Workbook
Level 3 · Value Addition
Work through these exercises with your own product, market and numbers. Review your answers with a mentor, a farmer group or a business adviser. Print this page to fill it in by hand.
Exercises in this level
- 3.1 · The product ladder
- 3.2 · Product idea card
- 3.3 · Safety and consistency check
- 3.4 · My pilot plan
Part 1 · What can this product become?
Exercise 3.1 · The product ladder
- Choose one raw product. Write it at the bottom of a page.
- Above it, write four things it could become, from the simplest (for example cleaned and sorted) to the most complex.
- Next to each, write who might buy it.
Part 2 · Matching products to buyers
Exercise 3.2 · Product idea card
- Write your product idea in one sentence.
- Write who the first buyer is and where they would buy it.
- Write why this buyer would choose your product over what they buy now.
- Write one question you still need to answer before you start.
Part 3 · Quality, safety and consistency
Exercise 3.3 · Safety and consistency check
- Write down the steps to make your product, in order.
- Next to each step, write what could make it unsafe or different from batch to batch.
- Write who you would ask in your country about the rules for selling it.
Part 4 · Start small and check the numbers
Exercise 3.4 · My pilot plan
- Choose the smallest batch that would teach you something.
- List every cost for the batch, including your time, and the price you hope to get.
- Compare the result with selling the same raw product without processing.
- Decide in advance what result would make you continue, change the idea or stop.