ACDI/VOCA Volunteer Helps Russian Farmer Innovate Swine Production
Alexey Maksimov, owner of the Akademicheskaya Company of Russia, needed new ideas on how to expand profitability but with his company located close to an urban area and the Izhevsk Agricultural University, city zoning would not permit expansion of his swine farm. Faced with these confining regulations, Maksimov was running out of options to further develop his business.
For advice, he turned to his friends at the neighboring university’s animal husbandry school, who recommended that he participate in ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (FtF) program, which had successfully worked with the university in the past. FtF is a worldwide initiative that seeks to develop and increase the sustainability of private agricultural enterprises and support organizations as well as rural finance organizations. U.S. volunteers provide technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses and rural credit organizations in 10 developing and transitional countries in Eurasia and eastern Africa.
Dr. John Carlson, an animal husbandry expert and veteran of more than 15 FtF assignments, traveled to the Udmurtia Republic in Russia as an ACDI/VOCA FtF volunteer to help the Akademicheskaya Company. His assignment was to work with Maksimov to reinvigorate his production company’s operations.
After reviewing the farm’s operation and discussing issues with farm managers, Carlson suggested improving ventilation, health care practices and feed rationing and building a new swine reproduction facility. Remodeling the existing swine production facility could make it more profitable and attract the feed companies to use the Akademicheskaya Company as a testing site for developing new feed mixes. Also, Carlson pointed out that Maksimov could expand the use of graduate students from the university as labor since they could gain experience and carry out small projects. The combination of a feed-testing service, certifiable by the regional Russian Agricultural Academy, plus additional free labor would directly contribute to the company’s bottom line.
Maksimov said, “John Carlson convinced me that new business plans must start with hard-headed economic calculations, and he opened our eyes to resources that we had not seen.”
Within a year of Carlson’s assignment, the company showed a 15 percent greater piglet production rate. The better nutrition and ventilation had increased animal health and decreased piglet mortality rates. Since the farm’s main source of income is piglet sales, the production increase was a significant gain in its profitability. In addition to the company’s success, Carlson’s expertise has been incorporated within the Russian Agricultural Academy’s animal husbandry department and the university professors will include lessons learned from his visit in their lectures.