Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 7, 2014 —
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and SCOPEinsight signed an agreement to co-develop and launch SCOPE Basic, a new tool that assesses the level of professionalization of farmer groups. The tool is expected to help farmers in developing countries gain critical access to materials, services, finance and markets.
SCOPE Basic can be used by capacity builders, training providers, and consultants to work with farmer groups – also known as agricultural producer organizations – in a way that is tailored to the particular capacity-building needs of each group. Over the next few months, the tool will be piloted in the Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Indonesia. Eventually, it will be rolled out to developing countries worldwide.
“The development of sustainable agribusiness in emerging markets is a key priority for IFC,” said Alan Johnson, IFC’s Senior Agribusiness Specialist. “In many developing countries, agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers and one of the most effective ways to engage with them is through producer organizations. This new tool can play a key role in providing quantitative and qualitative management information and systematic insight to these organizations and this will help them eventually to have increased access to inputs, financing and markets.”
SCOPE Basic measures the level of professionalism of producer organizations in an innovative and rigorous way, taking into account eight different performance criteria. Based on the results of this assessment, the management of producer organizations can either market themselves more easily or, if needed, make improvements through training and mentoring. The level of these improvements can also be measured, allowing training providers to become more market-oriented and build the capacity of producer organizations at scale. SCOPE Basic is a subset of SCOPE Pro, an already existing SCOPEinsight tool used for more developed producer organizations.
“We are excited to partner with IFC as this will accelerate the implementation of a common language between producer organizations, capacity builders and the markets,” Lucas Simons founder of SCOPEinsight. “A broad usage will help the understanding of what professionalism actually means for producer organizations. This common language will eventually facilitate the creation of a more efficient market situation where supply and demand of inputs, services and financing can meet.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About SCOPEinsight
SCOPEinsight is an independent agricultural assessment agency that aims to enable access to finance, markets, inputs and services for professional producer organizations in developing countries. SCOPEinsight has developed a unique assessment methodology (the SCOPE) specifically for the purpose of agricultural assessments on professionalism and business viability. To date, more than 330 Pro assessments have been performed in different sectors and regions.
