Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities-The Bomarts Experience”
Bomarts conception of farming transcends mere availability and consumption of food commodities but with agribusinesses haven to deliver the promise of quality. Bomarts has lived its vision of being the finest pineapple exporter and we have succeeded through value creation and quality assurance throughout our supply value chain
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Dobro, Nsawam
Project City
Nsawam
Project Province/State
Eastern Region
Project Postal/Zip Code
233
Project Country
Ghana
Your idea
Country your work focuses on:
Ghana
Website URL
YouTube Upload
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
<$100
Name Your Project
Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities-The Bomarts Experience”
Describe Your Idea
Bomarts conception of farming transcends mere availability and consumption of food commodities but with agribusinesses haven to deliver the promise of quality. Bomarts has lived its vision of being the finest pineapple exporter and we have succeeded through value creation and quality assurance throughout our supply value chain
Innovation
Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.
Bomarts conception of farming transcends mere availability and consumption of food commodities but with agribusinesses haven to deliver the promise of quality. Bomarts has lived its vision of being the finest pineapple exporter and we have succeeded through value creation and quality assurance throughout our supply value chain
What makes your idea unique?
The uniqueness of Bomarts idea is underscored in the following attributes: Identity, strengths and the relevance of the industry.
Identity: Bomarts has become a household name in Ghana on the premise of its growth in the industry and our ability to transform people’s life locally and a brand name at the international level for its product quality;
Strengths: The critical success factors alluding to Bomarts’ uniqueness are; product marketability, organizational strength, proven management team (Human Resources), Financial and Physical resources and effective supply chain and customer relationship management.
Industry Relevance: Bomarts’ uniqueness is also attributable to its contribution to Food security globally and at the local level also contributing to Ghana’s development for job creation and above all the net export earnings of the government
What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)
What impact have you had?
Bomarts through the efficient management of its human resources has been able to introduce change in the non-traditional export sector in Ghana and in Agriculture generally along the following dimensions:
Technology ; Bomarts played a leading role in introducing new paradigms of agricultural production to implement mechanized methods thus leading to many other players now shifting from the hoe and cutlass economy to mechanized farming.
Customer expectations; Bomarts’ ability to meet its customer expectations made it the first to be certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organization in West Africa. As of now Bomarts produces finest taste of MD2 pineapple.
Competition; Bomarts continues to enjoy a good market share though there are now many players in the industry in Ghana, Africa and other exotic products from the European community itself.
Economy; The performance of Bomarts in the Agribusiness sector has significantly led to the growth of the economy not only in terms of Bomarts’ contribution to the country’s exports but more so with the coming into force of other players in the same product value chains all as a result of the innovative role played by Bomarts thus widening the base of Agriculture in Ghana’s economy.
Social Responsibility; Bomarts has improved the quality of life of the communities in which we operate not only in terms of the direct income earned by the indigenes of the communities as our workers but as a result of the social responsibility project
Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.
Socio-cultural: Bomarts has numerous socio-cultural problems because of the chemistry of people we work with who are basically rural folk. We are confronted with Land fragmentation issues which often delays the acquisition and production timelines, worker absenteeism arising from too much time spent on funerals, and superstitions, the greater dependence of family income for which incidence falls heavily on the breadwinner( either case of the gender), and low level literacy affecting the assimilation in the level of instruction received and the quality of work deliveries.
Technological: technological challenges such as Information technology applications at the farm level planning and operations, Biotechnology for the purpose of sustainable agriculture and infrastructural challenges such as poor road networks, power and limited farm machinery and equipments
Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.
• Non-formal education to enhance the level of understanding of instruction received at work so to make them efficient
• Using such educational platforms to reorient the mindset of the people towards superstitions;
• Changing people’s attitudes towards work through several change management strategies;
• Addressing Land disputes or acquisition problems through active engagement of community stakeholders such as Chiefs and Family heads and on a larger note Governmental Agencies on land acquisition;
• Technologically Bomarts is trying to improve its delivery by acquiring state-of-the art equipments like farm implements, eg slasher to chop into pieces stumps of harvested pineapples for their reintegration into the soil in respect of our value for sustainable agriculture. This will also reduce the man-hours used in hiring farmhands to pick the stumps manually and reduction of overheads
Impact
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:
Employing use of mechanized systems including modern technology to increase yields and reduce cost of production; Expansion in acreage of production and yield per acreage
Success in Year 2:
Expand Market: Increasing sales to existing buyers; Exploring new markets like the Middle East; Creating a Marketing Department for effective customer relationship management and market development
Success in Year 3:
Strengthen the Organization’s HR&Administration through capacity training of Staff to respond competitively to industry changes and administratively for operational efficiency
Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)
Yes
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:
Step1: Mechanized systems of production and pack line processing for Exports;
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:
Step2: Exploring new markets
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:
Step3: Fruit processing plant to increase the export value and to make the product attractive for local consumption
Describe the expected results of these actions.
With the new equipments and machinery we will operate efficiently to reduce the real time of production and processing of the produce for exports and more so to meet the increasing number of orders that comes spontaneously from various market corridors. More importantly at the packaging line, the company will be able to meet the quality assurance challenges in product safety since so much manual handling as of present is involved.
Bomarts can grow its market share if both horizontal and vertically integrated markets are explored through the efficient management of its marketing department which at any rate is yet to be created but very evident that the company will be able to sustain and grow its clientele base if we are able to meet our customer service challenges and others.
The company can widen its consumption base by establishing a processing plant to process fruits
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
With the new equipments and machinery we will operate efficiently to reduce the real time of production and processing of the produce for exports and more so to meet the increasing number of orders that comes spontaneously from various market corridors. More importantly at the packaging line, the company will be able to meet the quality assurance challenges in product safety since so much manual handling as of present is involved.
Bomarts can grow its market share if both horizontal and vertically integrated markets are explored through the efficient management of its marketing department which at any rate is yet to be created but very evident that the company will be able to sustain and grow its clientele base if we are able to meet our customer service challenges and others.
The company can widen its consumption base by establishing a processing plant to process fruits which are not explored but are sold cheap
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
The Social Innovator behind Bomarts’ social responsibility projects has been one of a Fair-Trade Foundation established from membership of Fair-Trade Labeling Organization based in Bornn,Germany.The foundation is operated from premiums earned. Ie, 0.5Eurocents/kg) of fruits exported in the fair-trade regime. Below are some of the successful Social responsibility projects undertaken by the foundation:
• A 3-classroom kindergarten(KG) block at Mmaampehia in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra Region;
• A 3-classroom KG at Tafi Abuife at Hohoe South District of the Volta Region;
• An 18-Seater Water Closet at Dobro in the Akuapim South Municipal Assembly;
• Boreholes at Oparekrom near Nsawam;
• GH¢5000Cash donation to Notredam Clinic at Nsawam;
• Rehabilitation of the Obom Health Post in the Ga West District;
• Supply of furniture to Mmaampehia KG School.
All these projects were accomplished through premiums earned from Bomarts Fair-Trade Foundation
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Ghanaian Media (Daily Graphic)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
What would prevent your project from being a success?
The effective implementation of Bomarts’ project starts with appropriate definition of its Strategic or Business plan. The Business Plan could become a restraining factor for change if the situation or Bomarts in terms of its Purpose, Goals and Strategy is not well contextualized in its given environment and well structured.
Appropriate diagnosis of the cultural situation of Bomarts from its internal cultural dynamics to the external cultural situation including the endemic culture of the very community in which the company operate have to be seen to.ie Land Acquisition, Superstitious beliefs, all of which affect the performance of the company have to be analyzed with interventions put in place to address such dilemmas.
It is people that drive an organization. Thus no matter the advancement of technological systems in stored, once the psychic and the skills of the workers who man such systems are not congruent with the technology then it’s obvious change would be a hard commodity to come by. Therefore appropriate skill development of Staff have to be embarked on by the organization to make the Staff tenable of the very systems put in place while making them also cultivate the values for change.
Effective communication, consultation of stakeholders, and the application of normative re-education and the rationalist methods of change will guarantee the success of all activities along the company’ value chain.
Financing source
If yes, provide organization name.
Bomarts Farms Ltd
How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)
No
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)
Yes
The Story
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Social organizations such as the NGO’s and Civil society involvement in our strategic plan would make operational our drive in showing commitment to corporate Ghana and in the immediate community in which we operate.
We hope to mainstream Community Change Agents such as Chiefs and other political heads of our operational Districts into our Policy frameworks and problem solving agenda so to put to rest the numerous land litigation disputes that often throws overboard our production schedule.
Partnerships with other organizations are also necessary since their activities contribute to making effective the regulative regime of our work in terms of compliance to Safety, Environmental and general quality assurance.
Funding-In the year 2003, Bomarts enjoyed some sponsorship from the World Bank in support of the establishment of a Greenhouse for breeding plantlets for MD2 Pineapple.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than10,000
What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?
638
What is your organization's business classification?
For-profit
Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)
World Bank .
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Comments
Your entry was really interesting and informative. One of the issues that struck me was how much of the challenges (i.e. literacy, health care, land rights, etc.) you face are often perceived as indirect to agriculture. For land rights/fragmentation specfically, are there opportunities for you to set up financing options that would allow smaller farmers to buy land? Or are the issues lack of documentation and clear property titles?
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