and Wilmshurst, 2012). On the other hand, the weakness of the small scale farmers is that they are not able to gain right value for selling their product in the regular market. Apart from that, the major opportunities for the farmers are that they can turn up to the commodity market as they can receive beneficial clients from whom they can receive fair amount for product. Moreover, the major threat that can be faced by the small scale farmers is from the farmers that are technology equipped as they can produce high quality product for which they can gain better value than the small scale farmers (MacMillan and Venkataraman, 2009).

Industry Rivalry

In order to look out to the effectiveness of commodity market, the Greenish Farm has engaged efficient management that can provide significant and satisfactory support to the small scale farmers so that they can trade their product effectively. On the other hand, the company has hired project manager will help in developing feasible commodity market for the farmers (Marburger, 2012). Therefore, a personnel plan has been designed that comprises project manager that will handle job relating to design and constructing the commodity market. Further, a consultant will be appointed so that right guidance can be sought for creating an effective and beneficial commodity market.

People	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Project Manager	180000	186000	199000	211000	230000
Consultant	40000	45000	53000	60000	64000
Commodity Manager	120000	127000	131000	135000	140000
Total People	3	3	3	3	3
Total Payroll	340000	358000	383000	406000	434000

Table 3: Personnel Plan

Figure 3: Company Structure of Greenish Farm

Location: The Greenish Farm has decided to develop and start commodity market in Ndola, Zambia as the management of the company has found that small scale farmers that belong or reside near to this location suffer problem in getting right value for the product and also a perfect market where they can trade their product (McDaniel and Gates, 2012). Therefore, location of Ndola is feasible for the company to accumulate the products of farmers and provide them right price for their different product. Therefore, the small scale farmers may not be cheated from the business people. Moreover, the commodity market will allow around 30 small scale farmers to trade in one time.

Supply and Inventory Management: In order to develop commodity market, the company will be arranging all the required resources and materials that will help in designing a commodity market in large scale that can provide service to maximum farmers. On the other hand, the company is engaged with the suppliers and build strong relationship so that required material can be organized for the development of commodity market (Mooradian et al. 2012). Apart from that, the company will remove the inventory that is not productive or useful in the commodity market. Moreover, the company will design a warehouse so that farmers can place their product till its sale. Therefore, small scale farmers can organize their product and will also receive high advantage from commodity market.

Training Plans: The Greenish Farm has to provide training to the staff so that product of the farmers can be arranged and handled in effective way so that the product does not get damaged. On the other hand, the training will help the employees to provide required detail to small scale farmers about the benefit in trading in commodity market so that they can take their product from regular market to commodity market (Morris et al. 2011).

Assess Market performance: The Company will engage a market specialist that will assess the performance of the commodity market whether the farmers are receiving the expected benefit or not (Mullins, 2009). Therefore, if the market will show positive result then the company will penetrate to other location to serve the farmers.

Budget Plan: The budget will be planned for developing a commodity market in Ndola so that large small scale farmers can be served and better value can be provided to them. The effective budget will be prepared which will ensure better profit and revenue to the different groups of farmers (Nielsen, 2011).

Threat of Substitutes

Profit and Loss Projections

Year-by-year profit and loss assumptions	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Annual cumulative price (revenue) increase	–	2.00%	4.00%	6.00%	8.00%
Annual cumulative inflation (expense) increase	–	2.00%	4.00%	6.00%	8.00%
Interest rate on ending cash balance	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%

	Particulars	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Revenue
	Gross revenue	$4,95,600	$5,05,512	$5,25,732	$5,57,276	$6,01,859
	Cost of goods sold	2,15,790	2,20,106	2,28,910	2,42,645	2,62,056
	Gross margin	$2,79,810	$2,85,406	$2,96,822	$3,14,632	$3,39,802
	Other revenue [source]	$0	$0	$10,000	$0	$0
	Interest income	$1,000	$0	$0	$0	$0
	Total revenue	$2,80,810	$2,85,406	$3,06,822	$3,14,632	$3,39,802
Operating expenses
	Sales and marketing	$40,000	$40,800	$42,432	$44,978	$48,576
	Payroll and payroll taxes	60,000	$61,200	$63,648	$67,467	$72,864
	Depreciation	40,000	40,800	41,600	42,400	43,200
	Insurance	40,000	$40,800	$42,432	$44,978	$48,576
	Maintenance, repair, and overhaul	15,000	15,300	15,600	15,900	16,200
	Utilities	30,000	$30,600	$31,824	$33,733	$36,432
	Property taxes	15,000	$15,300	$15,912	$16,867	$18,216
	Administrative fees	18,000	$18,360	$19,094	$20,240	$21,859
	Other	4,000	$4,080	$4,243	$4,498	$4,858
	Total operating expenses	$2,62,000	$2,67,240	$2,76,786	$2,91,061	$3,10,782
Operating income		$18,810	$18,166	$30,037	$23,571	$29,021
	Interest expense on long-term debt	3,365	2,687	1,974	1,226	440
Operating income before other items		$15,445	$15,480	$28,063	$22,345	$28,581
	Loss (gain) on sale of assets	0	0	1,000	0	0
	Other unusual expenses (income)	0	0	0	0	0
Earnings before taxes		$15,445	$15,480	$29,063	$22,345	$28,581
Taxes on income (30%)		4,633	4,644	8,719	6,704	8,574
Net income (loss)		$10,811	$10,836	$20,344	$15,642	$20,006

Cash Flow Projection

Activities	Particulars	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Total
Operating activities
	Net income	$10,811	$10,836	$20,344	$15,642	$20,006	$77,639
	Depreciation	40,000	40,800	41,600	42,400	43,200	2,08,000
	Accounts receivable	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Inventories	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Accounts payable	0	1,500	0	-2,000	0	-500
	Amortization	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other liabilities	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other operating cash flow items	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total operating activities	$50,811	$53,136	$61,944	$56,042	$63,206	$2,85,139
Investing activities
	Capital expenditures	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
	Acquisition of business	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Sale of fixed assets	$0	$0	($1,000)	$0	$0	-1,000
	Other investing cash flow items	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total investing activities	$0	$0	($1,000)	$0	$0	($1,000)
Financing activities
	Long-term debt/financing	$86,427	($64,252)	$10,036	$34,287	($91,498)	($25,000)
	Preferred stock	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total cash dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Common stock	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other financing cash flow items	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total financing activities	$86,427	($64,252)	$10,036	$34,287	($91,498)	($25,000)
Cumulative cash flow		$1,37,238	($11,116)	$70,980	$90,329	($28,292)	$2,59,139
Beginning cash balance		$50,000	$1,87,238	$1,76,122	$2,47,102	$3,37,431
Ending cash balance		$1,87,238	$1,76,122	$2,47,102	$3,37,431	$3,09,139

Balance Sheet

	Particulars	Initial balance	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Assets	Cash and short-term investments	$50,000	$1,87,238	$1,76,122	$2,47,102	$3,37,431	$3,09,139
	Accounts receivable	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000
	Total inventory	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000
	Prepaid expenses	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Deferred income tax	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other current assets	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000
	Total current assets	$83,000	$2,20,238	$2,09,122	$2,80,102	$3,70,431	$3,42,139
	Buildings	$1,00,000	$1,00,000	$1,00,000	$1,00,000	$1,00,000	$1,00,000
	Land	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000
	Capital improvements	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Machinery and equipment	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000	1,00,000
	Less: Accumulated depreciation expense	0	40,000	80,800	1,22,400	1,64,800	2,08,000
	Net property/equipment	$3,00,000	$2,60,000	$2,19,200	$1,77,600	$1,35,200	$92,000
	Goodwill	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
	Deferred income tax	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Long-term investments	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Deposits	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other long-term assets	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total assets	$3,83,000	$4,80,238	$4,28,322	$4,57,702	$5,05,631	$4,34,139
Liabilities		Initial balance	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
	Accounts payable	$2,000	$2,000	$3,500	$3,500	$1,500	$1,500
	Accrued expenses	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Notes payable/short-term debt	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Capital leases	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Other current liabilities	100	100	100	100	100	100
	Total current liabilities	$2,100	$2,100	$3,600	$3,600	$1,600	$1,600
	Long-term debt from loan payment calculator	$75,000	$61,427	$47,175	$32,211	$16,498	$0
	Other long-term debt	$1,00,000	$2,00,000	$1,50,000	$1,75,000	$2,25,000	$1,50,000
	Total debt	$1,77,100	$2,63,527	$2,00,775	$2,10,811	$2,43,098	$1,51,600
	Other liabilities	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total liabilities	$77,100	$63,527	$50,775	$35,811	$18,098	$1,600
Equity		Initial balance	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
	Owner’s equity (common)	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000
	Paid-in capital	2,50,000	2,50,000	2,50,000	2,50,000	2,50,000	2,50,000
	Preferred equity	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Retained earnings	0	10,811	21,647	41,991	57,633	77,639
	Total equity	$3,00,000	$3,10,811	$3,21,647	$3,41,991	$3,57,633	$3,77,639
	Total liabilities and equity	$3,77,100	$3,74,338	$3,72,422	$3,77,802	$3,75,731	$3,79,239

 

Loan payment

Annual interest rate	5.0%
Monthly rate	0.41%
Loan amount	$75,000
Term of loan (months)	60
Payment	($1,411.53)

 

Month	Principal balance	Principal payment	Interest	Payment
1	$75,000	($1,106)	($306)	($1,412)
2	73,894	-1,110	-301	($1,412)
3	72,784	-1,115	-297	($1,412)
4	71,669	-1,120	-292	($1,412)
5	70,549	-1,124	-287	($1,412)
6	69,425	-1,129	-283	($1,412)
7	68,296	-1,133	-278	($1,412)
8	67,163	-1,138	-274	($1,412)
9	66,025	-1,143	-269	($1,412)
10	64,883	-1,147	-264	($1,412)
11	63,735	-1,152	-260	($1,412)
12	62,583	-1,157	-255	($1,412)
13	61,427	-1,161	-250	($1,412)
14	60,266	-1,166	-246	($1,412)
15	59,100	-1,171	-241	($1,412)
16	57,929	-1,176	-236	($1,412)
17	56,753	-1,180	-231	($1,412)
18	55,573	-1,185	-226	($1,412)
19	54,388	-1,190	-222	($1,412)
20	53,198	-1,195	-217	($1,412)
21	52,003	-1,200	-212	($1,412)
22	50,804	-1,205	-207	($1,412)
23	49,599	-1,209	-202	($1,412)
24	48,390	-1,214	-197	($1,412)
25	47,175	-1,219	-192	($1,412)
26	45,956	-1,224	-187	($1,412)
27	44,731	-1,229	-182	($1,412)
28	43,502	-1,234	-177	($1,412)
29	42,268	-1,239	-172	($1,412)
30	41,029	-1,244	-167	($1,412)
31	39,784	-1,249	-162	($1,412)
32	38,535	-1,255	-157	($1,412)
33	37,280	-1,260	-152	($1,412)
34	36,021	-1,265	-147	($1,412)
35	34,756	-1,270	-142	($1,412)
36	33,486	-1,275	-136	($1,412)
37	32,211	-1,280	-131	($1,412)
38	30,930	-1,286	-126	($1,412)
39	29,645	-1,291	-121	($1,412)
40	28,354	-1,296	-116	($1,412)
41	27,058	-1,301	-110	($1,412)
42	25,757	-1,307	-105	($1,412)
43	24,450	-1,312	-100	($1,412)
44	23,138	-1,317	-94	($1,412)
45	21,821	-1,323	-89	($1,412)
46	20,499	-1,328	-84	($1,412)
47	19,170	-1,333	-78	($1,412)
48	17,837	-1,339	-73	($1,412)
49	16,498	-1,344	-67	($1,412)
50	15,154	-1,350	-62	($1,412)
51	13,804	-1,355	-56	($1,412)
52	12,449	-1,361	-51	($1,412)
53	11,088	-1,366	-45	($1,412)
54	9,722	-1,372	-40	($1,412)
55	8,350	-1,378	-34	($1,412)
56	6,972	-1,383	-28	($1,412)
57	5,589	-1,389	-23	($1,412)
58	4,200	-1,394	-17	($1,412)
59	2,806	-1,400	-11	($1,412)
60	1,406	-1,406	-6	($1,412)
61	0	0	-0	$0
62	0	0	-0	$0

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