Established in 2019, Good Smelling Company (GSC) is a butcher and retailer operating in Kayonza District, with four employees and owned by Rutembeza Jean D’amascene (photo). Specialising in poultry and fish, the business has successfully captured a niche market. They offer their clients a diverse range of fish, including tilapia (95%), Thomson (3%) and fish fillet (2%). The butchery is strategically distributing its products to different high-end markets in Kigali, secondary cities and through its own outlets in Kayonza.

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Promoting an Off-taking Contract Model with an SME trader and Smallholder Producers Organized in Cooperatives

This project demonstrated that supporting an SME to increase offtaking capacity through efficient contract farming models to satisfy high market demand for fish can be an effective driver of market growth for smallholder fish farmer cooperatives.  

Before the CASA partnership, GSC had capacity to supply 90 kg of fish twice a week collected by motorbike and mostly transported in the boot of the family car, which was the main constraint – it could not carry enough to meet growing demand. The owner Jean Damascene had a vision to get a cold truck to increase his capacity but was unable to get a bank loan due to existing but manageable debts. 

Through this 12-month project (September 2024 – October 2025), with a total cost of £68,200, CASA contributed£43,868 in technical assistance and a grant of £11,400 towards the cold truck purchase. With this technical assistance, GSC developed a business case to work with more cooperatives in a more organised manner using an offtaking contract model, with transparent and stable pricing to safeguard their supply chain. Fiduciary management training and the introduction of improved bookkeeping practices enabled Jean Damascene to keep abreast of his supply and demand. A marketing, branding and distribution plan was also supported to guide future growth. Since the bank could not lend for the cold truck, CASA gave a matching grant that was costed as if it were a commercial loan and showed a healthy cashflow for the business. CASA also assisted with a contractual advisor to mobilise over 20 cooperatives and design the offtaking contracts. 

GSC has contracted ten cooperatives so far with membership of 1,762 farmers and is sourcing 2,400 kg a week from 9,409 farmers altogether, with more of their cooperatives pending the signing of supply contracts, their confidence boosted when the cold truck rolls up at their ponds. The cooperatives have gained a stable and reliable market that buys from them with a predictable price, and CASA’s outcome assessment found that fish farmers are already realising a net additional annual income of £166.

GSC plans to expand their market to other provinces in the future by investing retained profits. GSC also proposes reward systems such as price premiums for high-quality produce, loyalty bonuses for consistent suppliers, advance payments or input credit tied to delivery agreements to SMEs willing to engage in offtaking arrangements with farmers. These incentives reduce side-selling and strengthen long-term relationships.

Updated: March 2026