Профиль участника
Г-жа Olga Mapanje
Организация:
Gwanda State University
Страна:
Зимбабве
Область (области) знаний:
I am working on:
Climate change adaptation and mitigation: Implications on food security and agriculture
Г-жа Olga Mapanje
From my own point of view, all the principles given in the guidelines are important and are relevant to the Zambian context and to me the most appealing principle is Principle 11- Exit strategy. The main challenge we face in Africa is that of unsustainable development programs. If the benefits from agri-PPPs should continue past the period of public-private involvement, then sustainable development would have been initiated. When it comes to sustainability of development initiatives, we can think in terms of the relationship between a Venture Capitalist and an entrepreneur. Venture Capitalists are not permanent equity holders; they usually exit the venture at the end of the initial high growth phase, without jeopardizing the entrepreneur’s interests. In the same way, the public and private institutions should not be permanent equity holders in development initiatives that are meant to benefit smallholder farmers. As was in the case of the Zambian Kaleya Smallholders Company Ltd, after being integrated in the development initiatives, smallholder farmers should also be given the chance to be equity stakeholders, so that when the time comes for the government and the private companies to exit, the initiative will continue (as a private company) under the governance of the smallholder farmers.