Role of Offtakers
Offtakers play a key role in implantation of productive alliances (PA), they provide an outlet for the products produced with support of AGCOM interventions: 1. Matching grants, 2. Partial Credit Guarantee, and 3. Last Mile infrastructure.
Depending on Value chains and PA agreement, some offtakers offer provision of inputs, logistics for final product, technical expertise, and loan provisions. AGCOM recognises these provisions as essential for commercialisation process, offtakers that provide any or multiple of such provisions tend to have higher marks in assessment for AGCOM support.
Eligibility
Individuals, organisations, non-governmental Organisations, exporters, processors, distributors in AGCOM value chains ( Crop, Livestock, Fisheries, Horticulture) qualify to be an off taker. Those with extensive experience in the particular value chain, high reputation and can provide any of the services as listed above are at added advantage.
Benefits
The project is built on a premise that matching grants are provided to a Producer Organisation in order to subsidise purchase of productive assets that help the farmer produce high quality product as specified by the off-taker. Offtakers under alliances benefit from:
- Acquisition of high quality produce from the producer organisations without directly paying for the investments needed to produce the product.
- The Project is able to meet the costs of technical expertise, training that may otherwise have been provided for by the off-taker to the producer organisations.
- The Project is able to meet costs of certification services (domestic and international) for the final product deriving from productive Alliance.
Offtaker Engagements
The project runs off-taker engagement workshops and meetings (virtual & Physical) in order to sensitise the public of AGCOM project. Offtakers will at the end list products, its specification and annual quantity gaps. The information is relayed to Producer organisations through Agribusiness Officers in the district offices, AGCOM Brokers among others in order to attract groups that are prepared to enter into alliances to produce for the particular offtaker. AGCOM facilitates the match making and provides necessary support to develop the alliance and provide production needs to meet the offtakers requirements.
List of Offtakers
Some of the Off-takers that are already engaged under AGCOM project include, Satemwa tea Estate, Lilongwe Dairy Board, Sunseed Oil Co, Malawi Dairy Industry, Agri Inputs Limited, thyolo Nut Company, NASCOMEX, Liberation Foods Cic (UK), Agrismart (Zambia), Sung San Biz Ltd (South Africa) among others.