Zeera Enterprise is a nucleus farm operation involved in the production and aggregation of farm produce. The company operates primarily in the rice, soybean, groundnut and maize markets. Zeera provides a range of credit services to out-grower farmers, in the form of tractor services for land preparation, hybrid seed, chemicals for weed control and fertiliser. In addition, a ready market is provided for the out-grower farmers at competitive prices for their farm products. Zeera is currently supporting about 3,500 farmers (of which 45% are women) in five main districts, namely: Karaga, Nanton, Nanumba North, Saboba and Savelugu Municipal. In the 2019 production year, the combined volume of produce aggregated was 1,500 MT. The partnership with the MADE programme was entered into in 2014.
MADE interventions
- Recruited Farm Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) to share new knowledge with underserved farmers.
- Provided demonstrations on good agricultural practices, such as proper and timely application of pesticides, weedicides and fertilisers.
- Provided tractor ploughing services and combine harvesting services.
- Established partnerships with Wumpini Agro Chemicals and Garnoma Company Limited.
- Facilitated and strengthened commercial partnerships with other enterprises such as Vector Oil and Avnash Company Limited.
Impacts
- Increased yield outputs for rice from an average of 7 to 17 bags (100 kg) per acre, through the adoption of improved seed and the application of recommended practices.
- Enabled women farmers to cultivate crops such as maize and rice; these crops were previously largely dominated by their male counterparts, while women farmed more traditional crops such as groundnut and soybean.
- Enabled the company to recover input credit at the point of harvest, through the organisation of farmers into cluster groups.
- Established links with end buyers such as Vestor Oil for soybean products, and with other buyers from Togo and Benin for rice products.
- Scaled up operation through increased company profits.
- Increased the allowance package for extension officers.
