Cost-Benefit Analysis Quality Management System VEAPS

Involved organisations

COLEAD is a non-profit inter-professional association established in 1973 whose main purpose is to support the development of sustainable and competitive agriculture and agribusiness in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). It is both a network and a technical assistance tool for the sustainable and inclusive development of the private sector, targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Its activities are based on expertise and an active training system operational in 50 countries. Since its inception, COLEAD has been managing development projects in the ACP agricultural and food industries financed by international donors (mainly the European Union (EU)).  

One of COLEAD’s development projects is providing support to The Association of Exporters of Agricultural Products of Suriname (in Dutch: Vereniging van Exporteurs van Agrarische Producten Suriname (VEAPS)). This is a professional association representing 12 members, who are farmers and exporters based in Suriname. The organisation was created in 2006 and during the first years of its existence functioned in an informal way. In 2012, it became more structured and formalised.

Context

Currently, the member export companies of VEAPS often lack an efficient Quality Management System (QMS) to ensure all the actors involved at the production level and in post-handling activities are applying adequate sanitary and phytosanitary practices.

An example of this challenge is the member’s struggle with high pesticide residue levels on Surinamese vegetables, which is a recurrent setback for access to the EU market, as well as the frequent plant health interceptions for harmful organisms.

Quality Management System

Developing and implementing Quality Management Systems according to EU standards will only be profitable for the members when the income received from a maintained or even increased market share will exceed the initial investment and running costs of the food safety management system, which requires for the companies to invest in the hiring of middle management technical staff to train the farmers and staff and monitor compliance, either on individual company level or jointly.

Projectdoel en outputs

Therefore, the overall objective of this project is to conduct a realistic cost-benefit analysis to assess the feasibility for the 12 members of VEAPS to implement a Quality Management System (QMS) according to EU standards.

As Q-Point, we coordinate the project and offer support on organisational development, quality management systems and business models.

Our role in this project contributes to the following specific objectives:

Outline of the benefits and opportunities resulting from having a QMS in place;

Calculation of the financial implications that the implementation of a QMS will have on the VEAPS members;

Identification of cost-cutting measures to make the implementation of a QMS more financially sustainable;

Determination of a set of criteria (HR, number of crops, acreage, volume, turnover, etc.) in order that a QMS can be sustainably implemented and managed within a Surinamese export company.

All of the above is given in forms of interviews, financial calculations and workshops.