Eve Of St. Anges Essays - Madeline, Fiction, Literature,

Eve Of St. Anges Someone once said that true love is only an illusion and can never be achieved. This is evidently shown through many elements of the poem by John Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes." Much of this poem is about the imagination and how it can blind people and make them oblivious to the true events that are occurring. We the readers can see this very easily through the portrayal of one of the main characters Madeline. The second main character Porphyro tries to authenticate her quest for a dream experience however ends up taking advantage of her while she thinks she is still dreaming. The poem does endorse how the power of Madeline's visionary imagination can influence her and the others around her, but also that happenings outside of the dream can cause the person in the dream to be taken advantage of with out the dreamers knowledge. The truth is that Porphyro knows exactly what he is doing and instead of doing things in a honorable way, he decides to proceed in a dishonorable way and totally violates her visionary imagination. The night that is being spoken of in this poem is a night of dreams and imagination. It is supposed to be a mystical night in which young women have dreams of their one true love. Madeline takes this to a totally different level in that she totally succumbs to the mystical ability of the night and totally loses her mind. In that she doesn't even know if she is still dreaming or if she is wake. Some interpretations of the poem say that she is wake and know what she is doing. However, I believe the contrary that she doesn't know what she is doing. "Hoodwink'd with faery fancy." (70) Most of what she does is due to the mystical feeling the night causes. A mind can play may tricks and the mind can make it so that it has no concept of time or whether it is wake or still dreaming. One of the few times in the book that she sort of knows that she is wake is when Porphyro enter her room and tries to wake her as gently as possible in that she never truly wakes up and remains in a dream like state. He awakes her very softly, "He play'd an ancient ditty, long since mute, /In Provence call'd ?La belle dame sans mercy.'"(291-292) I find this to be quite odd because this poem is about hoodwinking. Why would he do this to wake her sleeping? If you are hoodwinking someone you are trying to dupe, trick or fool them and the only way that Porphyro can do this is to keep her in a dream like state. This very softly and sweetly awakens her and now "Her eyes were open, but she still beheld, now wide awake, the vision of her sleep"(298-299) This tells me that she is now awake but in her subconscious she is still dreaming. She has no clue as to what she is doing at this point in time. She truly believes that she is still asleep and she is just dreaming. After he has done the deed and she is still sleeping he awakes her and she tries to him about here dream. Upon hearing this Porphyro says, "This is no dream, my bride, my Madeline" (326) in an attempt to wake her up so she know what she is doing. I think that he tries to do this so that he doesn't look like the bad guy, in that, the only way that he can get a beautiful bride is by hoodwinking her. Upon hearing this Madeline is very distraught by this and she proceeds to say "No Dream, alas! Alas! and woe is mine! / Porphyro will leave me here and fade to pine. ---"(328-329) All this has happened after he has already violated her dreams and has done things that young gentlemen at that time were not supposed to do. As Jack Stillinger said "We must leave or world behind, where stratagems like Porphyro's are frowned on, sometimes in criminal courts, and enter an world where ?in sooth such things have been' (P.75)" All gentlemen were supposed to be honorable and were supposed to address all aspects of their life in a very noble way. All this evidently shows that a visionary imagination is so powerful that Madeline cannot control it and Porphyro uses it to his advantage. It sure fooled Madeline

Great Expectations - The Character Of Mrs Joe Essays - Free Essays

Great Expectations - The Character Of Mrs Joe Essays - Free Essays Great Expectations - The Character Of Mrs Joe Great Expectations - Mrs. Joe The importance of Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations has two major parts: the significance of the character, and the symbolism of the character. The signifance of Mrs. Joe is to complete the figure of Joe The symbolism of Mrs. Joe is actually the physical manifestation of Joe's fears in combination with his desire for a commanding father-figure. First, Mrs. Joe's reign of terror is obviously necessary for Joe's existence. In the beginning of Great Expectations, Joe requires identification as a major character. Without the weakness that Mrs. Joe instills in Joe via her reign of terror, Joe never develops to a major character. Joe is identified as a compassionate, sensitive character, and the most direct way to display this feature is to have the character appear vulnerable. Mrs. Joe serves as the tyrant for which Joe is made helpless. Joe, unless he is a scared character, does not recognize the friend he has in Pip. Without Joe as a major role in Pip's life, Pip also seems very incomplete. Second, Mrs. Joe also serves as the comical interlude of an otherwise sombre story. When she had exhausted a torrent of such inquiries, she threw a candlestick at Joe, burst into a loud sobbing, got out the dustpan which was always a very bad sign put on her coarse apron, and began cleaning up to a terrible extent. Not satisfied with a dry cleaning, she took to a pail and scrubbing-brush, and cleaned us out of house and home,... Truly, a frightening creature is that that may destroy a household by cleaning when anger besets her. Third, the comedy also has a serious side, though, as we remember our mothers exerting their great frustrations upon the household tasks of cleanliness. So, Mrs. Joe serves very well as a mother to Pip. Besides the age difference and the motherly duties of housekeeping for Pip and Joe, the attitude of a scornful mother is also apparent. This, of course, draws Joe even closer to Pip, by relation. Mrs. Joe serves as link to make it so that Joe appears very much to be the father of Pip. In addition, Joe, although terrified of Mrs. Joe, is a very honorable man and would never consider divorcing his wife. Through this condition, however, Joe appears to be even a more honorable man to choose to preserve the sacred marriage rather than seek his comfort. It is ironic that Mrs. Joe be referred to as Mrs. Joe constantly when there doesn't seem to much a part of Joe in her. The main purpose it serves is probably to characterize Mrs. Joe as a more masculine, and, therefore, typically more commanding, character. In the tradition of marriage, the wife usually gives up her last name to show that she is property of the man, therefore it is especially ironic that she be called Mrs. Joe when it is clear that Joe, rather, belongs more to her than vice-versa. It is also ironic that Joe be the one that seems to be stuck in tough situation in his marraige. Often, in this time, women suffered from the abuse of their husbands and expected to keep the marriage together regardless. However, Joe is clearly the one being abused in this story and he also is the only one decent enough to care enough about the marraige to try and keep it together by enduring the abuse of Mrs. Joe. Fifth, through love, Joe shows the audience that truly he is not just a very timid man but a whole-hearted man. Truly, it takes a loving man to stay in love with such a woman as Mrs. Joe. No kissing ever took place between Joe and Mrs. Joe (much less child birth), and it becomes clear to the reader that the relationship between Joe and Mrs. Joe is a very one-way relationship. It would seem that Joe cares enough for Mrs. Joe, though Mrs. Joe never once seems to show a bit of compassion for Joe. Illustration of this can be seen in Mrs. Joe's numerous dorogatory references to being married to a lowly blacksmith. Surely, after Mrs. Joe dies, Joe reflects upon how

In what ways has social inequality been regarded as a context for Essay

In what ways has social inequality been regarded as a context for crime in the work Marxist and Left Realist criminologits - Essay Example that as long as people have different interests and as long as some individual groups hold more power than others then crime will always be in existence. This is because of the differentials in the power and interests of the human condition such that crime will always be a part of us. Similarly with the overthrow of the mode of production for the capitalists there will emerge the natural goodness of the humanity and this will further lead to no more criminal behaviour. The main ideologies in Marxism include the concept of crime, the cause of crime and the cure for crime. In the cause for crime the theorists refuse to pass the moral judgement since they view the criminal conduct to be morally neutral without any intrinsic properties which distinguish it from any conforming behaviour. On the other hand crime does not exist until there is a powerful interest group which is able to criminalize the activities of another group which is less powerful. Some people view crime as the revolutionary actions by those who are downtrodden in the society and others view it as the acts which are socially harmful by a class of traitors while others yet see it as the violations of the human rights. On the concept of crime the law tends to favour those who are more powerful but not any specified group. The group is more likely to be favoured if it has greater wealth more power as well as prestige in the society. This is a very powerful tool that is used by the ruling class who criminalizes the workers activities which are harmful to its interests while ignoring their own socially harmful behaviour. From the neo-Marxism came the most poplar theory of crime and the core of the Marxist is the class struggle concept. According to the Marxists the oppressors were the wealth owners who were also known as the bourgeoisie and they had the means of production and on the other hand the oppressed were the working class who were the proletariat. Also according to the Marxists the ruling class

Managing Business Processes& Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Business Processes& Information - Essay Example In the recent phenomenon, it has been widely considered that customers are among the biggest assets of any form of business in the modern day business scenario. The performance of any business unit is therefore largely dependent on the approaches and perceptions of the customers towards the business and its products and/or services (Brandi, 2001). Subsequently, the concept of customer service comes into being. Aspects, such as gaining customer loyalty and their retention over a long time-period, comprise the approach of the companies towards managing the customers effectively. Theoretically, customer’s services are referred to the provisions or the approaches followed by contemporary business units in serving their customers with the sole intention to augment their brand value and correspondingly, increase brand loyalty for the products/services on offer under the brand. It is the process that companies follow while dealing with the customers before and after the purchase of t he product to ensure highest possible satisfaction to the buyers. This not only facilitates companies to attain maximisation of their profit level but also ensures the overall sustainable development of the company, assisting it to suffice the stakeholders’ interests to a substantial extent. As per the principle of customer services, organisations are also directed to be responsive towards the complaints of the customers and their expectations from the business and strategize their move accordingly in alignment with the market trends (Slack, & et. al., 2011; Svendsen, 1998). This will make sure that the customers are satisfied, rewarding maximum loyalty to the business units, which further determines due compliance of the statement by Dr. W Edwards Deming - â€Å"Keep the customers coming back; not the products.† In this context, the paper intends to conduct an elaborate discussion on the statement of Dr. W. Edwards Deming with focus on its central theme. Furthermore, the paper also emphasises replicating the various dimensions of the statement by illustrating the case scenario witnessed in Tesco, a global retail chain that is currently dealing with the problem of weak customer services. Accordingly, certain recommendations for improvement will also be provided to the same. Explaining the Central Focus of the Statement – â€Å"Keep the Customers Coming Back; Not the Products† by Dr. W Edwards Deming It is evident that customers are one of the most prominent stakeholders for any sort of business and they tend to have a direct and strong impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the business through responding to the company’s operation. Thus, it is important that in order to attract the attention of the customers, companies need to come up with various diverse ideas in order to preserve the interests of the customers as intact towards the business for a longer period of time. Contextually, it can be

The effectiveness of SSL and Certification authentication and how can Research Paper

The effectiveness of SSL and Certification authentication and how can the client be better protected - Research Paper Example Clients deserve to know how their personal information is being stored and what it being done to protect their information from getting into the wrong hands. To this end, the SSL and Certificate Authentication processes have been developed and refined over the years to better protect the client and enhance the security of information stored digitally and electronically via the Internet and other mediums (Alnatheer, 2014). The problem is that the Internet is increasingly becoming a place where the transmission of private information, such as credit card data, is a potentially dangerous activity that could result in the data being intercepted by hackers that would seek to do harm. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the concepts of the secure socket layer (SSL) and certificate authentication in order to determine how the client can be better protected. The objective is to determine how this technology is currently being utilized to make the transmission of electronic data via the Internet safer and more secure, while also looking at potential barriers to security that must be addressed moving forward. Failure to address these important issues will undermine the very integrity of the Internet and potentially lead to a general populace that is leery of trusting Web sites with their most private and confidential of information. Research questions are invaluable to the researcher in terms of guiding hi or her in the proper direction, in addition to working to ensure that the project remains focused and relevant to the reader. In consideration of this, this particular study has several main questions that, when answered, will lead to the conclusions that form the basis for chapter 5. This will enable the reader to effectively ascertain the need to keep clients safe when transmitting information online, and how SSL and certificate authentication can help to make this possible. Authentication Certificate - Digital certificate

Thomas Aquinas Impact On Western Thought Through Time Philosophy Essay

Thomas Aquinas Impact On Western Thought Through Time Philosophy Essay St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher and theologian living between 1225 -1274 of the medieval period. Aquinas began his education at Montecassino, a monastery which became his first battle site. Thomas was later transferred to the University of Naples in France; this is where he came into contact with a newly found mendicant order of Preachers or Dominicans, and Aristotles philosophy. Aquinas became a Dominican, against the will of his family and eventually went to Paris to study, before going to Cologne with Albert the Great, a philosopher whose interest in Aristotle reinforced Aquinass own predilections  [1]  . Aquinas was a classical proponent of the natural theology at the onset of European Scholasticism, and is regarded as the founder of the Thomism school of philosophy and theology. Aquinass philosophy significantly influenced subsequent Christian theology, particularly that of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as Western philosophy in general. Thomass most signif icant and enduring works include the Summa Theologica  [2]  , an article that systematically expounds his mysticism of the quinquae viae and the Summa Contra Gentiles. Aquinas was well known for his contribution to Christian theology, but he was also a classical Aristotelian as well as an Empiricist, and he significantly influenced these two ideas of Western thought. Aquinas believed that truth is well revealed through both natural revelation and supernatural revelation-through faith as in the scripture, for these two elements, Aquinas was careful enough to separate them in a complementary rather than contradictory manner. He argued that, although Gods existence and His attributes may be easily deduced, specific aspects such as the Trinity and Incarnation may only be revealed through special revelation. As mentioned above, His two outstanding works are the Summa Contra Gentiles translated and published in English as the On the Truth of the Catholic Faith, and the Summa Theologica known as the Compendium of Theology. The former piece was broadly intended for non-Christians; while the latter significantly addresses Christians and is more of a philoso phical work on Christian theology. Aquinas utilized scriptures and traditions of the Catholic Church as the raw material data of his theology. He believed that these materials were produced by Gods revelation to humans throughout history. In addition, faith and reason are the two fundamental tools, which are necessary for processing and interpreting this raw data of theology with an aim of obtaining the true knowledge of God. Aquinas blends Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology to argue that God reveals himself to humans through nature. This implies that Gods nature can be studied through rational thinking as well as though the study of nature  [3]  . Aquinas proposed five statements regarding Gods divine qualities from his classical consideration of what God is not. This include: God is simple, He is devoid of matter or form or even body and soul; God is perfect, deficient of nothing; God is infinite, He is unlimited as He created all things, but humans are limited being, physically, rationally, and emotionally; God is immutable, inept of change with regard to His in nature and character; and God is one, His essence is the same as His existence. Aquinas also pioneered the Principle of Double Effect when it comes to ethical decisions. According to this principle, when an otherwise justifiable act such as self-defense is likely to cause an effect, then one may basically be obliged to avoid it for example if it results to the death of another  [4]  . Modern philosophy is a reaction in favor or against Aquinass views As outlined above, Thomas Aquinas has shaped modern worlds philosophy especially when it comes to theology and ethical philosophy. At large, modern worlds philosophy began in the sixteenth century; but nobodys system of philosophy has entirely corresponded to everybodys perception of certainty; bit to what, if set aside for mens perception, common men may not agree on what is common sense. Against all this, St. Thomass philosophy distinctively stands based on the universal common conviction that supports brotherhood of men, in their common consciousness that, all things attested by the ability of the senses originate from God  [5]  . Rene Descartess argument Rene Descartes is regarded as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Descartess system of thought depicts a major break away from all previous philosophical systems, mainly, away from Aristotle and Aquinas philosophy. For example, unlike Aquinas, a proponent for the tabula rasa model of the human mind (At birth, the human mind resembles a blank recording device and as one grows it records data from sensory experience), Descartes posited that human beings are born with innate thoughts and ideas, these ideas exist in their minds even at birth  [6]  . Further, Thomas Aquinas argued that if humans had innate ideas of Gods existence, then proof of His existence would be inappropriate and faith would be irrelevant as human beings would have direct knowledge and experience of Gods essence and nature. Thus, Descartes was trying to offer the world a philosophy which he thought was compatible with both the new world of science and the convention of Christian faith. However, his philosophy was hi deous to the Church. As a result, in the same way the Roman Catholic Church had condemned Galileo in 1633, thirty years later, it added Descartes work on its Index of proscribed reading material. John Lockes argument John Locke, an advanced philosopher of the seventeenth-century, effectively presents his argument against Descartes innate ideas, in a manner that is similar to that of Aquinas. Locke criticize Descartes claim that God must exist based on Descartes idea of God in his mind even though he (Descartes) has disconnected his mind from his senses. Locke argued that, holding such a claim is the same as believing that millions of gods must exist just because millions of different minds have ideas of millions of different gods. However, Locke used Descartes argument that in order to have a clear and distinctive idea of something one must have a clear understanding of that which they are having an idea about. Locke uses scripture to argue that in the Bible, no other belief clearly distinguishes a believer from an unbeliever except the belief that, Jesus is the Messiah, and He (Jesus), is able to save everyone who formed this belief with no requirement of other beliefs whatsoever  [7]  . Immanuel Kant argument From research, it is clear that St. Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant were born almost half a millennium apart and, on the exterior, the styles of argumentation of the two philosopher and their broad approaches to philosophy emerge as being equally distinct from each other; nevertheless, both philosophers aimed to congeal the essential knowledge of God. Kants metaphysics legitimately attempted to develop a kind of critical science that would guarantee the truth of knowledge. Similarly, Aquinas succeeded in arguing that some of the worlds most closely held beliefs can be justified in the course of rational thinking; exclusively, he tried to generate a wide-ranging argument in favor of the Gods existence, which supports the most central doctrines of the Catholic Church. Comparing Thomas Aquinas to Kent, one can argue that Thomas was more ensconced in the conventional hierarchy of the Catholic Church and interpretations of Gods existence than Immanuel Kant. Thomas main focus was placed u pon the issues and concerns regarding the relationship between God and man, in as well as the relationship between God and the natural world. Basically, he aimed at investigating the various aspects of the world that casts doubt to the existence of God, and as a result, why Gods existence is questioned so often. Ultimately, Aquinas writings would then be adopted as the accepted books of theology for the Catholic Church, and consequently, would strongly possess a kind of stigma for either those who were not Christians or not Catholics, especially after the protestant reorganization. Indisputably, in as much as, Aquinas arguments were definitely rational. This implies that, he purposed to draw an abstract of claims regarding the nature of God and mankind by examining physical anomalies. This distinguished him strongly from most of the modern philosophers, particularly with regard to the fact that he supposed that true faith required rational investigation; however, it made him similar to Immanuel Kant, who also believed that faith in God and salvation require critical analysis. Aquinass impact on the Catholic Churchs philosophy Aquinas believed that Gods existence is neither patently obvious nor is it beyond proof. In the Summa Theologica, Aquinas outlines five rational proofs (quinquae viae) for the existence of God, these include: God is an unmoved mover (ex motu), as everything that is moved is moved by God, the source of all motion. God is the cause of all things; this is argued though the argument of the first cause (ex causa), where everything that is caused is caused by God. Through the argument from contingency, Aquinas argues that Gods existence is not contingent of any other being. But the universe contains contingent beings as something cannot come of nothing. God is the pinnacle of perfection; it is from this lesser degrees of perfection derive their meaning. This is outlined in the argument from degree. The final argument is the teleological argument, also known as the argument from design (ex fine). According to this argument, all natural bodies in the world are in themselves unintelligent, and are guided by God to act towards ends rationally. Aquinas understood that Jesus Christ was ultimately divine and He (Jesus Christ) is not simply a human being or merely God in humanly inhabiting the body of Christ. Nonetheless, Aquinas posited that Christ also had a justly cogent human soul, resulting in a duality of natures that endured even after Incarnation. In essence, these two natures existed concurrently yet distinctively in a single existent human body. Aquinas is also credited for defining the four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. For these values, Aquinas held that they are revealed by nature and are and necessary for everyone. Further, he highlighted three theological virtues; faith, hope and charity, which are the chiefest, supernatural and distinctive from other virtues as their object is God. Furthermore, Aquinas distinguished four kinds of law: natural law-discovered by reason, eternal law- Gods decree that governs all creation), human law-natural law as applied by governments and institutions and divine law-this is specifically revealed in the scriptures  [8]  . According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is to find eternal union and fellowship with God. He believes in life after death for those who have experienced Christs salvation and redemption while living on earth. The Incarnation is an adorable vision which will be granted to Christians as a perfect and everlasting happiness through understanding of the very quintessence of God. Thus, during an individuals existence on the earth, their life must be inclined toward right things such as peace, holiness and charity.

Personal Narrative- Cousins Death :: Personal Narrative Essays

Personal Narrative- Cousin's Death It is amazing how many things we take for granted. We make plans for the day, and don't think twice about how those plans can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I never thought much about it myself, until I was faced with the shock, and undeniable truth of my cousin's death. I don't think anyone really thinks about tragedy until they are actually faced with shocking news. My mom had been going to school in Greeley and staying at my Aunt Margaret's house . She had been away for two weeks and wanted to come home for the Fourth of July weekend. My mom had suggested that I go back with her and visit colleges, shop, go to movies and just spend time together. I had been feeling pretty sorry for myself since she had been gone. I had been working alot as a maid and helping my dad run the house, I was getting very irritated with my siblings as I felt that I was the only family member doing my part to help my dad. I was really excited to have a week with my mom to myself. The whole ride over we were talking about what I wanted to do that week. Making plans and having "me time" seemed very important at the time. I woke up Tuesday morning excited for the day I was going to spend with my mom. I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking fresh coffee listening to my mom and aunt tease and joke around about how paranoid my mom was about doing well in her classes, my aunt was telling her that maybe now that I was there, she would relax a little bit and have some fun. Our plan was to go to one of mom's classes with her, and then on a tour of UNC and then we were going to go to dinner and a movie. We were interrupted by a phone call from my dad. My mom was still joking and in a silly mood when she started talking to my dad. Suddenly the conversation turned from joking to dead silence and my mom started crying. She tearfully asked, "Is she ok? Was she alone?" I was thinking my sister went riding and fell off her horse or that something had happened to my grandma.

Represents human nature Essay

The conscious decisions of people to act upon negative emotions, damages and ultimately destroys our relationships with fellow human beings. Gray explores this idea through ‘Poem to my Father’, a personal and confessional letter directed towards the persona’s father, whom is believed to be Gray’s father; a man who neglected Gray as a child as a result of his drinking, indifference and gambling. The persona believes that his father destroyed the paternal relationship and represents this through emotive language and words with negative connotations evoking emptiness and disconnection within ‘Poem to my Father’. ‘In you, now signifying nothing;†¦ That’s all there is to say. ’ The word ‘nothing’ displays the completeness of the disconnection while ‘all’ connotes an all-consuming idea. Thus when used together create the idea of all-consuming disconnection between the persona and his father. (Can talk about the use of punctuation. Full stop creates finality. )Gray contrasts the elements of nature with human nature in order to show humanity’s intrinsic destructive nature. This juxtaposition reveals the idea of nature destructing for replenishment, whereas humanity destructs subconsciously for satisfaction and self-fulfillment. Consequently the issue highlighted is that of human nature not allowing for complete satisfaction, resulting in a cycle of destruction for both the individual and the environment. Gray’s poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ vividly explores the destruction of the natural environment due to humanity’s actions. ‘It is a man, wiping his eyes. Someone who worked here would have to weep†¦ Knowing all that he does about us, how can he avoid a hatred of men? ’ The imperative and emotive language tugs upon the reader’s heartstrings as the guilt of this man is placed upon the reader. The harsh imagery used earlier in the poem cumulates until this point of the poem, when responsibility is seen through the man’s pain. As a responder to the text, I believe that Gray recognizes this man’s innocence individually, as he tries to help through his work. Yet this man is still seen to be feeling the pain caused by the destruction of the environment, reflecting humanity’s responsibility as a whole and not simply a portion of the population. Gray therefore uses the didactic nature of his work to impart his value placed on the respect and protection of the environment. The selfishness of man is seen in the tenth stanza. ‘This is how it shall be after men have gone. It will be made of things that worked. ’ The future tense of this stanza assists in creating textual integrity and understanding within the poem. No matter the context of the reader, the future tense causes them to reflect upon their actions, furthering Gray’s didacticism within the text. The one phrase reflecting on the past within the stanza however, is ‘made of things that worked’. The idea portrayed by Gray is one of comparison. He compares the things ‘that worked’ – human’s creations which they have dumped – to nature’s creations and processes – things that will continue to work. Thus the comparison used by Gray is effective in exemplifying humanity’s short-term view and ultimately the intrinsic and often subconscious nature of destruction.

Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essays

Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essays Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essay Financing Value Chains a Case of Crdb Bank Plc Essay Essay Topic: Chains â€Å"DEVELOPING AND FINANCING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS† Experience from CRDB Bank Plc Samson Keenja, CRDB Microfinance Services Company Limited, Dar es salaam, Tanzania INTRODUCTION Agriculture is the leading economic sector in Tanzania, providing a livelihood to 80% of the population. It is the primary source of food and raw materials accounting for 50% of the GDP and a leading export sector. It remains important for achieving sustained growth, poverty reduction and rural development. Agriculture in Tanzania is dominated by smallholder farmers (peasants) cultivating an average farm sizes of between 0. 9 hectares and 3. 0 hectares each. About 70 percent of Tanzania’s crop area is cultivated by hand hoe, 20 percent by ox plough and 10 percent by tractor. It is rain fed agriculture. Food crop production dominates the agriculture economy 5. 1 million ha. are cultivated annually, of which 85 percent is under food crops. The major constraints facing the Agriculture sector includes. 1. The falling labour and land productivity due to application of poor technology. 2. Dependence on unreliable and irregular weather conditions. Crops are adversely affected by periodical droughts. 3. Unreliable markets for the farm produce, affected not only by the principles of demand and supply but also by the Government policies on food security. 4. Poor road infrastructure for supply of farm inputs and transportation of farm produce to the markets. In Tanzania, most of production, processing and marketing functions have been assigned to the private sector. : However despite efforts by the private sector in investing in processing of crops yet a substantial amount of crops are sold unprocessed including crops such as cashew nuts and cotton. Agricultural value chains are becoming more complex over time due to change in the market environment driven by various factors among them being changes in demand, regulations, government policies and changes in lifestyles. As a result of these changes then product and market standards change which in turn, require changes from various actors in the chain that supply these products including their inputs to meet arket requirements. A critical input in the business of creating value in these changing agricultural chains is finance. Financial products need to also respond to the changing market requirements in the output markets. Mechanisms in terms of improving effectiveness of financial products, access and repayment need to be examined (Southeast Asian Regional Conference Value Chain Financing, 2007). What is a value chain? In order for a product to reach the consumer or user, there often are many processes or steps involved. Each step must have a direct link to the next in order for the processes to form a viable chain. At each stage, some additional transformation or enhancement is made to the product. Hence, a value chain is often defined as the sequence of value-adding activities, from production to consumption, through processing and commercialization. Value chains, or supply chains, in agriculture can be thought of as a â€Å"farm to fork† set of processes and flows – from the inputs to production to processing, marketing and the consumer. Each segment of a chain has one or more backward and forward linkages. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and hence the stronger the links, the more secure is the flow of products and services within the chain (Calvin Miller and Carlos da Silva, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome) Value chain in summary: [pic] Source: Paper on â€Å"Value Chain Financing in Agriculture† by Calvin Miller and Carlos da Silva FINANCING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS Finance is critical to increasing efficiency, improving product quality, and raising the productivity and income of value chain actors. Without access to finance, small farmers will continue to make little investment, have low of actors in the agricultural value chains financed by CRDB Bank; 1. INPUTS PRODUCTION: AMCOS, FARMER GROUPS, SACCOS, UNIONS and small to medium agribusiness entities. . PROCESSING: CURING COMPANIES, GINNERY COMPANIES and CASHEWNUTS PROCESSORS. 3. DISTRIBUTION: Loans to meet (1) transportation cost of inputs to farmers (2) meeting transport costs of harvested produces to factories, storage areas or market place. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS CRDB Bank has been participating in developing effective agricultural value chains through variety of ways. In an effort to offer better services to our clients, special departments and in other case establishment of a dedicated Company to serve certain type of clients has been established. Our agriculture customers who fall in the value chain are normally segmented in the following categories (1) Microfinance customers (2) SME’s customers and (3) Corporate customers. In all three segments above, efforts are made by the bank into ensuring that there is effective agricultural value chain that address default risks while in turn reduce production unit cost, increase production volume while strives to add value in the chain. Activities that are aimed into attaining this are: ? Engage in promotion and establishment of various farmer cooperative societies such as AMCOS, SACCOS and UNIONS. Provision of technical assistance to these associations ? Assist in product designing ? Infrastructures loans such as for building irrigation system, warehouses and office buildings. ? Training and coaching our customers plus their staffs SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES (SACCOS) are exclusively served by the CRDB Microfinance services Company Ltd, a subsidiary of CRDB Bank P lc that has been established specifically to serve micro-entrepreneurs through financial intermediaries. To develop the MFI the Company undertakes sensitization of the communities to establish microfinance institutions in areas with demand for financial services but without a financial institution. On the other hand, it takes onboard weak local microfinance institutions, building their capacities to offer tailor made products and services that really address the needs of their communities. The Microfinance Institutions, benefits by receiving free: 1. Technical assistance 2. Capacity building 3. Marketing as well as 4. Product design assistance. On the other, hand the Company initiate and manage microfinance loans on behalf of the Bank. These loans include agriculture loans (for farm inputs and cultivation), equipment loans for powertillers, tractors and irrigation systems, stock finance loans and office building loans. The Company has a team of dedicated staffs who are responsible for providing technical assistance to the affiliate intermediary institutions on regular basis, capacity building assistance and marketing assistance. They are also responsible for guiding the MFIs in accessing banks products and services. Farmer’s Groups, AMCOS, UNIONS, Company’s and Individuals engaged in agricultural activities are served by two departments of the Bank depending on their size  and credit requirement. Those departments are the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Corporate Department. Customers served by SME are those with loan requirement of up to TZS 200 million. Customers with loan requirement above that amount are served through the Corporate Department of the bank. It has been realized through experience that capacity building before lending especially to those taking loans for the first time is vital for effective utilization and management of the loans. Therefore, training is conducted to the beneficiaries to improve their entrepreneurial skills but also in business management to ensure loan repayment. . CRDB FINANCING TO DIFFERENT ACTORS [pic] EXAMPLES OF PRODUCT AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CRDB BANK TO ACTORS IN DIFFERENT VALUE CHAINS Examples of products and services offered by CRDB Bank Plc to various agricultural value chains: A) PADDY VALUE CHAIN S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | | | |Powertiller/tractor loans | |2 |Storage |Stock finance loans | |3 |Processing |Loans to millers | |4 |Distribution |Loans to cover transportation costs | | | |Crops purchase loans | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles | B) COFFEE VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | |2 |Processing |Loans to curing companies | |3 |Distribution |Loans to cover transportation costs | | | |Crops purchase loans | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles | | | |Loans to cover export costs (CIF costs to the buying | | | |country) | | | |Crops purchase | C) SUGARCANES VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Farm development loans | | | |Farm maintenance loans | |2 |Harvesting |Loans to purchase harvesting equipments e. g cane loaders | | | |Loans to buy transportation vehicles to ship canes from | | | |farms to factories | |3 |Processing |Loans to sugar factories | |4 |Distribution |Loans under SME to distributors who sells sugar to retailers| D) TOBACCO VALUE CHAIN: S/N |VALUE CHAIN STAGE |PRODUCTS/ SERVICES OFFERED | |1 |Crop production |Inputs purchase loans | |2 |Harvesting |Burns constructions loans | |3 | Processing |Loans to tobacco factories | [pic] SOME NOTED CASES ON IMPACT OF FINANCING THE VALUE CHAINS Sugarcane Financing Bank has been financing sugarcane production in various stages of the value chain from production to delivery at factory. One example is that of financing farmers at Turiani ward in Morogoro region through their TUR SACCOS by providing them with loans for farm development, maintenance and transportation to factory. The result of financing in the past seven years has been remarkable as shown in the table below. It will be noted that between 2007 and 2008 there was a rapid increase in all aspects of production, this was contributed by the decision by the Company to finance farmers (through their group) to purchase grab loaders equipment to facilitate harvesting of sugarcane. As in the previous years, not all sugarcanes from outgrowers farmers were being harvested to due lack of equipment despite higher demand from factory. This was causing farmers to lose their crops and those who harvested late after start of the rain season obtained lower renderment and thus lower returns. |SUGARCANE PRODUCTION TREND AS A RESULT OF SACCOS FINANCING TO OUTGROWERS- TUR SACCOS | |   |   |2002 |2003 | |1 |Price during Harvest (100kgs) |35,000 |100 | |2 |Price at selling time after storage(100kgs) |70,000 | | |5 |Production per acre before WRS (tons) |1. 6 |100 | |6 |Production per acre after WRS (tons) |3 | | SECTOR WISE DISTRIBUTION OF CRDB BANK PLC LOAN PORTFOLIO Agriculture and Livestock constitute the largest portion of the CRDB Bank Loan portfolio with 21%, however by considering financing of the value chain then three sectors will be involved of microfinance, manufacturing/processing and agriculture with a percentage of about 34%. CONCLUSION Through financing the agriculture value chain by considering the different actors from small farmers to corporate agribusinesses it is possible to overcome the challenges o f agriculture in a country. This can only be possible through innovative approaches to serve the different segments by considering their differences in their activities, finance requirements, understanding of farming business and management of loans. It has also been proved beyond doubt that access to finance to the different actors has helped in reducing production unit cost, increase production volume while adding value in the chain. Corporate PHYSICAL FLOWS SME Corporate CRDB Microfinance Corporate CRDB BANK PLC STORAGE AMCOS. GINNERY COMPANIES AND CASHEWNUT PROCESSORS DISTRIBUTION TRANSPORTERS PROCESSING CURING COMPANIES GINNERY COMPANIES AND CASHEWNUT PROCESSORS INPUTS PRODUCTION AMCOS, FARMERS GROUPS, UNIONS, SACCOS, Agribusiness entities CRDB Microfinance SME

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