BDS Training for Milled Rice Value Chain Actors
Small Smallholder Empowerment and Agribusiness promotion (SHEP Biz) project is supporting and promoting Rice value chain in Busia County. At the start of the project, Rice value chain analysis was conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses along the Rice value chain in the county. After the analysis, Rice value chain action plan was developed sighting key challenges identified and possible interventions. Low entrepreneurial skills, low productivity, low level of value addition (milling), low quality of milled rice and disorganized marketing of Rice emerged as the key challenges faced by value chain actors. This therefore informed the project to organize a three-day training covering entrepreneurship and business ethics, Group dynamics and leadership, financial literacy and food safety and standards.
The training objectives included; To enhance entrepreneurial skills of Rice value chain actors, to enhance leadership skills of group leaders in rice value chain, to sensitize rice handlers on food safety and standards, to enhance financial management skills of the rice actors and to provide platform for interaction and networking amongst Rice value chain actors.
After the training, the expected outcomes include; Participants (processors/millers) will improve their incomes by embracing appropriate entrepreneurial practices, Agribusiness officers will capacity build new entrants into business on entrepreneurial skills, Participants will expand their resource base by taping on all available sources of business funding and food safety and hygiene will be enhanced among rice value chain handlers.
A total of 31 (22 male, 9 female) value chain actors and county agribusiness officers were trained on production skills and business development services (entrepreneurship). Trainers were drawn from Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and JICA Experts (SHEP Biz), Kenya Institute of Business Training (KIBT) and Equity Bank.
