Progress 09/01/14 to 03/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Small and medium sizes enterprises in emerging markets. Graduate and Undergraduate students across Cornell University, based on the needs of the enterprises. Changes/Problems:With support from USDA, the following 13 projects took place in the month of January, during Cornell's winter intersession, from 2015-2018. The partner, country, and year of each of the 13 projects are listed below: The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) - Bangladesh, 2015; Federacion Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation, or FCC) - Colombia, 2015; CP Intertrade (part of the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) - Thailand, 2015; River PRO Pulp & Paper Company Ltd. - Thailand, 2015; Hebei Qimei Agricultural Science and Tehchnology Co, Ltd. ('QIMEI') - China, 2016; Federacion Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation), or FCC - Colombia, 2016; Espinaca Innovations - South Africa, 2017; Canettevallei - South Africa, 2017; Ikirezi - Rwanda, 2017; Nandi Farms - Kenya, 2017; Federacion Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation), or FCC - Colombia, 2017; Foundation for the Mid-South - Southern U.S., 2017; Solution Oasis - Ghana, 2018. Participants FTE's were entered incorrectly for reporting periods 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. Below are the corrections; 2015-2016 Professional 0.2 Undergrad 0.2 Grad 0.2 Same CIP codes apply as chosen in this report. In general all the SMART students who participated in the projects conducted the same type of work, even though the Countries, projects and companies varied. 2016-2017 Professional 0.1 Undergrad 0.1 Grad 0.5 Same CIP codes apply as chosen in this report. In general all the SMART students who participated in the projects conducted the same type of work, even though the Countries, projects and companies varied. NOTE: 2015-2017 the Colombian project focused highly on 'Soil Sciences' with coffee farmers. Summary In summary, on behalf of Cornell University, the SMART Program team extends its gratitude to USDA for supporting these 13 SMART projects over the last 3-4 years. The impact on students is summarized in this one statement from a participant of one of the SMART projects: "This is an amazing experience. You are given the chance to use your classroom experience to understand real-world business problems. And if you have a passion for international development, this is an opportunity to have a great hands-on experience." The impact on the Cornell partners is also immeasurable. This is a quote by one of the businesses supported by the SMART Program: "...we hosted a team of five hardworking Cornell students for two weeks......During their engagement, the SMART team conducted market research among the many outlets that carry our products and an impact assessment of our collaborative work with women's groups in Northern Ghana. Consequently, the information and data gathered, through their research, has definitely made an impact on our marketing strategy and strategic plan. We're now seeing how the outcomes and initial recommendations are leading to the expansion of our markets." Indeed, it is through this collaborative effort among USDA, entrepreneurs from across the world, and student, staff and faculty participants of Cornell University's SMART Program, that livelihoods are being transformed for the better. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Additionally, the Kenya and Rwanda teams were able to present their work at the Annual Institute for African Development Symposium at Cornell. The theme was 'Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion, and Development in Africa,' and it served as an excellent avenue for dissemination of the students' work, giving students valuable feedback, support and engagement from faculty, speakers, and conference participants. This is just to highlight one forum where SMART work, funded by USDA, was presented and widely disseminated. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?SMART also provides an opportunity to link Cornell students and faculty with various media and publication outlets to share their work. Documenting and publishing more case studies that examine the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers and SMEs in developing countries can help students in the U.S. learn how to more effectively work with such clients in the future. The growing trend in the U.S. for more fair trade products and other goods sourced from small farmers in developing countries will require that U.S. businesses have the skills to interact successfully with suppliers that are able to provide such goods. Similarly, the increase in agricultural development assistance means that students with experience in developing country agricultural contexts will be in high demand. One of the overall project goals was to generate curriculum materials on the topic of international agriculture and agribusiness suitable for publication and use by a wider audience of higher education institutions in the United States. Each team produced a case study and some included videos which have been continuously integrated into Cornell classrooms like AEM 4420: Emerging Markets, a course in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. These materials have also been used for executive education in Africa and Asia. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
USDA's support has helped to strengthen and build the SMART program at Cornell. The engagement and mutual learning process is unprecedented for students, faculty and clients. The analysis of real-life cases improves student understanding and application of disciplinary knowledge in a developing country context. All students also gain an enhanced ability to present detailed assessments to client organizations based on rigorous data collection and analysis through various required formats: presentations, blogs, posters, videos and case studies. Some students built on the required learning and strengthened their individual research and academic programs by working further with the businesses including through summer internships. In addition to its value to Cornell's Johnson School of Business and other departments and programs across the university, the SMART Program contributes to the mission of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to be the "land grant university to the world." The activities of many of these projects have added a dimension of extension as well as teaching and research to Cornell's international activities. SMART also encourages collaboration between Cornell and foreign university faculty, staff, and student researchers. For example, in Ghana, the students were able to engage with a variety of stakeholders including: academic (faculty at University of Ghana); global institutions (individuals at the FAO--United Nations); governmental institutions (researchers at Ghana Cocoa Research Institute and officials from the African Union Commission); corporate (business persons linked to the Kosmos Innovation Center); networks (members of the Global Shea Alliance); and private sector (entrepreneurs with the Private Enterprise Federation in Ghana). These diverse perspectives enrich the students' experiences while engaging by encouraging them to ask thoughtful and stimulating questions to the stakeholders. The SMART Program is instrumental to Cornell faculty and staff professional development through enhanced involvement and innovation in solving global economic development issues as well as experience gained in team management and leadership skills. SMART teams of Cornell faculty, staff, and students help their partner businesses and organizations abroad look inward to tackle challenges and develop solutions and strategies. Partners abroad benefit from gaining outside perspectives, analysis, and recommendations. Finally, this project has contributed in the identification of new agribusiness opportunities for private investors and has aided public decision makers in efforts to design better policies to improve rural incomes and livelihoods.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
"Marilyn Yekua Quaidoo--The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development: Prospects and Challenges of Female Entrepreneurs in Agribusiness in Ghana. Master of Public Administration (CIPA), Thesis, 2018.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
"Yamatha Saint GermainThe Role of Agribusiness in the Development of Rural African Communities: A Rwandan Case Study. Master of Global Development (IARD). Project Paper, 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
"Arshad, T., Asemota, E., Ayodele, M., Ofei, L. & Quaidoo, M. (2018). Optimizing Agricultural Marketing Practices in Ghana: Solution Oasis, Ltd. Cornell Policy Review, Ithaca, NY.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
"Yun, Y., Tucker, B., Saint Germain, Y., Altangerel, E. & Coker, S. (2018). Making an Impact with Essential Oils: A Case Study on an Emerging Agribusiness in Rwanda. Cornell Policy Review, Ithaca, NY.
|
Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience during this reporting period included university students in the agricultural sciences including agribusiness, and agriculturalists, agribusiness firms, non-profit organizations, and policymakers in developing countries who were provided consulting type services by Cornell faculty and students. The funding provided by this grant during this reporting period supported 6 projects to Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa ( 2 projects) and the US. These projects included 27 students both undergraduate and graduate who had varying degrees of experience in agriculture and agribusiness but who expressed interest in becoming more involved in these fields. They were particularly interested in learning about the challenges faced in agriculture and agribusiness in the developing world and how they could help their "clients" improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and provide enhanced livelihoods through rural employment generation. In Colombia the SMART team worked with the Federación Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation), or FCC, is a cooperative of coffee growers encompassing six growers associations from different regions of the Cauca area. The FCC has at least 700 active members and during its 40 years of history has faced different challenges such as land property rights claims and the identification of profitable markets for its products. Today, the FCC is focusing primarily on specialty coffee markets, preserving its identity as a small-holder grower organization. Over the years it has achieved financial independence due to its organizational vision, which promotes autonomy and assertion of the peasants' role in the society. Ninety percent of its coffee is exported to the United States. Three teams of SMART programs have engaged with the FCC over the last three years, assisting with organizational and technical aspects of coffee growing and selling. In 2017, the team developed a soil analysis 'kit' that can measure soil health and its correlation to adapting organic farming, and analysed trade-offs between organic and conventional ways of growing coffee - helping the FCC expand the number of organic farms. In one of the South Africa projects, the team worked with Lufefe Nomjana, a young man from Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township. He was concerned about the fact that people around him in the low-income communities of Cape Town did not have easy access to healthy food choices, and, even more importantly, that many people were unaware of how harmful poor dietary choices could be. Turning his concern into a business idea, in 2013 Lufefe began baking bread using spinach as one of the main ingredients. Lufefe has begun to establish business contacts with South African retail giants like Spar, Pick'n Pay and Virgin Active. Securing contracts form such businesses would put Espinaca Innovations in a secure position to slowly spread into other communities. The SMART team analyzed the marketing and production hurdles for Espinaca Innovations by benchmarking competitors, developing a marketing strategy, and evaluating growth strategies. In the second project in South Africa, the team worked with Canettevallei, a wine and lavender farm that lies tucked away in Stellenboschkloof, a quiet valley situated about 10 km outside Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. After travels to France and specifically Provence, in 2005 Ingrid de Waal and her husband decided to plant lavender in front of their home on the farm. This decision eventually led to a pioneering business when they expanded the land under lavender cultivation to three hectares, producing the hybrid "lavandin abrialis" variety. Today Canettevallei Lavender uses organic practices to develop unique, farm fresh lavender products for cosmetics, gifts, and weddings. Their main products are lavender essential oil and lavender rice, the sweet-smelling dried flowers of the lavender plant. The SMART team assisted Canettevallei in benchmarking competitors, developing a marketing strategy, and evaluating growth strategies in order to expand the operations. In Kenya, students worked with the Nandi farms, an organization of several farmer-groups. The organization includes rural farmer start-up businesses run by the Chema-Kigosor Self Help Group and Kapkerer Farmers Group. These two groups of entrepreneurial farmers are trying to create value addition- oriented businesses in their communities. The farmers are members of larger groups of farmers that now grow a diversity of new legumes as a result of their interaction with the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization's (KALRO) Multipurpose Legume project. The SMART team provided training to farmers in order to assist them with promoting a nutritious porridge mix, helping farmers with key marketing and food science concerns. The group took a dialogue education approach to help group members internalize key concepts around the 5 P's of marketing (Partnering, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In Rwanda, the team partnered with Ikirezi, a small business which was founded in September, 2005 with the vision of addressing poverty in rural Rwanda. Dr. Hitimana is the Managing Director of Ikirezi and emphasizes that his dream is "to pay a salary to farmers that raises them above the poverty line." Building on his educational background, a PhD in Applied Entomology (Plant-Insect Interaction) from the University of Edinburgh in UK, Dr. Hitimana supports an approach to business that links economic growth with corporate social responsibility. Ikirezi's corporate values include: dignity, community impact, sustainability, collaboration and ubuntu (humility, compassion, grace). The SMART team explored and quantified the domestic market for essential oils. By doing so they developed a marketing strategy for the company and drafted a communication strategy thus helping the company address how it can better market its products locally with a vision of new regional and global growth. In the domestic project, SMART worked with the Foundation for the Mid-South, which partners and invests in efforts that enable communities--leadership, residents, and institutions--to increase their knowledge and skills to create solutions that effectively address their unique needs and challenges. The Foundation has four priority areas: education, Health & Wellness, Wealth Building and Community Development. The team developed a regional enterprise development strategy that seeks to strengthen the capacity of small-to-medium businesses by supporting the existing networks/resource systems that support entrepreneurship in the region. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The participating students were able to contribute to improved business performance in international agriculture, and what they learned can be used by students at other institutions who will benefit from studying the case studies that produced as a result of these projects. More generally, the course exposed students to agricultural realities on the ground and high level managerial and work practices from different cultures, business systems, and societies. Students also met with high-ranking public officials, and have an opportunity to influence policies that impact private sector growth and economic development. The course also was instrumental to the instructors' professional development through (1) enhanced involvement and innovation in solving global economic development issues, (2) improved team management and leadership skills, and (3) improved classroom instruction, by incorporating case study writing and analysis methods. The multidisciplinary agribusiness teams of this project wrote and are in the process of trying to publish case studies to be used in Cornell University classes in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as well as in Cornell-coordinated executive education programs. Students who are not able to visit a developing country as part of their studies, classroom learning offers the next best solution. The case study method of learning is a very popular method used in most applied fields of study. It allows students to analyze real-world situations and confront multi-faceted issues facing companies, communities and/or organizations. While there are an abundance of case studies based on large U.S.-based and multinational firms, there is a critical shortage of case studies focused on agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Documenting and publishing more case studies that examine the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers and SMEs in developing countries can help students in the U.S. to learn how to more effectively work with such clients in the future. The growing trend in the U.S. for goods sourced from small farmers in developing countries will require that U.S. businesses have the skills to interact successfully with suppliers that are able to provide such goods. Similarly, the increase in agricultural development assistance means that students with experience in developing country agricultural contexts will be in high demand. Improving classroom learning in the areas of developing country agriculture and agribusiness for university students is a way to help enhance the abilities of U.S. firms to deal internationally in the future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The student teams traveled to work with their partner companies and organizations for about 2 weeks each. They worked directly with their partners during this period acting as consultants. The case studies produced as a result of these on the ground experiences, and the continued work with the partner companies and organizations during the months following the on the ground experiences, will be used in Cornell University classrooms this fall semester and in future classes. This will allow the information to be disseminated to students throughout the years, each able to continue to learn from the experiences of the team on the ground and their partner companies and organizations. The same will be for those who use the case studies at other universities and educational workshops. Additionally, the students also participated in an annual symposium which included a poster session where they were able to share their learnings with the extended Cornell community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period 2 more projects will be funded by this grant. Tentatively these Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Team (SMART) projects will take place in Colombia and Ethiopia. Each of these projects will also produce case studies for publication and classroom use.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Based on the goals stated the following was accomplished: 1) 6 well-defined project assignments that challenge students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in real world settings, while learning from farmers, agribusiness managers, civil society representatives, and researchers in developing countries took place during the reporting period to Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa (2 projects) and the US. 2) Each of the projects produced case studies that are being brought into the AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell. These are helping enhance the diversity of agriculture related case studies available for classroom use. These cases are also being considered for wider publication that would allow them to be used at universities and other academic institutions around the world.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
All the projects prepared case studies of the companies and community groups. Each of these case studies is being considered for publication. They will also be featured in Cornell's AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course this fall where students enrolled in the course will have the chance to learn from the experiences that the students had as part of the SMART project teams.
|
Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience during this reporting period included university students in the agricultural sciences including agribusiness, and agriculturalists, agribusiness firms, non-profit organizations, and policymakers in developing countries who were provided consulting type services by Cornell faculty and students. The funding provided by this grant during this reporting period supported 2 projects to Colombia and China. These projects included 10 students both undergraduate and graduate who had varying degrees of experience in agriculture and agribusiness but who expressed interest in becoming more involved in these fields. They were particularly interested in learning about the challenges faced in agriculture and agribusiness in the developing world and how they could help their "clients" improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and provide enhanced livelihoods through rural employment generation. In China, SMART team students collaborated with Hebei Qimei Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd. ("Qimei"), an organic food producer and processor. Qimei was founded in 1999 by CEO Mrs. Yuqi Zhao and six other partners with the purchase of a 200 acre farm, followed by a 5 acre processing facility built in 2006. Today, the company sources from more than 3500 farmers in the Hebei Province, all of whom are trained by the company in the organic practices mandated by the company's third party certifications which include USDA organic. SMART's relationship with Qimei began in 2011 when students conducted a marketing analysis for the company, followed by subsequent projects investigating agronomic practices and soil health management. In 2016, the student team was charged with developing new value-added food products for the domestic and international market. They developed a new dried edamame snack product that is ready to hit the shelves. In Colombia the student team worked with the Federación Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation), or FCC, a cooperative of coffee growers encompassing six growers associations from different regions of the Cauca Department. The FCC has at least 700 active members and during its 40 years of history has faced different challenges such as land property rights claims and the identification of profitable markets for its products. Today, the FCC is focusing primarily on specialty coffee markets, preserve its identity as a smallholder grower organization. In the past, the FCC has received international assistance from such organizations as the USAID and Fair Trade USA. However, over the years it has achieved financial independency due to its organizational vision, which promotes autonomy and assertion of the peasants' role in the society. Ninety percent of its coffee is exported to the United States. The student SMART team performed an Organizational Analysis of local coffee cooperatives to better align key management positions and board of trustees on common goals. They also developed the following deliverables for program partners: organizational and financial risk management score card; and commodity market simulator. The SMART team also began developing evaluation criteria for proposed Price Risk Management project between a major private company and non-profit coffee supply chain development organization. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The participating students were able to contribute to improved business performance in international agriculture, and what they learned can be used by students at other institutions who will benefit from studying the case studies that produced as a result of these projects. More generally, the course exposed students to agricultural realities on the ground and high level managerial and work practices from different cultures, business systems, and societies. Students also met with high-ranking public officials, and have an opportunity to influence policies that impact private sector growth and economic development. The course also was instrumental to the instructors' professional development through (1) enhanced involvement and innovation in solving global economic development issues, (2) improved team management and leadership skills, and (3) improved classroom instruction, by incorporating case study writing and analysis methods. The multidisciplinary agribusiness teams of this project wrote and are in the process of trying to publish case studies to be used in Cornell University classes in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as well as in Cornell- coordinated executive education programs. Students who are not able to visit a developing country as part of their studies, classroom learning offers the next best solution. The case study method of learning is a very popular method used in most applied fields of study. It allows students to analyze real-world situations and confront multi-faceted issues facing companies, communities and/or organizations. While there are an abundance of case studies based on large U.S.-based and multinational firms, there is a critical shortage of case studies focused on agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Documenting and publishing more case studies that examine the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers and SMEs in developing countries can help students in the U.S. learn how to more effectively work with such clients in the future. The growing trend in the U.S. for more fair trade products and other goods sourced from small farmers in developing countries will require that U.S. businesses have the skills to interact successfully with suppliers that are able to provide such goods. Similarly, the increase in agricultural development assistance means that students with experience in developing country agricultural contexts will be in high demand. Improving classroom learning in the areas of developing country agriculture and agribusiness for university students is a way to help enhance the abilities of U.S. firms to deal internationally in the future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The student teams traveled to work with their partner companies and organizations for about 2 weeks each. They worked directly with their partners during this period acting as consultants. The case studies produced as a result of these on the ground experiences, and the continued work with the partner companies and organizations during the months following the on the ground experiences, will be used in Cornell University classrooms this fall semester and in future classes. This will allow the information to be disseminated to students throughout the years, each able to continue to learn from the experiences of the team on the ground and their partner companies and organizations. The same will be for those who use the case studies at other universities and educational workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period 4-6 more projects will be funded by this grant. Tentatively these Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Team (SMART) projects will take place in Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa (2). Each of these projects will also produce case studies for publication and classroom use.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Based on the goals stated the following was accomplished: 1) 2 well-defined project assignments that challenge students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in real world settings, while learning from farmers, agribusiness managers, civil society representatives, and researchers in developing countries took place during the reporting period to China and Colombia. 2) Each of the 2 projects produced case studies that are being brought into the AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell. These are helping enhance the diversity of agriculture related case studies available for classroom use. These cases are also being considered for wider publication that would allow them to be used at universities and other academic institutions around the world.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Both Colombia and China prepared cased studies of the companies and community groups. Each of these case studies is being considered for publication. They will also be featured in Cornell's AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course this fall where students enrolled in the course will have the chance to learn from the experiences that the students had as part of the SMART project teams.
|
Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience during this reporting period included university students in the agricultural sciences including agribusiness, andagriculturalists, agribusiness firms, non-profit organizations, and policymakers in developing countries who were provided consulting type servicesby Cornell faculty and students. The funding provided by this grant during this reporting periodsupported 4 projects to Bangladesh, Colombia, and Thailand. These projects included 18 students both undergraduate and graduate who had varying degrees of experience in agriculture and agribusiness but who expressed interest in becoming more involved in these fields. They were particularly interested in learning about the challenges faced in agriculture and agribusiness in the developing world and how they could help their "clients" improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and provide enhanced livelihoods through rural employment generation. In Bangladesh the team of students worked with The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL),a digital library project of Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library in cooperation with over 50 major scientific publishers, societies, and index providers. TEEAL contains full-text articles from over 200 of the world's best agricultural journals. Users have access to thousands of articles spanning 16 years and covering a broad range of subjects. Since TEEAL does not use the Internet, it is ideal for institutions with limited or no connectivity. Users can search the collection for articles by keywords, dates, authors, and article or journal titles. TEEAL can be installed on either a stand-alone computer or a local area network. The largest user base is located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bangladesh is TEEAL's newest country addition. The studentsassisted TEEAL's director to develop a prototype countrywide outreach and marketing plan for Bangladesh. The team also assisted in the development of an outreach plan that can be implemented by institutions that obtain TEEAL. They met with agricultureacademics, local government, and agricultural researchers to understand the needs for agricultural education and resources to make sure that TEEAL could provide the best product possible. In Colombia the student team worked with the Federación Campesina del Cauca (Cauca's Peasant Federation), or FCC, a cooperative of coffee growers encompassing six growers associations from different regions of the Cauca Department. The FCC has at least 700 active members and during its 40 years of history has faced different challenges such as land property rights claims and the identification of profitable markets for its products. Today, the FCC is focusing primarily on specialty coffee markets, preserve its identity as a smallholder grower organization. In the past, the FCC has received international assistance from such organizations as the USAID and Fair Trade USA. However, over the years it has achieved financial independency due to its organizational vision, which promotes autonomy and assertion of the peasants' role in the society. Ninety percent of its coffee is exported to the United States.The student SMART team performed an Organizational Analysis of local coffee cooperatives to better align key management positions and board of trustees on common goals. They also developed the following deliverables for program partners: organizational and financial risk management score card; and commodity market simulator. The SMART team also began developing evaluation criteria for proposed Price Risk Management project between a major private company and non-profit coffee supply chain development organization. In Thailand the SMART team worked with the CP Intertrade, part of theCharoen Pokphand Group (CP) is a transnational conglomerate that consists of three core businesses that operate in the agribusiness and food, retail and distribution, and the telecommunications industries with investment in 16 countries. Founded in 1921, the CP Group currently employs over 300,000 people with offices and factories located worldwide. Annual revenue for the year 2013 was USD 41 Billion. The International Trading Business Group, with over 25 years of international trade experience, is promoted by Thailand's Board of Investment. The business group's award-winning rice products are known under the brand name 'Royal Umbrella' that is managed by CP Intertrade. The studentsimbedded in the CP Intertrade office in Bangkok. The team worked with CP InterTrade Co.'s North America team and marketing division to help the company find a strategy to increase brand recognition of their award winning rice "Royal Umbrella" globally, particularly North America. The students had the chance to visit CP's rice production areas, visit farmers, the CP ricefactory, and attend the copmany's CSR events to get a full understanding of the value chain associated with producing high quality rice. The second SMART team in Thailand worked withRiver PRO Pulp & Paper Company Limited. The company wasestablished in 2004 as a member of River Group. The history of River Group can be traced back to 1966 when Mr.Kamol Yipyintum started the first tissue mill in Thailand, named Mai Nam Paper Industry (Partnership) Limited in about 25 Kilometers south of Bangkok (Samutprakarn Province). At present, the company is operating altogether 5 Tissue Machines in 2 locations, Taparak Mill in Samutprakarn Province and Nongkae Mill in Saraburi Province with total capacity of 33,000 matrix ton a year. The company is also the pioneer of a fiber recovery plant that produces good quality tissue paper from recycle office paper (DIP: De-inking Process). It offers a variety of products, covering from 100% virgin pulp tissue paper to 100% re-cycle pulp tissue paper. The value added products include bathroom toilet roll (BRT), facial tissue, napkin tissue, and multi-purpose tissue (Hand towel, Kitchen towel, and Industrial towel). The company also provides jumbo roll tissue as raw material to many tissue converting houses both domestic and export. The company has been certified for ISO9001:2008 to ensure the customers that have a standard production management system, leading to a stability of products' quality.The SMART team assisted the company with building new marketing strategies for maintaining its share in the low-end market, and expanding the market for a new product (brown tissue roll) as well as to change consumer perception under their advertising budget limit. They visisted the production facilities and delved into the supply chain that is needed to produce these types of paper products in Thailand, from tree farmers to final consumers. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The participating students were able tocontribute to improved business performance in international agriculture, and what they learned can be used bystudents at other institutions who willbenefit from studying the case studies thatproduced as a result of theseprojects. More generally, the course exposedstudents to agricultural realities on the ground and high level managerial and work practices from different cultures, business systems, and societies. Students also met with high-ranking public officials, and have an opportunity to influence policies that impact private sector growth and economic development. Thecourse also wasinstrumental to the instructors' professional development through (1) enhanced involvement and innovation in solving global economic development issues, (2) improved team management and leadership skills, and (3) improved classroom instruction, by incorporating case study writing and analysis methods. The multidisciplinary agribusiness teams of this project wrote and are in the process of trying topublish case studies to be used in Cornell University classes in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as well as in Cornell-coordinated executive education programs. Students who are not able to visit a developing country as part of their studies, classroom learning offers the next best solution. The case study method of learning is a very popular method used in most applied fields of study. It allows students to analyze real-world situations and confront multi-faceted issues facing companies, communities and/or organizations. While there are an abundance of case studies based on large U.S.-based and multinational firms, there is a critical shortage of case studies focused on agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Documenting and publishing more case studies that examine the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers and SMEs in developing countries can help students in the U.S. learn how to more effectively work with such clients in the future. The growing trend in the U.S. for more fair trade products and other goods sourced from small farmers in developing countries will require that U.S. businesses have the skills to interact successfully with suppliers that are able to provide such goods. Similarly, the increase in agricultural development assistance means that students with experience in developing country agricultural contexts will be in high demand. Improving classroom learning in the areas of developing country agriculture and agribusiness for university students is a way to help enhance the abilities of U.S. firms to deal internationally in the future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The student teams traveled to work with their partner companies and organizations for about 2 weeks each. They worked directly with their partners during this period acting as consultants. The case studies produced as a result of these on the ground experiences, and the continued work with the partner companies and organizations during the months following the on the ground experiences, will be used in Cornell University classrooms this fall semester and in future classes. This will allow the information to be disseminated to students throughout the years, each able to continue to learn from the experiences of the team on the ground and their partner companies and organizations. The same will be for those who use the case studies at other universities and educational workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period 4 more projects will be funded by this grant. Tentatively these Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Team (SMART) projects will take place in Cambodia, Colombia, and Thailand. Each of these projects will also produce case studies for publication and classroom use.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Based on the goals stated the following was accomplished: 1) 4 well-defined project assignmentsthat challenge students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in real world settings, while learning from farmers, agribusiness managers, civil society representatives, and researchers in developing countries took place during the reporting period to Bangladesh, Colombia, and Thailand (2). 2) Each of the 4 projectsproduced case studies that are being brought into the AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell. These are helping enhance the diversity of agriculture related case studies available for classroom use. These cases are also being considered for wider publication that would allow them to be used at universities and other academic institutions around the world.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
All 4 project teams to Bangladesh, Colombia and Thailand wrote case studies of the companies and community groups that they worked with. Each of these case studies is being considered for publication. They will also be featured in Cornell's AEM 4420 Emerging Markets course this fall where students enrolled in the course will have the chance to learn from the experiences that the students had as part of the SMART project teams.
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