Alex Dalley believes that impoverished communities in developing
countries can sustain economic and social growth if small farmers are
connected to global agricultural supply chains.
Dalley, a Rotary Scholar from Australia, is earning his master's
degree in business administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam
School of Management in the Netherlands. His scholarship, funded by a
Rotary Foundation Global Grant , supports Rotary's economic and community development area of focus . (click below to read more)
"My studies have formalized my business skills, which will enable
me to build better businesses that link small farmers to local and
global food supply chains," says Dalley, whose scholarship is sponsored
by districts 9600 (part of Queensland, Australia; Papua New Guinea; and
Solomon Islands) and 1600 (The Netherlands). "The program has given me a
fantastic opportunity to practice leadership skills, further preparing
me for my professional role."
Reducing poverty
Dalley says the resurgence of private-sector interest in small-farm
agriculture will help lower poverty levels in emerging markets.
"The function of economic and community development has always been
a public-sector issue. [But] the private sector and big businesses are
beginning to take over," he says. "If you can establish a modern,
sustainable distribution and supply chain between small farmers and
various food markets, governments will be more inclined to improve
roads, power, and infrastructure."
Before his scholarship, Dalley worked as an agribusiness adviser on
private-sector development programs in East Timor funded by USAID and
AusAID, identifying and developing market opportunities for small
farmers.
His most rewarding project, he says, was creating a small vegetable
distribution business within a Singaporean supermarket chain called
Kmanek, which has a large presence in East Timor’s capital, Dili. By
replacing expensive imported vegetables, the supermarket was able to buy
cheaper and better-quality produce locally, he says.
"The East Timor experience opened my eyes to the power supermarkets
have in our food supply chains," says Dalley. "In a small country like
East Timor, you really get a sense of how a supermarket, which controls
access to the consumer, can be a positive force for change."
Student of the year
After he graduates, Dalley, who won the 2011 Student of the Year
Award from the Association of MBAs, hopes to work with large global
agricultural retailers to help build relationships with small farmers in
developing countries.
Dalley had originally applied for an Ambassadorial Scholarship, before District 9600 began participating in the pilot of the Future Vision Plan
, a new grant-funding structure for the Foundation. Shaughn Forbes,
chair of the district’s Rotary Foundation Scholars subcommittee, says
Dalley was very patient throughout the process. "It was clear from the
beginning that Alex was an outstanding candidate, regardless of the
program he was applying for."
Forbes says that with the cost of tuition increasing at many
universities, ensuring the success of the Foundation’s new global grant
funding model is essential.
"One of the benefits of the [grant] is that the scholar can receive
more funds than the minimum amount of US$30,000," she says, referring
to the fact that the scholarship amount is based on the district's
financial resources and the student’s needs. "Additionally, I'm very
supportive of having the scholars' education be aligned with the
Foundation’s six areas of focus."
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