Need a Business Plan for Agriculture Business attached Relevant documents also attached for guidance in doing the Business Plan

BUSINESS FEASIBILITY WORKSHEETS

‘Jamaica in a cup’

1. Describe product/service:

   1. Description of product/service (what it is, where it will be sold)

Jamaica in a cup will be producing authentic and natural herbs and coffee into speciality blends in eco-friendly sachet packaging. These local products will be sold to various supermarkets across the country, airports and overseas speciality shops.

1. 1. Description of how product/service will be produced

The selected herbs will be cultivated in the heights of Spring Hill, Port Antonio, Portland, Jamaica, where natural irrigation is available and can be adapted in case there is insufficient rain for growing crops. When optimal harvesting time arrives for the herbs, it will be harvested and subjected to the sun-drying process to lock in the flavor and natural preservation properties. Once this is done, it will be inspected for quality control, then mildly crushed and packaged in sachet cloth/ paper bags of varying sizes ranging starting from 2.5 oz.

The coffee will undergo a similar production as the herbs in regards to location and harvesting. However, since coffee takes up to four years to bear, coffee cherries will be purchased from suppliers, dried, roasted, and packaged for sale.

These two items are two of the main crops imported into Jamaica. However its the hope of the owners to source produce, the processing and package locally. Packaging will be made in Jamaica by Jamaica Packaging Industries.

c. Identify licenses, permits, certifications, bonding, or other requirements to operate.

These will include:

• Register with the Inland Revenue Department to obtain permission to take various legal tax deductions

• Farm Registration with Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA)

• Business name Registration

• Certificate of Incorporation

• Business Registration at Companies of Jamaica

• Food Handlers Permit with Bureau of Standards

• Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) from Tax Compliance Certificate Unit

• Farmers permit from the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority.

1. 1. Description of suppliers.

The suppliers include:

• Cooperatives and farmers: purchasing of the High Mountain cherries will be done primarily through various cooperatives and from individual farmers until the business owned coffee plants reach bearing stage. They will also supply the coffee seedlings.

• Herb Farmers: Initial supply of herb cutting

• Agriculture stores: Initial supply of premium seeds and herb plants

• Jamaica Packaging Industries: Packaging- Sachet cloth bags

• Printery- printing of labels

After one year, the business aims to propagate its own seeds and cuttings for cultivating the herbs and, in five years, grow its own coffee seedlings.

1. 1. Cost to produce product/service. (Labour & Material- packaging)

Partners will put in their capital of $5,000,000 each as well as a loan of $5,000,000 will be taken from the Development Bank of Jamaica to purchase 10 acres of land in Portland, buy tools, machines. equipment and build our very own coffee factory on land. Five(5) acres of land will be distributed for coffee and the other will be for herbs such as moringa, fever grass, and turmeric. Coffee pickers and herb pickers will be paid $45,000 per fortnight. Factory operators will be paid $50,000 per fortnight. Administrative staff will receive a salary of $160,000 per month. Cost per lb of coffee will be $5000JMD inclusive of packaging costing at $145JM for each cost package. Pricing per oz of dried tea herbs is $20.62 JMD.

1. 1. Price of product/service-

The processed coffee will be priced at $8500JM per pound, and tea (2.5 oz sachet packet-20 servings) $400JM.

1. 1. Industry standards for COGS, fixed expenses, break-even point, and net profit.

Fixed Expenses for both tea and coffee products: loan repayment, rent , fixed salaried staff, insurance of plant and machinery

Cost Of Goods Sold

• Per pound of roasted package coffee: $1296.53 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $100JM

Break Even point

• Per lb coffee: $1596.53 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $ 185JM

Net profit

• Per pound of roasted package coffee: $946.85 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $115 JM

1. 1. PBO’s projected COGS, fixed expenses, break-even point, and net profit.

Fixed Expenses for both tea and coffee products: loan repayment, rent , fixed salaried staff, insurance of plant and machinery

Cost Of Goods Sold

• Per pound of roasted package coffee: $1396.53 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $110JM

Break Even point

• Per lb coffee: $1650.50 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $ 195JM

Net profit

• Per pound of roasted package coffee: $746.85 JM

• Per unit (2.5 oz-20 servings) for tea herb: $105 JM

1. Describe customer:

   1. What customers need is a product/service meeting

Our product will satisfy the needs of persons who prefer a larger supply of herbs and freedom to increase the strength of their flavour than what is typically afforded by the tea bags. Also the needs of those from diaspora who are always requesting herbs to return with during their visit to Jamaica.They will get the satisfaction of tasting 100 percent authentic Jamaican coffee and naturally grown herbs, herbs that are safe for their children who may have a cough, cold or even a fever.

1. 1. How many potential customers are in the service area?

The owners of the business estimate that the number of potential customers in each parish in Jamaica would be about 4500 and 100000 in the overseas market as many foreigners are drawn to authentic Jamaican coffee and herbs.

1. 1. Same or different people than those going to a competitor.

The customers of the competitors and Jamaica in a cup will cross over. It is predicted to gain approximately 35% of the competitors' customers. However, due to the packaging and marketing plan, this business will have customers who are different from the competitors since certain needs were not being met of the existing customers, such as coffee tea bags, larger supply of herbs and marketing it to persons who desire the drinking herbs they grew up with while they no longer reside in Jamaica.

1. 1. Who are they (describe on next page)

3. Describe competition:

a. How many competitors are there?

There are several competitors on the market for herbal teas and coffee, the main competitors include : Jamaica Teas, Kendel, Perishables Jamaica Ltd(Tops), Blue Mountain, Nescafe, Salada and Mountain Bliss. These competitors produce similar coffee and herbal teas.

1. 1. What are their strengths?

• Customer loyalty

• Established brands

• Large facility and machinery that allows for readily delivery of products

• Committed employees, with strong knowledge base of coffee processing and roasting

• Established loyal farmer base in various coffee and tea herbs growing areas

• Established relationship with retailers and wholesalers

1. 1. What are their weaknesses?

• Productivity is inconsistent

• High costs of production

• Insufficient marketing

• Limited coordination among the stakeholders.

• Poor infrastructure and employees loyalty

• Flavours lack potency

• High debt ratio

• Packaging isn't eco friendly

• Poor use of networking skills in the agribusiness world.

1. 1. How is PBO’s product/service different from the competition?

The main difference between PBO and the other competitors is the quality. The PBO will differentiate the products based on the open need of persons who prefer a larger supply of quality herbal teals and freedom to increase the strength of their flavour than what is typically afforded by the tea bags. Also the business will position itself differently than its competitors by packaging the herbs and coffee in sachet packets that are eco friendly and biodegradable. This social conscience move of the PBO and clear display of its social responsibility to the communities its products will be sold will attract those who are not only looking to purchase premium herbal teas and coffee but would like to do so while preserving global energy.

1. 1. How much of the target market is served by a competitor?

65% of the target market is being served by the competitors.

1. 1. What portion of the market remains open?

35% of the market remains open.

1. Describe financial considerations:

a. Sales projections

b. Critical factors to reach sale projections

Internal policies and environment - Internal policies such as access to line of credit and process of hiring new employees can affect the quantity of products that the team will be able produce to meet the sales projection. Also if staff is not properly trained, this can affect the quality of the product and how the market accepts it and become returning customers.

Foreign trade conditions - This can impact the business based on import and export conditions, language diversity and risk and uncertainty of how a country might welcome the products. Foreign trade conditions such as taxes added to non local products can increase the price of the products to a point that it actually deters potential customers away from the product. Trade restrictions in target countries will affect the sales forecast since it was done with the target country in mind.

Changing conditions of the market- The changing economic conditions of clients, a growing or decrease in need for the company’s product or service, introduction of new competitors to the marketplace can render sales projection ineffective if these changes are not noticed and mitigated.

Farming and weather conditions - This can affect imports of materials needed for packaging and labeling into the country if weather conditions such as snowstorm, hurricane and high tides inhibits shipment from arriving on island. Without packaging material, products can't be sold. Furthermore, the company is in the agriculture sector, the weather and farming conditions play an important role in production such as farming and the sun drying processes. Conditions such as drought, flood , pest and fungus can wipe out an entire farm production. Without the raw materials from the business farm and farmers who are suppliers, the business won't be able to get the products on the market to meet its sales goals.

Pandemic: The sales is heavily dependent on persons actively going to point of sales locations to purchase the product. With restrictions on movement that typically comes with a pandemic , this will prevent customers from buying the product. Also due to large layoff many persons have limited buying power. Another way the pandemic can affect sales projection is if employees get covid and are no longer able to perform key functions that are needed in the process of making the product shelf ready.

1. 1. Potential financial resources for supporting business start-up.

Potential financial resources for supporting business start-up would include personal savings and loans from family members or friends; that way the business would only pay back what was borrowed only and no interest. Also the business will be applying to funding agencies for grants, inputs and technical assistance for small business owners and agribusinesses. Such agencies include Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO), Inter-American Institute for Corporation in Agriculture (IICA) and Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). The inputs such organisations bring to a business will save this company funds and catapult its growth. If these avenues fail to bring adequate financial resources, the partners are open to inviting investors into the business to raise the necessary capital. This will be the last resort for now.

1. What tasks are necessary to produce a product/service?

Roasted Coffee:

• Purchasing of quality coffee cherries

• Removal of coffee beans from the fruit

• Sun dry the beans to 11% of its original moisture - The fruit must be constantly turned to avoid spoiling or uneven drying.

• Roasting of beans in a roasting machine at 550 degrees Fahrenheit until the beans reach an internal temperature of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The fruit must be constantly turned to avoid burning or uneven roasting.

• Grinding of roasted coffee beans to a fine texture

• Quality check is done throughout all the stages of creating the product especially during the drying and roasting process.

• The ground coffee is weighed and then packaged in a tightly sealed container.

• Place appropriate label on the package

• Storage of product until it's ready to be transported to clients.

Packaged dried tea herbs:

• Land preparation and planting of herbs

• Periodic farmland maintenance of weed, pest and fungus

• Harvesting of herbs when it reaches maturity.

• Sorting and deleafing of herbs from stem

• Herbs are delicate and need a gentle heat, the sun drying process will be utilise to reduce leaves to ⅕ th of its weight; the leaves must be constantly turned to avoid spoiling or uneven drying.

• Quality control check is done throughout all the stages of creating the product especially during the sorting and drying process.

• The dried leaves that pass the quality control test will now be crushed in a commercial grinder

• The crushed leaves are weighed and then packaged in a tightly sealed container to preserve the flavour and prevent spoiling.

• Place appropriate label on the package

• Storage of product until it's ready to be transported to clients.

1. Does PBO have, or can they acquire, skills to perform the production and management parts of the business they wish to perform?

It is the goal of the owners of the business to become versed in all aspects of the business, currently one of the owners works in the agriculture industry and has sufficient knowledge of plant propagation, pest control, and proper harvesting standards. She is also a third student in accounts and financial management program, she will be responsible for handling the accounts of the business and the overall management. Also, one of the owners is currently pursuing a degree in hospitality and tourism; this will allow her to be the face of the business and attract potential business due to the skills she is currently learning. Furthermore, one of the partners is undergoing training in the administrative part of the business. She will be the focal person on ensuring the daily business operations and objectives are met. A qualified personnel in-charge of quality control of products will be hired. An Agribusiness specialist will be enlisted to provide consultancy support to the business and technical support of local and regional agriculture institutions will be requested. An agreement will be drawn up outlining tasks and responsibilities and expectations of the partners to avoid conflicting roles. All other tasks such as land preparation, planting, maintenance, and the process of getting the herbs and coffee processed and packaged will be done by hired workers. All partners and appropriate workers will, however, undergo training and certification on proper food handling practices, processing of coffee and tea herbs from the Ministry of agriculture and fisheries.

1. Do PBO have, or can they afford, the necessary business and personal support?

Yes, after much deliberations, financial planning and budgeting, consulting with family members the PBO has established that they can afford the required support needed to make the business successful.

7. How much money can PBO access/invest?

For this business, the PBO can invest up to $ 25,000,000 which will assist the start-up and running of the business. $20,000,000 of this will be raised by the four owners and 5 000 000 will be loaned from the bank on a need basis.

8. How will this business affect the PBO’s family?

For the business, once it grows, it will be able to improve the family’s livelihoods since there will be revenues coming from the project and the improvement of infrastructure. However, new businesses tend to be time-consuming and even financially consuming; as a result, the family members will be seeing less of the owners and the usual support they give to the family. The family may need to provide emotional and practical support to the owners when the need arises. Initially there will be teething issues between a proper work balance and family lives, however, with supportive and understating family members, these teething issues can be dealt with amicably.