EQUITY AS THE GOAL IN BUSINESS OF FOOD !
Continuing on the last Thoughts of the last Blog! in pursuing EQUITY AS A TARGET GOAL (given that one cannot exist without the other) in the business of food, for the greater long term good of all parts in the chain – in Production (Producer), Input Provision, Credit, Aggregation, Processing, Distribution (Eco-system players) and Consumption (Consumer).
Some definitions of Equity are, “being fair and impartial” “having access to resources and opportunities based on individual needs to create equal outcomes” “stakes or shares in a company or a co-operative” In a competitive world where competition should bring the best out of everyone in the chain,
The first definition could quickly imply that rightfully taking advantage of an opportunity or a gap in the market could sound unfair and partial, and it also could give the definition a tinge of lack of sympathy and a subjective measure of right and wrong. Instead, this definition could be translated to a set of VALUES which all parts of the chain shall subscribe to. Values like transparency, sharing of required information, timely actions (those committed), mutual respect, long term focus ….!. Another interesting value could be STANDARDs of quality and grades of produce, is more a common agreed information but made to be a value. Since values inherently demand a sense of responsibility! The agreed Value System now can unlock true competitive spirit and forces which will keep all parts on their feet to be part of and also be the CHANGE, given the only constant is Change!
The second definition, a key term could be “equal outcomes” which symbolizes that given everything else is equal (like resources, interest, involvement, investment in time, money and mind) equal outcomes (representative of the size of the endeavor) should be the norm. Access to Resources, the general tendency is to be able to own resources and here a shift, could be to be able to clearly Identify resources its existing capacities (in a village / town / city) and ability to use this data to evaluate Own : Rent (Make or Buy type) choices.
A data centric Shared Resource Capacity utilization model is important to efficiently sweat the capacities, invested into by multiple parties and parts in the chain. And in identifying opportunities, it could be a better idea to define it end to end involving all three parts of the chain – producer to consumer, which will entail sizing up the opportunity, access to contemporary KNOWLEDGE as actionable insights to all, mitigation plans to address risks through the chain and with ingrained values. A location / region – crop – aggregation – value addition – consumption BUSINESS TEMPLATE, factoring demand and supply, seasonality and weather patterns could be key and a possible critical enabler, built by design for outcomes across the chain.
The third definition in our understanding is ideally an evolution step, after having established a holistic approach with VALUES, STANDARDS, RESOURCEs, OPPORTUNITIES, KNOWLEDGE in a BUSINESS TEMPLATE which has been put into practice, tweaked and perfected – and which is driving value across the parties and parts of chain, and then a logical next step is of leading to co-opting stake holders. Giving away shares or stakes and forming a co-operative is counter intuitive without a clear well thought out Business Plan – a reason why a great concept with great potential to be path breaking movement, like Farmer Producer Companies (FPOs) is not wholly successful, where a Co-operative’s co-operation cannot be instilled on its members with just a share certificate and without a Business Plan for self-sustenance and then leading to a profitable business.
We at Farmitopia are chipping our way at creating this balanced approach in pursuing and enabling a path to Equity in Business of Food, and passionately chipping away starting from the producer end!