Starter Kit. Idea 488 of 500. Cluster 27
Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu farm co-operatives with a cold chain to Colombo
The mechanism, from the book
The land, the lagoons and the savings of families abroad are waiting. What comes first is the small business.
The first step
Talk to 5 farmers in one area about what they lose between harvest and sale, and which crop spoils first. Then call the buyers at 3 Colombo supermarkets or large restaurants and ask what they would pay for that crop delivered chilled and on time each week. A farm price, a buyer's price and the cost of one insulated truck run make the case in numbers.
- Who pays first
- A Colombo supermarket or hotel buyer who wants a steady, chilled supply of vegetables or fruit and pays extra for reliability.
- What leaves today
- Produce from the north spoils or sells cheaply at harvest, and the margin between the farm gate and a Colombo shelf goes to whoever moves it.
Ask first
- Department of Agriculture. Ask which crops from this area keep best, and how they should be handled.
- the Divisional Secretariat. Ask how farm co-operatives in the division are registered.
Check before you spend
Confirm a written supply agreement with every farmer, the co-operative's registration, and food handling rules for chilled produce on the road.
Find out these three numbers
- What share of the crop is lost between harvest and sale?
- What would a Colombo buyer pay for it delivered cold?
- What does one chilled truck run to Colombo cost?
A comparison from the book
Denmark. Chapter Eleven
"because the supply was guaranteed, the creameries could borrow to build"
Guaranteed supply from the members is what lets the co-operative pay for the cold chain.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.