Idea 286 of 500. Cluster 14: Farm to shelf
Cashew-processing units in Puttalam owned by the growers, not by the traders
The mechanism, from the book
The smallholder sells raw to a collector at the gate and the collector sells to a packer who puts his own name on it. Denmark's farmers got rich the day they owned the creamery.
Every idea in cluster 14 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Compare what the trader pays around Puttalam per kilo of raw cashew with the shelf price of processed cashew in a supermarket, and work out the difference per kilo. Take that figure to a meeting of growers and ask how many would put their harvest and a small share into a jointly owned processing unit. Names and pledged kilos are the proof.
- Who pays first
- A supermarket or wholesaler buying processed cashew, who will buy from a grower-owned unit that can guarantee grade and volume.
- What leaves today
- Raw cashew leaves the growers through traders, and the shelling, grading and packing that multiply its price are done by someone else.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. ElevenThe Mechanisms
Denmark's co-operative dairies and the binding contract that held them
More from cluster 14
- 271A farmers' co-operative dairy in the hill country selling cheese and yoghurt under its own brand
- 272Buffalo-milk mozzarella and ghee for the hotels and for export
- 273Fruit and vegetable drying: mango, pineapple, papaya, jackfruit and okra as premium snacks and soup mixes for Europe and the Gulf
- 274Frozen tropical fruit pulp for the smoothie chains of the world
- 275Heritage rice varieties grown under contract and sold at ten times the commodity price
- 276Organic certification services for smallholder groups, shared so the cost is bearable
Idea 286 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.