Confirel at Harvest II project closing ceremony

The Harvest II agricultural project implemented for 5 years by the American cooperation agency USAID for an amount of 21.2 million dollars held its closing ceremony last month. According to its promoters, this project, which benefited Confirel among 1,200 other companies, has generated millions of dollars in benefits for buyers and suppliers and created more than 2,500 jobs in the industry.

The Harvest II project identified weaknesses in the relationship between farmers and buyers and created partnerships between the two parties, while meeting the needs of both. Buyers wanting higher quality and quantity of goods while farmers demanding better prices and more markets was the main challenge to solve. “Our initial goal was to work with farmers, but when we saw farmers interacting with the market, we found that farmers wanted more from buyers and buyers wanted more from farmers,” noted Harvest II manager Nimish Jhaveri.

The pandemic has been a boon to the project in terms of producer-buyer-processor relationships, as the closure of borders has forced buyers and distributors to source locally rather than from neighboring countries.

Harvest II also trained farmers in good agricultural practices (GAP), provided funds for new technologies and upgrades, and worked to increase productivity and profitability for buyers and farmers.

The project also intervened in the development of four value chains: mangoes, longans, vegetables and cashews. For the first time, a direct supply chain has been established, taking goods from the manufacturer directly to the consumer”, said Harvest II officials.

It was in the mango chain that Confirel intervened with the support of Harvest II. “We noted that fresh mangoes were grown and harvested in too large quantities, and that, unfortunately, many were of poor quality and unprocessed. Finally the selling price was very low and part of the harvest was destroyed”, explained Mrs. SANG Sophea, project manager at Confirel, during this closing ceremony to which she had been invited to make a presentation of her work with Harvest II. “In the case of this project, she continued, we organized pre- and post-harvest training for farmers to improve the quality of production. Mangoes of all qualities were purchased and processed into new products – chips, puree, rolls, etc. – that can be stored and sold longer. – The next phase of the project, called Agriculture and Agri-Food, will be implemented in the next two years.