Increased market power (2)

The Company assessment of April 2014 had the objective "To jointly develop an action plan and strategy for Agriterra's Agribusiness team's support to MWEA Rice Cooperative". Some of the conclusions of this Company assessment were: - Governance and management are on adequate level. - Relationships with buyers and financial institutions are good. - In order to get higher rice volumes, MRGM has to compete with brokers who pay cash. In its cash flow forecast, MRGM should find an optimum between its own liquidity needs and the financial needs of members. - Moreover, member communication or "member marketing" could be improved. - Key question: what are the advantages of being member of MRGM? Some of the recommendations of the assessment: - Elaborate a more detailed cost price calculation (hourly rate or per acre) for the use of tractors and other machinery. - Elaborate a new strategic plan including a financial forecast for the next 5 years and update it every year in an annual plan. - Define ways to train young members to be active in the cooperative (youth council) - Marketing committee is operational, but cannot play a satisfactory role in such a competitive sector. for 2nd half of 2014, a first action plan for MRGM supported by Agriterra was elaborated, taking into account the above-mentioned recommendations. A more profound analysis of garage operations and financial analysis of performance per business unit was done. general objective remains to increase the intake of rice and to position MRGM more strongly to members to increase member commitment.