Fintrac provides training and technical assistance to give local partners the tools and knowledge they need to create locally-led sustainable change.
Training the Trainers
Our business and extension staff support input suppliers, farmer groups, industry associations, research institutions, banks, processors, exporters, supermarkets, and freight consolidators to integrate smallholder producers into supply chains by helping them meet the demands of the marketplace. Addressing knowledge and technology gaps, we also work with government extension and research agencies, NGOs, and agricultural schools to build their capacities. We prove every day that expanded local capacity translates into increased sales, incomes, and investment, and have designed tools that track these outcomes.
Technical Core
Fintrac designs and delivers demonstration-based training and technical assistance in:
- Good Agricultural Practices: soil analysis and crop nutrition, land preparation, crop diversification, integrated pest management
- Agricultural Technologies: seedling nurseries, drip irrigation, greenhouse production, cooling systems
- Postharvest Handling: packhouse design, storage, warehouse receipts, cold chain management
- Processing: product development, food fortification, process flow, HACCP
- Market Development: market studies, price reports, feasibility analyses, traceability programs, standards and compliance
- Business Management: crop budgets, access to finance, accounting, pricing, inventory control, recordkeeping
Our work with local partners creates tangible impact. By building up the technical skills of our local partners, businesses and institutions are able to achieve impressive results that will continue long after Fintrac projects end. We’ve helped local banks in Zimbabwe generate upwards of $15 million in new loans; trained Honduran processing companies in food safety and good manufacturing practices that helped them triple their revenues; and spread nutrition messages to nearly half a million people in Kenya thanks to a partnership with government nutritionists.
Developing Processing Industries
Our work has fueled the development of new processing industries, such as individually quick frozen fruits and vegetables, and the expansion of existing ones, such as processed African Bird’s Eye chili. We also target juices, purees, essential oils, and the fresh pack and fresh cut industries that are among the fastest-growing segments of the horticultural sector worldwide. Seizing these opportunities requires substantial investment and technical guidance. Because new processing technologies can be costly and often require commercial loans, our investment projects are guided by sound market and feasibility analyses, as well as proper plant layout and design.
All of Fintrac's smallholder outsourcing activities include dedicated training and technical assistance to introduce calendarized planting that ensures a consistent flow of high-quality raw material. Another key to our successful processing activities is training and pre-audit assistance in quality control systems, international food safety standards, and good manufacturing practices.
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