Impact of Sustainable Agriculture Project on Rural Communities

The assignment content is about a sustainable agriculture project in rural communities that aims to address malnutrition, disease, and poverty. The project requires funding of $5M and will stimulate economic growth and development by providing employment opportunities, increasing family income, and improving access to quality education and healthcare. Without the required funding, the negative effects on society include increased malnutrition, diseases, mortality rate, illiteracy, unemployment, homelessness, and crime. The assumptions and constraints for the project include the availability of stakeholder guidance, funding, and equipment, as well as specific time and budget constraints. The costing and budget for the project includes direct labor costs, purchase of equipment and materials, travel and miscellaneous expenses, and a total budget of $5M.

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 1
BUSINESS CASE
BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CYCLE
MGMG 1908
ASSIGNMENT # 1
DUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
PREPARED BY: SHARON ABASS
STUDENT I.D: 314103693
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES-OPEN CAMPUS
SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 2
2. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
A team of Social Workers from a government agency visited some rural communities in
the country, there they discovered that a large percentage of the population in some of the
communities were experiencing high levels of malnutrition and were plagued with an
overabundance of health issues. They realized that their resources came from agricultural
related enterprises managed by small and medium sized farmers but although they had
large tracts of cultivatable land, their production, productivity and income was very low.
This could be due to the fact that the region experienced long periods of drought and
although two large rivers run through the communities, access to the water from these
rivers were limited for use by the farmers for their crops and animals.
This Business Case intends to seek a grant of Five Million US Dollars from the funding
agency for capital investment and to assist in building sustainable rural economies. Once
the project is successful it will provide income for these communities to assist them in
getting better nutrition and accessing proper healthcare.

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 3
3. OVERVIEW
3.1 VISION
To build sustainable rural communities by assisting the population with their
agricultural enterprises so that it can be efficient and profitable. In so doing, this
will increase their income resulting in them being able to afford healthcare and
minimize their health issues while improving their overall way of life.
3.2 ORGANISATION OBJECTIVE
The organization objective is to acquire the necessary funding to assist these rural
communities to become self-sustainable.
To obtain the $5M US grant from the funding agency to be used to educate the
small and medium sized farmers about proper agriculture production since the
land is readily available and cultivatable. Funds will be used for the purchase of
livestock & feed, seedling, chemicals, farming equipment, fuel, insurance, repairs
or improvements to buildings and workers. To alleviate the problem of drought,
funds will be used for a proper irrigation system for crops and livestock and to
provide potable water for use by the community. This will lead to increased
productivity and income for the families to lessen the high levels of malnutrition
and access to proper healthcare system to help them alleviate the overabundance
of health issues.

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 4
4. THE BUSINESS CASE
4.1 PURPOSE
The purpose of this proposal is to build sustainable rural economies while
addressing the issues of low income, malnutrition and inadequate healthcare.
Once these communities can increase their income by means of agriculture
enterprises, they will be able to increase the family income and wealth, afford
proper homes, have access to quality education and stimulate economic
development. The capital investment made by the sponsor will assist the funding
agency in furthering its business objectives and the capital investment made is
expected to be productive over many years.
4.2 SPONSOR
5. ORGANISATIONAL BENEFIT
SPONSOR NAME POSITION PHONE EMAIL
ALL TERRAIN
ENTERPRISES
Joseph John Manager, Finance 868-555-3270 [e-mail]

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 5
After the visit to the members of the rural communities in the country the Social Workers
realized that their base resource which was agricultural production was not productive
making their income very low. It was also observed that although the land was
cultivatable, the region experienced long periods of drought and although they had two
large rivers, access to the water was very limited. This low income could attribute to the
fact that a large percentage of the population was suffering from high levels of
malnutrition and that they were plagued with an overabundance of health issues, since
they would not have the funds to access proper healthcare or nutritious foods.
The small and medium sized farmers will have to be educated on proper agricultural
techniques and they will have to be provided with startup funding for farming equipment,
fuel, seedlings, chemicals, livestock, feed, storage facilities, repairs or improvements to
buildings and workers to cultivate the land in order to increase their income. Funding will
have to be spent on a proper irrigation system accessing water from the large rivers to
help during the long periods of drought. With low income these villagers cannot afford
the basic amenities such as food, clothing, shelter and water, hence the reason for
malnutrition and the overabundance of diseases. Persons in rural communities face
different types of issues accessing healthcare which include the distance to a hospital in
cases of emergency, routine checkups do not take place in time due to the distance that
has to be travelled, rural areas have few doctors and dentists and certain specialists do not
practice in rural areas.
Since sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and
in the future, investing in this project will stimulate economic growth and development
both for the rural communities and for the funding agencies. The funding agency can

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 6
have their money work for them to earn more money which gives them the benefit of
earning a higher income for their employees. The members of the rural communities will
also enjoy increasing family income, wealth, access to quality education and proper
healthcare, all amounting to a higher standard of living. Once the agriculture project is
successful, it will encourage sale of real estate in the rural areas, increase in demand for
sustainable transport, construction of village centers and housing. Proper farming
techniques will result in obtaining better yields while making sure that the environment is
well protected to support farming even in several years to come.
If the required funding is not approved it can lead to a number of negative effects on
society such as:
 The percentage of persons in the rural communities suffering from malnutrition will
increase since they will not be able to afford basic food items.
 The communities will be plagued with even more diseases since they cannot afford
nutritious foods or maintain a healthy living environment.
 Mortality rate will be high from malnutrition and diseases. Also, cancer may be more
prevalent due to the prolonged use of farming chemicals.
 Villagers will not be able to afford schooling, resulting in illiteracy and
unemployment leading to a continued poverty cycle.
 The economy’s unemployment rate will be high which will hinder the country from
developing into a strong economic system.
 There will be more homeless persons on the streets and the crime rate will increase
since these persons may turn to crime to suffice their need.
6. ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 7
6.1 ASSUMPTIONS
The following assumptions apply to the Business Case. As project planning
begins and more assumptions are identified, they will be added accordingly.
 That Stakeholder will be readily available to provide guidance from start
to finish of project.
 Funding will be available upon request.
 Project Scope will not be modified.
 Equipment will be on site within 24 hours of notification.
6.2 CONSTRAINTS
The following constraints apply to the Business Case. As project planning begins
and more constraints are identified, they will be added accordingly.
 That project will be completed in specific time and completed by June
2017.
 That project falls within the budget of $5M.
 Price of Machinery and Equipment will not increase before Purchase
Order is issued
 The assigned Project Manager will be dedicated to this Project Only
and will see the project from Start to Finish.
7. COSTING AND BUDGET

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 8
This Budget provides estimated costs associated with the above named project which we
would like to pursue. Costs for the projects have been itemized and a summary has been
provided her under:
7.1 DIRECT LABOUR
LABOUR
CATEGORY
CONTRACTOR/
EMPLOYEE NAME
CONTRACTOR/
EMPLOYEE
HOURLY
RATE
NO. OF
HOURS
TOTAL
Project Manager Ministry of Social Dev. Employee $110.00 480 $52,800
QA/QC Parad Engineering Contractor $95.00 480 $45,600
Horticulturist Ministry of Agriculture Employee $80.00 480 $38,400
Husbandry
Expert (2)
Ministry of Agriculture Employee $80.00 960 $76,800
Irrigationist (2) Water Solutions Ltd. Contractor $77.00 960 $73,920
Labourers (4) Ministry of Agriculture Employee $55.00 1920 $105,600
Sub Total $393,120
7.2 PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS
ITEM DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT COST TOTAL COST
CAT Tractor c/w Plough, Spreader & Harvestor 5 $210,000 $1,050,000
CAT Broadcast Seeder 5 $105,000 $525,000
Carter Pivot Irrigation System 6 $220,000 $1,100,000
Seedlings, Livestock, Chemicals, Feed & Fuel 1 $609,380 $609,380
Sub Total $3,284,380
7.3 TRAVEL & MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES
EXPENSE DESCRIPTION TYPE UNIT COST TOTAL COST
Travel Expenses for Eleven (11) Personnel Flights $3,500 $38,500
Accommodation & Meals for Eleven (11) Person for Three
(3) Months
Accomodation $84,000 $84,000
Repairs to Farm Building Buidling $1,200,000 $1,200,000
Sub Total $1,322,500
7.4 BUDGET SUMMARY – US$
Direct Labour : $393,120.00
Purchase of Equipment & Materials : $3,284,380.00
Travel & Miscellaneous Expenses : $1,322,500.00
TOTAL BUDGET : $5,000,000.00
Citations:

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES 9
http://extension.psu.edu/business/start-farming/new-business
http://www.lisc.org/about-us/our-strategy/
https://medlineplus.gov/ruralhealthconcerns.html
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-capital-investment-54295.html
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advantages-disadvantages-sustainable-agriculture-
academic-research
http://borgenproject.org/5-effects-poverty/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_agricultural_machinery