Seed Cooperative Alliance Semi-Annual Report

The project began in 2013 with funding from USAID's Cooperative Development Program (CDP) and matching contributions from Land O'Lakes, Seed Co Limited, and local cooperatives. The SCA project is conducting a series of interrelated diagnostic, strategic planning, and capacity-building services to test the development hypothesis that cooperative alliances can provide a commercially sustainable supply chain for distribution of improved hybrid maize seed. The program has started by assessing the market feasibility of seed alliances and conducting strategic fit assessments to identify the potential for cooperative alliance formation in Tanzania and Rwanda. Market feasibility assessments were completed by alliance facilitators in Tanzania and Rwanda, and a market feasibility assessment trip took place in February 2014. Land O'Lakes Supply Chain intern, Katie Bolssen, conducted an analysis of seed supply chains in Tanzania and Rwanda, and a Winfield commercial viability assessment and analysis were completed. Greg Grothe, CDP Program Manager, and Keith Newhouse, Winfield Solutions Director, visited cooperatives in Rwanda and Tanzania, and completed strategic fit assessments for selected cooperatives in both countries. The program has made significant progress in developing cooperative partnerships, with three new cooperative partnerships formed in Rwanda compared to a target of one new cooperative partnership. In Tanzania, multiple conversations took place between three large multi-purpose cooperatives and Seed Co, but a successful partnership was not achieved ahead of the October maize season. However, Seed Co has remained engaged in negotiations with Koboku cooperative in Tanzania ahead of the March/April 2015 planting season. The program also completed a total of eight strategic fit assessments on cooperatives, compared to a target number of two strategic fit assessments. The strategic fit assessments built upon knowledge from the market feasibility assessment and helped narrow the target list of potential cooperative partners in both countries. The program is well on track to meet its indicators, with overwhelming interest from cooperatives in Rwanda to work with Seed Co following several initial successful partnerships in 2014. The SCA project has several key partners, including Winfield Solutions, a Land O'Lakes subsidiary that brings significant expertise in business-to-business relationships through cooperative models and the distribution of inputs and crop solutions. Winfield will be a key partner in assessing the viability of business models that involve cooperative alliances in Tanzania and Rwanda and will help support technical assistance work by leveraging their experience and expertise working with coop-coop models in the United States. The program has also partnered with Seed Co, a leading seed company in Tanzania and Rwanda, to develop and study pilot alliances in both countries. The program's focus has shifted to developing and studying pilot alliances in both countries, following supplemental funding awarded in September 2014. The program is expected to continue its focus on developing and studying pilot alliances in both countries, with a goal of establishing a commercially sustainable supply chain for distribution of improved hybrid maize seed.