Technical assistance, large-scale field crop project in Siberia
A Russian company in joint venture with a European company has invested in a project to rehabilitate a former cooperative farm in Transbaïkal with the aim of developing 23.000 hectares for large scale grain production, over five sites. FGM International has been contracted to provide assistance in the development of the farm, rehabilitation advice, and operation monitoring.
The challenge
Overall conditions are good for farming, apart from the precipitation irregularities and narrow season. The main challenges are inherent to extensive large scale projects in such a remote location: HR, logistics, maintenance, management. Close attention to organization and method are required.
FGM results
FGM International has tackled the main challenges of the project: human resources, organization, logistics and crop husbandry. This has allowed for reliable advice to investors. Regular missions on-site have reinforced relationships between the operation staff and the management of the project, for a long-term improvement.
Farm improvement
In order to balance initial CapEx and OpEx requirements and optimise the timing of the required investment for the upcoming large-scale expansion, FGM International has managed to optimize the use of local resources. The rehabilitation of the five sites has covered:
- Recommendation on base camp design, development and infrastructures needed on the farm base camp (workshop, grain storage and offices),
- Provision of cost effective and optimized equipment list suitable for large-scale farming and in-line with the selected farming model.
Remote assistance
To mitigate operational costs and alleviate challenging conditions, remote assistance was selected for day-to-day followup and technical assistance.
- Review of field status by analysis of data sets provided by the local team related to cultivated crops: rapeseed, sunflower, wheat, barley, oat, flax, buckwheat, peas and soybean,
- Monitoring of field operations and farm activities facilitated by online management tool and regular conferences with the local team,
- Ongoing update of the operation plan according to weather data feedback,
- Delivery of regular progress notes including findings and recommendations.
On-site operational support
In addition to the provided remote assistance, FGM International has performed regular on-site missions to reinforce its service quality at peak periods such as, crop installation and harvest:
- Recommendations on timing of field activities organization and adjustment of agronomic practices,
- Evaluation of team capacities and in-field training,
- Review and adjustment of practices for soil reclamation (ploughing, discing, …),
- Assessment of equipment status and infrastructure,
- Evaluation of quality of operations and subsequent recommendations given on-site,
- Control of the logistical operations’ optimization and organization,
- Update of the business plan and crop husbandry plan at the end of the season.
Technical assistance for a large scale crop field in the Transbaïkal area, Russia.
Russia
8 experts
Undisclosed
3 Years
25000 ha
Theros Project
Assigned competencies
- Agronomists
- Russian agriculture specialist
- Agro-economists
- International Senior Experts
- Regional Senior Expert
- Interpreter
