They have the ideas but not the know how ... you are bringing in
some expertise that they don't have-- the micro-finance person, he
extention agent . They probably want/ need to put together a farmers
cooperative that could do some market research on what they should
grow extra, could do the marketing and the business end. Not every
farmer with surplus food should need to go out and do their own
marketing. One role of this meeting could be training to form a
cooperative and have some farmers take leadership roles in the
institution. Use the meeting to start the process. Then they might
want to create a business plan, a roadmap to where they are going and
where they would like to be in the next ew years. Alternatively, if
they have a good thing going, they might need an infusion of capital
to capitalize on it-- that is where microfinance comes in. They
could actually pool some of the money into a farmer's micro-credit
savings and loan. Another idea because they are in a central tourist
area-- potentially more of a cash cow than just farming-- they could
look into entering the tourist economy. Eco-tourism (remember that
farm we stayed on in Monte Verde in Costa Rica). Or marketing
produce to international hotels and touring agents-- definitely a
niche market for organic produce.
hope this is helpful--Amy