BUSINESS PLAN - ruaf.org

1 BUSINESS plan NAME OF GROUP: MOUNTAIN AREAS OF GLOUCESTER, LECIESTER AND REGENT VILLAGES TYPE OF BUSINESS : FRESH ASSORTED VEGETABLES ADDRESS: MOUNTAIN AREAS OF GLOUCESTER, LECIESTER AND REGENT VILLAGES CONTACT NO: 088-734013 OWNED BY.

2 MOUNTAIN FARMERS ASSOCIATION MOUNTAINS AREA BUSINESS IDEA The most promising option for the Mountain farmers association (MoFA) is the production of assorted vegetable such as lettuce, carrot, cabbage, parsley, spring onions, Mint, cucumber, runner beans, egg plant, tomato, coriander, and radish, marketing of fresh clean and packed vegetables to urban population of Freetown. Fresh, clean packed assorted vegetable will be cultivated, harvested, washed, sorted, packaged and sold to UN agencies, Non-governmental organizations, Offices, Hotels, Restaurants, Super markets, in nicely designed well perforated polythene bags.

3 Each vegetable will be priced according to the local market price. THE INNOVATIONS Varieties of vegetables are grown throughout the country. The innovations of the BUSINESS however are in the following forms: o Terrace bed and flat beds will be laid out in clean, non contaminated environments. o Labeling of farm beds & Proper recording of seedlings o Bed preparation with dimension of 3ft by 9ft/12ft o Application of Chicken manure and palm kennel. o Farm beds will be mulch to retain soil moisture content, enhance healthy growth and adequate protection of plants especially during the dries.

4 O Vegetables will be irrigated with clean water o Farmers after harvest of their product, brings them to the processing center for processing sorting and packing before it is delivered to customers at their door steps o The development of compost will be done on the farms while practical demonstration will be encouraged by farmers. o Clean and freshly packed assorted vegetables will packed in nice, perforated and attractive color polythene and sold to the urban population of Freetown. o This marketing process will be supported by the collection and compilation of orders from customers by a team of three men two women before finally it is supplied to farmer group heads.

5 O Marketing strategy shall include mobile texting to facilitate and confirm order collection for subsequent supplies as well as one on one visit to customers to confirm orders. o Workers in the processing centre will wear apron, shower cap and hand gloves during the processing to enhance hygiene and quality handling. o Sale of vegetable will be complemented by split sales which give opportunity to customers to select the variety/type of vegetable to supply and price. This also gives opportunity to Nationals to order for vegetables.

6 OPERATIONAL plan The operational plan describes how the production, processing and marketing will be implemented. AVAILABILITY OF LAND TO THE FARMER Since land is own mostly by family members of individual farmers and is being rent, there is guarantee in the land use for a considerable number of years .Currently each farmer is subscribing eight bed of vegetables to MOFA. 8 beds X110 farmers =880 bed of vegetable for MOFA PRODUCTION: Farmers practice individual production since land is mostly owned by the farmers themselves, rent or a family property.

7 Brushing of the land begins in October up to September, individual have to hire labor to accomplish this activity, since it is labor intensive. Clearing the land: individual farmer do clearing of the land using machete and rakes. The grass that is cleared is been deposited in the hole for the preparation of compost Ploughing: this is often done with use of big hoes by turning the soil over to give fine soil layer Nursing: this is the most critical activity in vegetable production which begins in the 4th week September on to 3rd week October of the growing cycle.

8 Bed construction: Bed preparation with dimension of 3ft by 9ft/12ft Holes preparation: holes are created in a circle wise in order to accommodate the chicken manure. Compost making comes in at this point to allow for decomposition after 21 days. In the 3rd week of October, This is done immediately after brushing and clearing of the land Application of manure: where chicken manure is apply, it will take 3 days for decomposition to take place before transplanting is done Transplanting: young seedlings are transplanted into a well prepared field t for fruiting and maturity.

9 -Also this can be done when -Seedling size is about 15-20 cm tall -Seedlings are about 25-30 days old -seedlings have about4-5 leaves -Transplanting can be done in the morning or evening Watering: Young transplanted seedlings need water in order to maximize yield. Every day early in the morning and late in the evening Weeding: weeding is done when there are unwanted plants in the plot and then uprooted. Fertilizer is applied through two ways broadcasting method and liquid method Broadcasting method: The following vegetables lettuce, cabbage, tomato, runner beans, spring onions Mint, Carrot and Cucumber are done with this method where in NPK 15:15:15 is scattered among the plants using the bare hands.

10 Liquid Method: urea fertilizer is dissolve in water as given in the equation below 1 tomato cup of urea into 10 liters of water (1 watering can) Stir properly, with hands or stick and water 1 watering can to 1 bed then use clean water to water the leaves of the one bed. For the DI grow fertilizer, the green is used for leafy and the red for fruiting vegetables. So once the leaves of the vegetables begins to show the application of the green is done and apply after every 14 days. The red is used for fruity vegetables and is apply immediately when the flowers begin to appear.