fresh produce industry
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Produce Collective is a fresh produce industry and helps in better connecting the global produce industry Growers, Sellers, Buyers and linked services - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Produce Collective ... engaging the industry from field to tableAgricultural Competitiveness White Paper –
Submission IP242Produce Collective Submitted 14 April 2014
Produce Collective Submission for Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper
References
A. Terms of Reference as at 'www.agriculturalcompetitiveness.dpmc.gov.au/terms-of-reference'.
B. Produce Collective Strategic Analysis Report.
Introduction
1. This proposal recognises the significance of the agricultural sector and offers a vibrant, innovative and highly competitive initiative to lead farmers to better returns, increase employment opportunities, more investment and stronger regional communities.
2. Produce Collective has since its establishment in 1995, recognised that Australia is a leading agricultural producer and exporter offering considerable opportunities for future growth.As a nation we must encourage a strong agricultural sector, with primary producers that are the most innovative in the world.
3. Produce Collective acknowledges the critical role for Government in establishing stable, strategic policies to improve productivity and growth. Consequently, this submission forAustralia'sAgricultural Competitiveness details a strategy to improving the competitiveness and profitability of the agriculture sector, expanding its contribution to trade and economic growth, and enhancing capacity in order to increase productivity through innovation.
4. Produce Collective intends to establish an argument that solidifies the foundation of an industry initiative that promotes investment and employment growth. The substantive benefits inherent to the platform design will significantly contribute to the Australian economy and regional communities.
10th April 2014Mr Paul De Nardi Managing Director Produce Collective Pty Ltd
PO Box 154Bringelly NSW
2556 [email protected]
www.producecollective.com
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
5. Aim ... the aim of the proposal is to identify the deficiencies within the agricultural sector, detail a highly innovative solution with long-term effect, as well as describe the method of implementation and the means of determining success.
6. Scope ... the submission details the deficiencies experienced in the industry, product design considerations, benefits of the proposed solution and the method of gauging success. In relation to the benefits the following summarises the fundamental outputs of the system:
a. Means of achieving food security in Australia and the world through the creation of a stronger and more competitive agriculture sector.
b. Means of improving market returns at the farm gate, including through better drought management.
c. Accessing investment finance, farm debt levels and debt sustainability.
d. Enhancing competitiveness of the Australian agriculture sector and its relationship to food and fibre processing and related value chains, including achieving fair returns.
e. Contributing to agriculture in respect to regional centres and communities, including methods of increasing investment and employment growth in the sector and associated regional areas.
f. Enhancing efficiencies and competitiveness of inputs to the agriculture value chain with particular reference to training, education and human capital; research and development; and critical infrastructure.
g. Enhancing the effectiveness of regulations affecting the agriculture sector, including the extent to which regulations promote or retard competition, investment and private sector-led growth.
h. Developing opportunities for expanding agricultural exports and new market access.
i. Enhancing the effectiveness and economic benefits of existing incentives for investment and employment.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
Deficiencies
7. The Produce Collective team has consulted to a broad range of people, that have worked in the agriculture industry sector. Throughout stakeholder engagements and liaison with customers the following deficiencies were and regrettably continue to impede an otherwise vibrant and iconic industry:
a. Access to Business intelligence ... absence of a means to acquire and analyse consumer behaviour including demand and therefore inform business decision making including crop selection and market capacity.
b. Antiquated business practices ... frustrated by limited options in relation to technologically enabled business management systems, farmers contend with antiquated practices and processes which impede business development, contribute to overhead and degrade quality of life in general.
c. Globalisation ... enables companies and conglomerates to substantially influence the way consumers decide what food to buy and how. This makes it difficult for independent growers to promote produce to wholesalers and retailers let alone achieve a fair market price. The independent operator struggles to compete with corporate entities that lever large market and supply networks.
d. Limited marketing opportunities ... farmers grow crops then wait in the hope that the wholesalers will get a good price at market. This relates to the lack of sound business intelligence and the dislocation between grower and consumer which is leveraged by intermediaries.
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Design
8. Produce Collective has developed a portal that facilitates a variety of functions which complement a core service for farmers and growers a marketing and trading platform. The platform is:
a. A shopfront to Australia and the world ... offering farmers a wider range of buyers, and the opportunity to achieve a higher return. This means their farm business is more profitable and more valuable, giving farmers a new hope for the future for their business and their family. Critically, the site provides the fresh produce industry a genuine opportunity to achieve sustainable growth as well as the opportunity to keep ownership of farms inAustralian hands.
b. A central marketing and trading platform ... the core function is 'Marketlink' where the trading of produce takes place. Registered Growers list their stock and Buyers can search and order produce, noting that price can be agreed to, offered or negotiated. Trading criteria includes country and locality of where the produce is grown, when it is available and when harvested, Grower, variety, brand, size, pack type, ripeness, quality, pallet and transport all details recorded and logged. This helps reduce wastage and consequently the ensuing anguish that affects the grower individually and the industry as a whole.
Sample Transaction
Interface
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
c. A means of enabling the agriculture community ... by connecting growers and buyers to engage in a more transparent manner and therefore promote and support customers. Modules include, a business directory, a job centre giving access to workers, a classifieds module for agricultural equipment, a discussion forum to connect on issues that matter to them, as well as a social media site for growers to market their produce. Market news and reports will enable the collating of information to support operational decisions, creating efficiencies at every level.
9. The portal is designed to:a. Emulate existing business practices, while streamlining the process,
noting the substantial emphasis on automation, reduction of data entry duplication and minimising transaction activity.
b. Enable intuitive navigation of the menus including comprehensive 'Help' and 'Search' functions.
c. Ensure privacy of information.d. Facilitate detailed transactions.e. Provide accurate and usable information.
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10. Competition to Produce Collective includes limited enterprises such as generic retail companies and farming co-operatives. These organisations generally market products and services that are constrained by:
a. Geographic boundaries.b. Product range.c. Supplier's capacity.
A critical consideration for the Australian Federal Government and the agriculture sector is ... who will control the global marketing platform in terms of the commercial entity and most importantly the host or sponsoring nation.
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Industry Solution
11. Thinking Big - the solution is the Produce Collective platform specifically designed to service national and international markets offering the following benefits:
a. Food security ... Market intelligence based on demand by consumers and buyers, will give farmers the information they need to make sound business decisions, a better integration of produce varieties and quantities of which crops to grow. This would help reduce glut and shortages and the ensuing wastage and large price fluctuations and allows food to move to where it is needed.
As stated in theAgricultural Competitiveness Issues Paper ‘meeting these challenges will require theAustralian agriculture sector to be flexible and resilient and patterns of production may need to change’ and Produce Collective would be catalyst to get the most of the available resources.
The Produce Collective team is perfectly placed to promote the development of global markets and exporting technology and know- how.
b. Improving market returns ... farmers and growers will have a more direct access to a greater number of buyers resulting in significantly better returns for their produce at the farm gate. This greater profitability will attract and encourage new farmers to successfully take up agriculture.
Produce Collective calculates that farmer and growers using the program could show a 25-40% greater profit at the gate, through training on how to best utilise marketing techniques through the internet.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
This Produce Collective information centre offers an excellent platform for disseminating information, programs and support for farmers and growers and how they can best combat drought and their devastating effects.
c. Investment finance, farm debt levels and debt sustainability ... The increased profitability will soon attract new capital, allowing for more marketing of niche produce varieties which the Produce Collective will assist to successfully market.
Produce Collective will also provide farmers and growers access to group purchasing power for insurance, finance, water, electricity and other services, this will help to reduce running costs.
d. Enhancing competitiveness ... the reduced running costs will make farming more profitable. The discussion forum on the Produce Collective is designed to give both government and farmers a more unified voice and approach, where both groups can express their views publicly. This would result in better solutions and better acceptance of changes in regulations.
The Produce Collective ‘Marketlink’ transaction module is designed specifically to take both the buyer and seller into the digital age and using this marketing opportunity to the advantage of the farmers and growers, the agriculture sector to improve its competitiveness relative to other sectors in the Australian economy as well as improving agricultural competitiveness globally.
Sample Transaction
Interface
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
It is an opportunity to rate the business experience, to further enforce good and ethical behaviour and practices in business. This is not a market day where you hope people turn up with cash and a notion to buy, Produce Collective markets every item of produce 24-hours a day, all year round, local and worldwide to buyers with internet connection. This would
e. Regional centres and communities ... the increased profits and morale boost from the supporting programs would provide continuing contact with the farmer creating the basis for trust and communication. This pro- active approach enables better access to farmers with the intention of reducing suicides and the devastating impact on those who are left behind.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
The pro-active 12 month program has a continuing contact bias, designed to give support to existing and new farmers, so that they will not feel so marginalised by the effects of isolation. The program teams’marketing plan is to setup each participant, in other words actually do this aspect of the work for them, then give them the information, the training and support so as to ensure a better return for their efforts.
In turn, this would impact the community, raising morale, increasing the value of farmers business, jobs growth, boost investment in regional communities, including indigenous communities ... this will naturally attract the next generation of farmers.
Enhancing efficiencies ... Produce Collective is designed to streamline and enhance all aspects of the supply chain. Every step of each transaction is recorded and an audit trail is created for accurate reporting.
Transport will also be more efficient as produce will be able to be delivered more directly to buyers. The shipment form includes transport and pallet information. We will see smaller more efficient distribution centres developed to more accurately service buyers needs.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
f.
Sample Marketing
Approach
immediate attention is a comprehensive internet marketing system for the agricultural sector.
The Produce Collective has created a Marketing Training Program for Farmers, which also incorporates a mental health aspect to help reduce suicide and depression. The government is ideally placed to co-sponsor this great and practical model and make it a success. The government would be recognised and receive acknowledgement for this pro-active program.
The 12 month program would be for the first 500 farmers only. There would not be any further cost to the government, Produce Collective would cover the cost for the program thereafter.
This will attract workers to agriculture and give younger farm workers the opportunity to gain broader industry experience, and promote career pathways for the agriculture sector particularly in remote areas.
g. Enhancing the effectiveness of regulations ... both buyers and growers would be flagged as to any state and federal regulations relating to specific lines of produce. As stated previously, the discussion forum will give a voice to all interested parties. This will give participants the opportunity to discuss how to reduce ineffective, inefficient regulations, and regulations that are disproportionate to the risks they are supposed to address, with the benefit of the rural industry’s involvement to find better, more practical and acceptable solutions.
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h. Developing market opportunities ...the Produce Collective platform is designed to act as a ‘shopfront’ and to take advantage of the expanding Australian export markets, particularly Korea, Japan and China by providing direct access to a wider range of buyers, including the international export markets.
For theAgricultural industry to take best advantage of the government’s multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations, it requires a platform for international buyers to be able to find produce and varieties, that meet specific criteria. Otherwise buyers will be restricted to linear connections, and reduce the advantage for farmers to receive a better price at the gate.
The Produce Collective is ready now, to respond to the key challenges and opportunities to increase or enhance exports and advance the interests of the agricultural sector. The Produce Collective is perfectly placed to act as an independent impartial platform for both industry and government to engage on market access priorities forAustralian agricultural products be improved, including to inform negotiations on FTAs, and changes that could be made to biosecurity arrangements, both inAustralia and in other countries, that would enhance global trade in agricultural products.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
i.
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The Produce Collective ...engaging the industry from field to table
Enhancing the effectiveness and economic benefits ... the portal forms the basis for streamlined and transparent trading practices.Awider range of markets and buyers will help to minimise wastage, so that crops need not be ploughed back into the ground.
The Produce Collective contains a Job Centre, perfect for marketing the governments’programs and incentives for investment and job creation agriculture sector meeting their objectives, in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency, such as, the government visa arrangements and programs like relocation assistance, the Seasonal Worker Programme and Harvest Labour Services effective at channelling workers into the agriculture sector.
The Produce Collective offers an innovative approach to market produce nationally and internationally, no similar industry based platform exists in the world, It would be an Australian assault on the world market, giving Australia a huge marketing advantage.
Performance indicators
12. Performance indicators include: a.
b.Number of participants accessing and registering on the platform. Number of transactions conducted in Australia / Asia-Pacific Region / Internationally.Number of hits.Number of products registered.Total revenue traded by geographic location, industry sector and service provider type.
c.d.e.
Support Requirement
13. Produce Collective requires the following in order to establish the product within the market place:
a. Access to agricultural associations and contacts.b. Grant to leverage the initial cost to farmers in accessing, registering
and utilising the site.c. Limited legislative support in order to redress outdated regulations
in relation to facilitating agricultural transactions online.
Conclusion
14. The agricultural sector has been a founding pillar for theAustralian economy, and the community it supports. The deficiencies identified are impeding and limiting the competitiveness and success of farmers. This is made all the more frustrating knowing that solutions are available ... to that end, the Produce Collective will assist significantly in redressing many of the issues confronting farmers and the associated businesses that rely on this industry.
15. TheAustralian Federal Government is seeking opportunities for innovation and this is what the Produce Collective portal will provide. The agricultural sector has established a tradition of performance. However, competing in a global market demands that farmers and industry market effectively whilst transitioning to the digital age. This gives rise to many considerations, but there now is an off the shelf product which will enable the first steps to be taken to effectively project the fresh produce industry into the global market place.
Further, a fundamental consideration of the Australian Federal Government is the accessing of an operational product with minimal technical risk in relation to design and development. These and many more issues are addressed by this off the shelf solution that is independently managed for the benefit of the agricultural industry.
16. The Produce Collective welcomes the opportunity to address this submission or any other matter arising from this Federal Government's initiative.
17. We would like to thank you for the opportunity to present this submission, and welcome any questions or further discussion.Additionally, we extend our appreciation for the time extended to the Produce Collective management by the HonourableAngus Taylor and Ms Jacinta Chaffey, from the Agricultural Competitiveness Taskforce who met with us in Goulbourn.
For more information about the Produce Collective, you are welcome to contact our team
or visit http://about.producecollective.com
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