EMPRENDA Beneficiary Gains Knowledge, Increase Income

How do a fishing net, sesame production, and maize marketing make for a successful small business? ACDI/VOCA Empowering Private Enterprise in the Development of Agriculture (EMPRENDA) beneficiary Antonio Machel of Bebedo, Nhamatanda knows: His fishing business finances his maize marketing activities, which in turn finance the production and marketing of sesame. Coming full circle, his sesame business finances the investments he makes in his fishing business.

Machel joined the local business association in Bebedo in 2005. Working with the local ACDI/VOCA technician, he learned to sell by weight and not by volume (traders often cheat producers by using imprecise volume measures). He learned to plant sesame using techniques such as spacing and thinning plants to get a higher yield per plant, and controlling insects. He developed a business mentality and learned how to negotiate with buyers.

In 2005, Machel concentrated on sesame, producing 4 hectares and achieving a total production of 3.7 tons. He sold 3 tons to V&M Trading Company for $1,200 and another 700 kg for seed worth $308. He also produced 6 hectares of maize, which he sold for $480. He was already doing artisanal fishing as a side business.

Using his 2005 product sales, he purchased a fishing net, a fishing canoe, a new outboard motor and a cell phone, and he built a rustic drying and storage warehouse in Praia Nova, Beira. He now catches, dries and sells fish in his local village. His average annual fish sales are 33,000,000 Mts, equal to $1,222.

Profits from fishing allowed him to finance his maize production and marketing operations. In 2006 he produced 6 hectares of maize himself, and he bought locally from his neighbors, selling to DECA Trading Company. His maize business has been successful: Between 2006 and early 2007 Machel sold 26.9 tons of maize for a total of about $3,100. He expanded his sesame production from four hectares in 2005 to ten hectares in 2006, becoming the top association member in sesame area planted. Based on his average production per hectare in 2005 (925 kg/ha) and the price paid in 2006 (12,000 Mts/kg), his sesame sales for 2006 will be about $4,100.

What are his continuing constraints? He says his present living quarters are more of a warehouse than a home, so he is planning to build a new house in 2006. He complains about the poor access road to Bebedo and the high cost of getting his products to market. EMPRENDA is fixing the road using USAID funding, and if his production and sales continue on track, he’ll buy the truck he needs in 2007.