- We aim to reach the project’s annual production target of 900kg.
- Vincent Guigon, our Technical Director, completed a field mission in February.
- Our ambition is to increase the distribution network so as to get the following breakdown: 30% distribution for aid relief purposes (270kg), 37% social distribution (330kg) and 33 % commercial distribution (300kg)
- We intend to secure the marketing authorisation (AMM) that will enable commercial distribution in pharmacies.
- We plan to diversify spirulina-based products : pills, fruit juices, spirulina ice cream, spirulina fruit pastes etc.
- We strive to reinforce the management of the farm considering the significant size it has reached.
- We want to liven up the community and training centre in order to strengthen ties in the community, enhance people’s involvement, and ensure that the project becomes a best-practice leading to further similar projects.
1st semester 2014
350m² operational spirulina ponds (out of a total production area of 500m²) have produced 224kg of spirulina, that is to say the productivity rate has been 3.6g/m²/day. From March 2014 onwards, the farm has deliberately decreased production due to a lack of distribution and a slower sales process than initially anticipated. As the sales network in the neighbourhood set up by “Entrepreneurs du Monde” hasn’t proven strong lately, the sales have started to drop.
In May there was an official ceremony to mark the end of the building works. The director of ISSA, the District Head of Agou, the General Secretary of the Agou District, the Chief and Elders of the community of Nyogbo, as well as those heading public media in the Plateaux region attended the ceremony.
In February as planned, our Technical Director Vincent Guigon carried out a mission that lasted for 11 days. The farm produces effectively and regularly. Therefore close attention must be paid to distribution so as to avoid excessive stocks.
- NGOs were thus contacted, alongside hospitals and the Togolese Red Cross, in order to increase the volume of distribution for both social and humanitarian purposes.
- As for commercial distribution, a strategy has been outlined around 3 targets: the medical sector, high-end businesses (shops for expatriates, cosmetics shops, and fitness centres), as well as a shop in Lomé, which already supplies 4 to 5 resellers.
- In the Lomé shop, besides the spirulina sold in small bottles, spirulina fruit juices, banana/spirulina ice cream and salads topped up with spirulina are also sold. These high- quality goods contribute to raising awareness about spirulina.
Our application for the AMM has been filed. Now we just have to wait…
Moreover, all topics have been mentioned and discussed: training, raising the team’s awareness regarding the quality of the produced spirulina, updating on the progress of phase 2 in the production and distribution project during the extension from 300m² to 500m².