Increasing output marketing of vegetables to the local market

Meki Batu Vegetables and Fruits Growers Cooperatives Union (MBU) is an union with a direct membership of 150 primary cooperatives (PCs). These 150 PCs represent a total membership of approximately 8.000 individual farmers (18% female). The PCs are found at 130 to 180 km South from Addis Ababa, where farmers are primarily engaged in horticulture farming through irrigation with an average land holding of 0.25 hectare. Production includes mainly onion, tomato, green pepper, beans, cabbage and papaya fruit. Efforts made by Agriterra since 2013 has helped the union to get more focused by developing a five years strategic business plan (2015 to 2019). Additionally, MBU has managed to improve its financial management capabilities and has successfully implemented Peachtree digital accounting. The 2015 Action Plan was mainly focusing on MBU complying to GAP certification and entering into the export market. However this ambition turned out to be too ambitious and could not be achieved. As MBU was not able to secure a export contract also many activities related to GAP certification and export could not be implemented. Furthermore several other development organizations are currently already assisting MBU on its export activities (IDH, IFDC, EHPEA). Therefore Agriterra in its 2016 Action Plan will mainly focus on sales of vegetables from the member PCs on the local market and specifically to the Consumer Cooperative Unions (CCU) and the Consumer Cooperatives (CC) in Addis Ababa through cooperation with the Addis Ababa Trade Development Office (AATDO). Currently MBU and its member PCs have, except for Ethiopian Airlines (60qt Onion per week), very limited sales activities and agreements with the local market. The local market is rapidly growing and shows significant opportunities. Often prices for vegetables on the local market are more competitive and attractive compared to the export market. The ambition of this Action Plan is to link the producers (PCs) directly to the consumers (CCs) through facilitation of MBU, thereby reducing middlemen costs and providing a fair price for both the producer and the consumer. The Action Plan includes activities related to understanding and complying to the quality standards demanded by the local market in order to provide maximum added value to the producer and a quality product against a competitive price to the consumer. This will furthermore prepare MBU for its future ambitions in direct export sales.