Cywain Agriculture, adding value through collaboration

What is Cywain?

The main aim of CYWAIN is to help and support the agriculture sector to add value to primary produce. This is achieved through developing new products or markets with the emphasis on collaboration. The hope is that effective collaboration will assist in the creation of a sustainable future for the sector. The assistance available involves various support including facilitation, expert advice and a quality mentoring service which has a strong emphasis on adding value. The aim is to build the capacity and confidence of the participants in order to enable them to take ownership of the new venture and to encourage them to make the most of its potential. The service is available to both individuals and groups. The project also provides a clear focus on the needs and desires of customers, in addition to the general market. This will be achieved through the provision of a market intelligence service which is considered an integral part of developing successful new products and markets.

Funding

The project is pan-Wales and is funded through the Welsh Assembly Government’s Supply Chain Efficiency Scheme (one of the Rural Development Plan for Wales schemes). There is no cost to the client for the service.

How? / What Services?

CYWAIN offers a range of support and advice tailor made to suit the needs of the client. We can work with either individuals or groups of producers and farmers. The service is free to the client. All we require is that you register with the service and provide us with your Holding Number and Customer Reference Number (CRN). The first step is for one of Cywain’s Development Managers to visit you and talk through the plans you have for future development. The emphasis is on either developing a new market for your produce or developing new products. Depending on what your ideas are and how far you’ve progressed, we can offer the following services:

• Market intelligence – we have the time and resources to find out the relevant information regarding the markets you will be competing in. We have access to industry reports, trade magazines and a whole host of other information that we can summarise for you. We will provide a clear focus on the needs and desires of customers, in addition to the general market.
• Research and product/idea development – we can also carry out research on similar products that are currently on the market in order for you to compare and contrast your ideas. We can also help you develop new ideas and products. We work closely with the Food Network Wales and the three food centres in Wales in order to achieve this.
• Facilitation – we can help and support you through the whole process. As well as providing you with relevant market information we can also employ a consultant or mentor to work with you to develop your ideas further. We will then facilitate the whole process of you working with the mentor and ensure that the needs of you, the client, are fully met by providing a full brief for the mentor to work from.
• Specialist Support / Mentoring - as mentioned above we will employ a consultant or mentor to work with you to develop your business. The mentors and consultants who work for us have gone through a rigorous selection process/criteria to ensure that they are fully qualified to undertake the work. The aim is that these people will work closely with you to build your confidence, capacity and knowledge to develop your business and reach your full potential.
• Business and Marketing Plans – again depending on your needs we can work with you to write a business plan in order for you to be confident that the venture is financially viable. We can also work with you to develop a marketing plan to ensure that you have a clear understanding of who your customers are and how to reach them. We can also advise you on issues such as the best ‘route to market’ for you business