Growers First Inc.
P.O. Box 4227
Laguna Beach, CA 92652
Phone: 949.551.1085
Email: info@growersfirst.org
Growers First Process
Quality of Life
Over time, Growers First has developed a proven and repeatable process that begins making an immediate, positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged growers in rural communities around the world. Initially, the greatest benefit to the grower is a sense of hope, purpose and focus. The Growers First process shows them a clear path out of abject poverty and subsistence living toward a higher quality of life. They are given the necessary means to establish their own micro-enterprise in the form of a tree crop farm that will create an ongoing and growing source of income for themselves and their families. More than just a handout, individual growers are given a vision of a productive life with upward potentials and a way of providing more for themselves and their families on a sustainable, ongoing basis.
Immediate Effect
Growers First programs are implemented in a sequence that will create the most immediate improvements first while other programs are implemented in parallel. Oftentimes growers are simply not aware of the demands of the commodity markets in terms of which products have the highest value. Coffee beans, for instance, have several grades which command significantly different selling prices. Coffee growers have the ability to grow the highest value beans by simply conforming their growing practices to those that will yield the highest quality beans. Likewise, the crop yield from each coffee tree can be increased by these practices. This means that just by training growers in the most effective methodologies, they will receive an immediate improvement in their crop income.
Synergy
While the focal point of the programs implemented is the individual grower, one of the cornerstones of the Growers First process is in the development and governance of cooperatives. There are several processing steps that a coffee bean, for example, has to go through to be ready for sale – cleaning, drying, sorting, etc. Through the Growers First programs, these small growers can gain synergies when they come together to share in both the expenses and profits of participating in additional aspects of the value chain. It is costly and inefficient for an individual small grower to attempt to do the processing on their own but when 50 or 500 growers get together and process the beans en masse, it becomes cost effective and the shared expenses are proportionately, relatively low. This provides the cooperative lower overall operating costs and, with the increased volume and access to the large quantity buyers, a better selling price. All of these practices lead to more income for the grower and his family.
Revenue Increase
The Growers First Process is implemented in three phases. Phase one is designed to lay the foundation for the enterprises that will create a revenue stream which provides improved income for the grower as well as funding for future growth. Implementing the programs in phase one provides the means to generate an increase in income of up to 250% - or more - over what could be achieved without these programs. Other humanitarian programs run in parallel during phase one which improves the growers overall well being and quality of life.
Value Stream Participation
Phase two takes the initial enterprises to the next level where more and more of the steps in the value chain can be undertaken by cooperatives. By handling the processing, transportation and nursery aspects of the value chain, the growers receive the benefits of further reduced costs and improved margins for their crops. The implementations of these aspects of the process will yield an additional 300% margin for their crops over what could be achieved without these programs.
Pay-it-forward
In the third stage the process, all of the cooperative enterprises have achieved sustainability and are providing the growers with an equitable return for their crops. These cooperatives create additional jobs for the community which infuses additional income into the local economy. The cooperatives also set aside some “retained” funds that can be dedicated to community improvements or other philanthropic endeavors. This becomes the “Pay-it-forward” aspect of the process and adds to the overall wellness of the local community.
