Agribusiness finance plays a key role in setting up an agribusiness enterprise being a major factor of production. Therefore, this training explores the use of specific management tools to improve decision-making within an agribusiness firm so as to ensure effective sourcing and application of financial resources. Agricultural risk management, on the other hand, is fundamental as it determines the rate at which an enterprise is to thrive and even last in the market. The aim of this training is to help participants realize their long-term organizational goals and objectives which are profit maximization which can only be achieved through cost minimization and output maximization.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Gain skills in agribusiness investment and agribusiness finance.
• Understand how financial statements are constructed in the agricultural sector and the general rules of construction they follow.
• Acquire skills in agribusiness lending.
• Identify major agricultural credit risks alongside the other agribusiness risks.
• Understand risk mitigation and management tools for agricultural investment risks.
• Understand financial data and what it says about a firm's condition and direction.
• Acquire skills in capital budgeting, how cash budgets are used to determine the process and how cash resources will be acquired and allocated over time by the agribusiness entity.

Duration

5 days

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for various actors in Agriculture Extension (Agricultural extension officers, senior agricultural officials, and policy makers) working with communities, in governments, funding agencies, Research organizations and non-government organizations among others for Agriculture support activities and other Development programs.

Course Content

Module 1: Introduction to agribusiness investment

• Agribusiness dynamics
• Agribusiness producers
• Nature of agribusiness products
• Risks and uncertainty in agribusiness
• Why is investment risk important?
• Requirements for rural investment
• Trading in agribusiness

Module 2: Introduction to agribusiness finance

• Importance of rural and agricultural finance
• Features of rural and agribusiness finance
• Sources of agribusiness finance
• Future needs in agriculture finance

Module 3: Essentials of agribusiness finance

• Financial planning process
• Financial analysis and control of agribusiness projects
• Capital budgeting and long-term decision making
• Management of financial intermediaries serving agriculture
• Role of technology in agribusiness finance
• Gender and access to agribusiness finance

Module 4: Agribusiness lending

• Agribusiness entities
• Borrowing needs
• Microfinance institution’s role and impacts in financing SMEs
• Credit delivery methodologies.
• Overview of the agriculture credit cycle
• Credit decision process.

Module 5: Risk mitigation and management for agricultural investment

• Key challenges for rural and agricultural financial service provision
• Risk management in rural financial institutions.
• Agribusiness credit risk measurement and management tools
• Public risk mitigation approaches
• Key policy issues

General Notes

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.