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Agriculture
Marshall Plan Study Tours to the USA
Organized by the Center for Economic Initiatives
Background
Growth in agricultural productivity is central to development. For transitional or developing countries, agricultural productivity, distribution and cultivating markets are crucial to reaching a stable
economy until industrialization matures. Increases
in agricultural productivity allow workers to move
into other areas of the economy where the output
per worker is substantially higher. Sector shifts
caused by increased agriculture productivity represent 29 percent of GDP growth in developing countries. Poverty in many nations is directly linked to
low agricultural productivity. This program targets
economic development and the Rule of Law.
CEI has organized both grain processing and livestock study tours.
“Knowledge – and the power to harness its opportunities – is now recognized as a major driver of
the development process in the global economy.”
USAID report of Future Directions for Agriculture
How can a CEI program help?
A CEI agricultural study tour to the U.S. provides
hands-on learning experiences in all segments of
agriculture including modern management techniques, products, technologies, equipment, organization, methods, and marketing and distribution
systems for farms and production facilities. These
enable product costs to be lowered, infrastructure
strengthened, and more efficient use of existing facilities and manpower. The CEI tour promotes
growth and knowledge through visiting working
plants in the U.S., talking to experienced industry
managers, and seeing and discussing with industry
leaders what works and why. It provides an opportunity to learn how to compete in today’s markets,
and where global industry trends are taking the agricultural community.
What will they see?
Study tours are designed to acquaint participants
with a detailed operational overview of the most
productive farms and agricultural production in the
U.S. They will see and examine the procedures
and practices used to achieve the highest yields
from crops and livestock/poultry while lowering
their production costs. Agricultural producers will
see procedures, methods, and process improve-
ments that allow them to achieve a higher level of
throughput while significantly reducing costs. In
most cases, the programs stress a more effective
use of existing resources rather than focusing on a
need for increased capital spending.
Topics to be covered include
 Modern farming techniques (No-till/low-till techniques, use of pesticides and fertilizers, implementing technology, reducing infant livestock fatality rates, etc.)
 Developing affordable agricultural credit systems
 Developing wholesale and retail markets for moving agro-based products.
 Developing value-added agricultural based industries
 Developing agricultural extension services by
providing crop protection, fertilizer, seeds, insecticide, pesticide and educational material to
farmers
 How to measure and increase yields with lower
costs and offsetting investments
 Shortening time-to-market
 Marketing practices and advertising programs
 Modern storage, transportation, distribution and
crop preservation methods
 Sanitation & environmental requirements and solutions
Expected Benefits
 Reduced production costs
 Self-sustaining farming techniques
 Improved product yields and quality
 Improved labor management
 Increased revenues and profits
Where will the study tour travel?
The study tour will travel throughout the agricultural
heart of the United States, visiting crop, dairy, livestock, and poultry farms as appropriate. Research
& Development facilities with special emphasis on
products/procedures to reduce infant livestock fatality, improved feed mixes, and environmentally
friendly, low-cost productivity measures, will add to
the value of the study tour.
Example Benefits from Ukraine Study Tours
Cumulative productivity increases from the 32 participating Ukrainian farms generated the following
first-year benefits:
 Milk production increased 21.6%
 Beef Production increased 18%
 Pork production increased 57.5%
 Poultry production increased 50%
 Livestock mortality rates decreased 12% to 1%
 40% percent reduction in fuel costs from the introduction of low-till techniques
 Grain yields increased 25%
 Farm labor was streamlined an average of 35%
and shifted to production jobs in food processing.
 Average farm employee earnings increased 30%
above the Ukraine minimum wage.
CEI has conducted programs in grain and livestock
production. The following examples come from that
experience.
Number of Crops
For many years, Ukrainian farmers had been told
by the government that it was necessary to grow
about 17 different crops. One reason was that the
local governments had quotas for each crop and
were not used to letting the market determine the
amount of land to be devoted to each crop.
When traveling though the U.S. Midwest, study
tour participants were shocked to see field after
field devoted to corn and soy. They did not see
other crops although presumably some were being
grown. They realized that if they could reduce the
number of crops they grew, they would no longer
need the variety of equipment, seeds, fertilizers,
herbicides, and skilled technicians. In short, they
could reduce their costs, improve productivity, and
increase profits. This approach is now being used
by several participants.
Shortening the time-to-market
Every farmer knows that the faster he brings pigs,
chicken, and cattle to market weight, the sooner he
will get paid. On the study tour the participants
were able to discuss and see improved methods
that are used in the U.S. which were the result of
improved animal feeds, vitamins, and the use of
feeds such as soy and alfalfa.
Reducing production costs with no-till planting
Farm leaders visiting US farms are shocked to
learn that little or no plowing is done prior to planting some crops. They are used to deep plowing
where the soil was turned over to a depth of about
1 foot. In some cases this required making multiple passes over the fields and exposing dormant
weed seeds. U.S. farmers were using either low-till
planting where the soil is disked to a depth of a few
inches, or no-till planting where the soil is not
turned over at all. Ukrainians could not believe the
no-till practice until taken out into the fields where
they could see for themselves.
The reduced amount of plowing resulted in tremendous savings in fuel and manpower. Just by
using low-till methods they could save about 30%
of their fuel costs. No-till farming resulted in savings of 50-75%. Labor costs were also reduced.
Of course no-till farming requires new or modified
planters, but some farmers were able to devise
their own equipment. One offsetting cost was the
greater need for herbicides.