Pro Poor Value Chain Development

The numbers surrounding the world coconut industry are substantial – 55,500,000,000 coconuts produced every year from 12,000,000 hectares supporting an industry worth USD 6 billion at wholesale. Yet despite the size and wealth of the industry most coconut growers are among the poorest in their society and over 1 million tonnes of coconut dust are dumped into the environment every year.
The Mekong Delta is one of the major coconut production region with Ben Tre province, Vietnam is the heart of the industry. This study aims to provide evidence of the current state of the global coconut industry and assess regional and local competitiveness. The study in particular examines specific opportunities for the industry’s future sustainable development in Ben Tre, through which help lifting tens of thousands of people out of poverty and reducing negative impacts on the environment.

The vast majority of people living along the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC) are involved in the agricultural sector. A dependency on subsistence agriculture using traditional farming methods that rely on expensive pesticides has caused many households to be economically impoverished. Farmers often lack knowledge about alternative farming techniques that use less expensive inputs and farming techniques. At the same time, most households are unaware of markets beyond their immediate surroundings, and have little or no knowledge about broader national or international market opportunities. There is also a lack of pricing information, technologies, certification, branding, and linkages along the value chain for processing, packaging and marketing.

The value chain approach is an effective way to better understand the wider context of primary agricultural activities. Its application to organic vegetable production can help farmers connect to markets by showing how downstream linkages and different types of interventions can add value to their production activities.

This booklet provides a practitioner’s guide to the organic vegetables value chain, with particular emphasis on its application in the EWEC. It offers an integrated approach to what is now the fastest growing segment of agriculture, namely, organic vegetables. Its application to the EWEC can take advantage of the areas’ agricultural resource-based activities and the Corridor’s time and cost-effective way of moving products to markets.

The 2009 global economic crisis has significantly impacted international tourism, causing a decline in international tourist arrivals and international tourism revenues. This study looks into the effects of the decrease in international tourism demand on the employment, income opportunities and the livelihood of poor and vulnerable groups, as well as on the capacity of households to cope with such shocks. The report combines a comparative large-N macro-economic analysis with case studies on the Maldives, Costa Rica and Tanzania.

Indian society is highly stratified on caste lines, with the national Constitution recognizing indigenous tribes and four broad caste types. The lowest of these, ‘Scheduled Castes’, account for 16.5 percent of the population, and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ for 8 percent, but both together represent 42 percent of the poor. Affirmative action for these categories and for women (such as the ‘reservation’ of a proportion of seats on elected bodies), whilst potentially pro-poor, is conceptually and operationally distinct from the range of other poverty and food security focused measures taken by government.

This study was designed to identify factors affecting coffee productivity in Daro Labu district of West Hararghe Zone of Ethiopia. The study was based on data generated from 120 coffee producers selected based on simple randomly sampling technique. Descriptive statistics was employed in the process of examining and describing farm household characteristics. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used to identify and estimate the effects of socioeconomic factors on coffee productivity. Results obtained from the model indicated that among the explanatory variables included in the model; fertilizer, coffee farm size, family labor, coffee farming experience, land allocated for Khat were found to be statistically significant factors affecting coffee productivity. Among the significant variables except land allocated for Khat other variables were found to be positively related to coffee productivity.

PROPOSAL MAKAN SANTRI RAMADHAN 1436H- AYO TINGKATKAN NILAI IBADAH KITA
"Barangsiapa memberi makan kepada orang yang berpuasa maka baginya seperti pahala orang yang berpuasa itu tanpa mengurangi sedikitpun dari pahalanya. " (HR. Ahmad dan At-Tirmidzi).

Aims: To provide empirical evidence on the determinants of access to extension services in Northern Ghana. Study Design: Cross sectional. Place and Duration of Study: Kumbungu and Sagnarigu Districts of the Northern region; Builsa North and Pusiga Districts of the Upper East; Wa West and Jirapa-Lambussie Districts of the Upper West and Tain and Nkoranza South Districts of the Brong Ahafo regions. The study was conducted in thew 2012/2013 cropping season. Methodology: We employ a logistic regression model on a data from 320 women which was obtained by multi-stage sampling procedure. Results: Our results show that the major determinants of extension access include the square of 2 age, farm size, group membership, time spent on the farm and access to fertilizer. Conclusion: Our results thus, confirmed the importance of the personal and household attributes, farm/plot characteristics, socioeconomic and institutional factors in accessing extension services. We therefore call for formation of women's groups to improve their access to extension services.

The present study maps the organic vegetables value chain in the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC). It covers horizontal and vertical linkages, information and support services, price differentials, and packaging, branding and certification processes in an effort to identify strengths and challenges for an action plan in the value chain. In so doing, it supports the transformation of the EWEC from a transport and logistics corridor into a full-fledged economic corridor. After more than a decade in the making, the EWEC now offers time and cost-efficient transport linkages between major commercial centers and gateways to markets within and outside the corridor. By broadening the scope of the EWEC into value chains whose activities extend across districts, provinces, subregions and global markets, the economic corridor will enable households and enterprises of all sizes to better link their actions with value-adding downstream activities.

Se estudiaron los diversos factores exógenos y endógenos que vienen incidiendo en el desempeño de la cooperativa CACAONICA, con la finalidad de poder establecer pautas que le permitan mejorar su posicionamiento y gobernanza dentro de la cadena en la que participa. Se recopiló información primaria a través de la aplicación de cuestionarios a productores (n=70), entrevistas semiestructuradas a los actores claves de la cadena (n=17) y 4 talleres participativos con un grupo focal conformado por 18 personas involucradas directamente con el desempeño de la organización.

This pre-feasibility study on Sarawak-West Kalimantan cross-border value chains covers six topics: It analyzes existing trade patterns and competitive advantages of Sarawak and West Kalimantan, as well as government objectives in promoting cross-border commercial activities. It proposes a border economic area spread over a wide geographic area that covers a network of interrelated activities and provides a fully integrated approach to the border economic area design and implementation. It identifies potential cross-border value chains that can serve as high-profile projects for the border economic area. It determines the preference orderings of project features by key stakeholders such as government and development partners, commercial entities, and the local population. It estimates the net monetary returns for the project portfolio, a cost-effectiveness analysis of the stand-alone capacity-building projects, ranks stakeholders’ non-monetary preferences, and incorporates the the pr...

Smallholder farmers have difficulties entering established value chains with value-added products. In this paper, we look at smallholders’ capability to establish and sustainably manage a competitive and economically viable local dairy value chain through the case of Twawose, a small dairy goat co-operative in Tanzania. The analysis uses a value chain approach as a frame-work to identify the possibilities for upgrading and the determinants of competitiveness in value chains in which smallholder farmers can participate. Results highlight the benefits Twawose participants receive, but caution that a multitude of constraints could impede scaling-up in the future.

Though, there are some empirical studies conducted on agricultural value chains in Ethiopia, it is rational to exhaustively and specifically review and update the finding of different author's value chain analysis works. In line with this justification we could outline the gaps on selected cereal crops value chain. The objective of conducting a value chain analysis for a proposed subsector, commodity or product is to single out areas of possible performance improvement and consequently design research proposals and custom-tailored projects. Therefore, the general objectives of the paper were to review cereal crop value chain analysis in Ethiopia. To develop this seminar document, secondary information and findings collected from various databases, were reviewed rephrased and organized. In line with bottlenecks in the Wheat, Barley and Teff value chain, interventions implication was drown. Primarily, the availability and quality of seeds and inputs needs to be improved through investments in breeding, agronomic research, and mechanization, best agronomic practices need to be adopted by, in order to improve value chain efficiency and reduce consumer prices SMHF should be aggregated. Specifically, the review implies value addition opportunities for Teff should be increased, both by expanding the existing commercial production of flour and Injera, as well as developing new Teff based products in the food industry or opening up the export markets. The empirical review concluded the relevance and requirements of interventions in the area of agricultural research and institutional innovations to increase flow of information to farmers in fostering increased market participation and agricultural development.

This article reviews two books on value chain research against the background of the outcome document from the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD3) convened by the United Nations in 2015. The books – compilations of papers on Value Chains, Social Inclusion and Economic Development: Contrasting Theories and Realities (Helmsing and Vellema, 2011) and Markets and Rural Poverty: Upgrading in Value Chains (Mitchell and Coles, 2011) – and the FFD3 document all share similar themes on the pursuit of economic development in an environmentally sustainable and socially just manner. However, most contributions in both books as well as the FFD3 process stop short of acknowledging the influence of political economy on their debates, which this review argues must be incorporated to better understand the asymmetries of power distribution. This is crucial in order to formulate clear strategies that can adequately address development issues pertinent to developing regions such as Southeast Asia.

Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) is a development methodology that aims to use tourism as a tool for poverty reduction. PPT has been adopted by multilateral institutions, official development agencies, and NGOs. PPT assumes an absolute definition of poverty that is based on net income. This definition allows the consideration of a tourism initiative as “pro-poor” even though the income earned by the poor population may be marginal. This article analyses whether PPT’s concept of poverty adequately addresses the issues in rural poverty. We analyse one case of unequal distribution of income generated from tourism in the 1990s (Amantaní Island, Perú). The article concludes that PPT’s concept of poverty circumvents the fact that an unequal distribution of income could imply a loss in the quality of life for the majority of a rural population: the high-income social sector tends to increase its economic and political power to the detriment of other social sectors.

Crop diversification is the most important risk management strategy. The study investigated the pattern, trend and covariates of crop diversification in eastern Ethiopia based on data collected from 167 households randomly and proportionately selected. In order to manage risks of drought, pests and diseases, soil fertility decline and input prices variations, farmers in the study areas employ crop diversification as a self-insuring
strategy. The farmers are becoming risk-averse which has implications on technology adoption. Tobit model result indicated that farmers with more extension contacts and larger livestock size are likely to specialize whereas those who have access to market information and irrigation, those who own machinery and more number of farm plots are more likely to diversify. In order to promote crop diversification, providing farm machinery through easy loans and improving access to market information and irrigation should be given attention. The extension system should include risk-minimization as a strategy.

Critical scholarship on geographical indications (GIs) has increasingly focused upon their role in fostering development in the Global South. Recent work has drawn welcome attention to issues of governance and sparked new debates about the role of the state in GI regulation. We argue that this new emphasis needs to be coupled with a greater focus upon local social relations of power and interlinked issues of social justice. Rather than see GI regimes as apolitical technical administrative frameworks, we argue that they govern emerging public goods that should be forged to redress extant forms of social inequality and foster the inclusion of marginalized actors in commodity value chains. In many areas of the world, this will entail close attention to the historical specificities of colonial labor relations and their neocolonial legacies, which have entrenched conditions of racialized and gendered dispossession, particularly in plantation economies. Using examples from South Africa and South Asia, we illustrate how GIs conventionally reify territories in a fashion that obscures and/or naturalizes exploitative conditions of labor and unequal access to land based resources, which are legacies of historical disenfranchisement. Like other forms of neoliberal governmentality that support private governance for public ends, however, GIs might be shaped to support new forms of social justice. We show how issues of labor and place-based livelihoods increasingly influence new policy directions within Fair Trade agendas while concerns with " decolonizing " agricultural governance now animate certification initiatives emerging from new social movements. Both initiatives provide models for shaping the governance and regulation of GIs in projects of rural territorial development that encompass principles of rights-based development to further social movements for rural social justice.

This Evidence Report examines the potential for and limitations of promoting business and market-based approaches to reducing undernutrition through increasing the availability and accessibility of nutrient-rich foods for the undernourished.

There is an increasing emphasis by development agencies on the benefits of involving the private sector in strategies to increase food production and consumption and tackle undernutrition. Recognising this trend, the report analyses the effectiveness of market-based approaches in meeting the challenge of micronutrient malnutrition through the provision of nutrient-rich foods to populations at risk of undernourishment.

By examining how markets in particular countries operate in practice, the report identifies the situations where market-based approaches are likely to be successful in producing sustainable and effective reductions in undernutrition, and also where they are not. It identifies where there are potentially good returns to promoting markets and the private sector, and where these need to be complemented by alternative approaches in order to provide comprehensive access to nutrient-rich foods. It is based on work carried out in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa – Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania – complemented by a review of the literature on food market nutrition.

This paper outlines the application of Systems Thinking in investigating ways to improve the returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The paper illustrates how a systems approach was used in the conceptualisation of the project and how systems thinking facilitated a shared understanding of the how each individual's research contributed to the broader project activities. Systems Thinking has also been used in the design and implementation of various project activities. Three examples are provided. The first ...

Many contemporary development solutions and policy prescriptions place emphasis on the potential for closer integration of poor people or areas with global markets. But the prospects for the reduct-ion of chronic poverty depend in great measure on the nature of the broader economic processes that, according to how they are configured, can either exacerbate or alleviate poverty. These pro-spects also depend on the forms of local economic growth that impact on the lives of the poor. Since the mid 1990s, a literature has emerged on value chains that has helped increase our understanding of how firms and farms in developing countries are integrated in global markets. Studies using the global value chain approach examine different types of value chain governance and the opportunities they provide for technological or functional upgrading of traders and producers in developing countries. But few value chain studies have succeeded in explicitly documenting the impact of value chain activities on poverty, gender and the environment.
In this light, the paper develops a conceptual framework that can help overcome the shortcomings highlighted so far in ‘stand-alone’ value chain, livelihoods and environmental analyses by integrating the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ aspects of value chains that affect poverty and sustainability. This framework is used to draw lessons for external interventions in value chains targeted at small pro-ducers and other weak actors in developing countries, particularly the kinds of interventions known as ‘action research’ which puts emphasis on strategic and political approaches to achieving sustained improvements for disadvantaged groups.
A companion paper to the present one develops a strategic framework and practical methods to guide action research in value chains (Riisgaard et al., 2008). The entire methodology will be tested during 2008-09 by seven action research projects targeted at poor rural producers in Africa and Asia. All projects form part of the Rural Poverty and Environment programme of the International Development Research Centre and are carried out as part of the RPE research theme “integrate poverty and environmental concerns into value chain analysis” under the guidance of the Overseas Development Institute, London.

The transition from subsistence to commercial production poses uncertainty and risks that require putting in place adaptive systems. Such systems are imperative for agricultural production where weather and food markets are always changing. Disregarding risk factors has a cumulative negative impact on the intended outcomes. The marginality of smallholder farmers’ operational environment renders them limited to strive without government interventions. Research has proven that smallholder farmers face numerous challenges in vegetable value chains. The study sought to identify and characterize smallholder growers risk factors when producing for this value chain. A sequential mixed-method research design was adopted, and data collected from fifty-eight growers
from three producer groups in the Manzini and Hhohho regions. Discriminant analysis validated the heterogeneity of respondents using the experience on risk factors. The growers were significantly affected by market and production risks. The clustered growers had a high probability of losses in the value of the harvest whereas the private growers had a high probability of yield changes. Fruit size and postharvest handling contributed to changes in the value of the harvest. An improved cold
chain system could enable symmetry in the harvest scheduling and grade information as well as prompt payments. Interventions toward enabling access and use of quality farm inputs would curb yield variations. Future research could quantify yield losses at each stage of postharvest handling
toward informing the risk management strategy.
Keywords: smallholder farming; risk factor; heterogeneity; enterprise; market; production

This paper disaggregates two social business models for development, namely Base of the Pyramid models and Inclusive Business models, with particular attention to the extent of
theoretical differences and similarities between the two. It also explores how the two social business models’ theoretical variances in state and market regulation, development and value
offer affect approaches to interacting with low income segments of populations and poverty reduction. To do this, the work uses secondary scholarly sources and grey literature to conduct a theoretical understanding of each approach. Through theoretical exploration, Base of the Pyramid and Inclusive Business models are different to the extent they support different concepts of state/market regulation, different theories of development, and different approaches to offering value to the low-income segments of a population. They are similar to the extent they both require creation of “ecosystems” with government, multilateral
organisations, non-governmental organisations, local grassroots organisations, development organisations and academia to operate in emerging markets. I posit this similarity is due to
the nature of institutional voids in the emerging markets in which both types of social businesses operate. It then uses publicly available secondary sources and primary research conducted via interviews and online surveys to examine six typological case studies: three firms with Base of the Pyramid models (Ajinomoto Inc., Provive and Water Health India) and three firms with Inclusive Business models (Botanica Natural Products, Ltd., Corporación
Favorita and Taze&Kuru Foods Inc). The case studies highlight some unexpected variations from theoretical understandings of the two approaches, and generally confirm the need for
semantic, theoretical and practical distinctions between Base of the Pyramid and Inclusive Business models.

This study was designed to identify factors affecting coffee productivity in Daro Labu district of West Hararghe Zone of Ethiopia. The study was based on data generated from 120 coffee producers selected based on simple randomly sampling technique. Descriptive statistics was employed in the process of examining and describing farm household characteristics. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used to identify and estimate the effects of socioeconomic factors on coffee productivity. Results obtained from the model indicated that among the explanatory variables included in the model; fertilizer, coffee farm size, family labor, coffee farming experience, land allocated for Khat were found to be statistically significant factors affecting coffee productivity. Among the significant variables except land allocated for Khat other variables were found to be positively related to coffee productivity.

This practitioner paper reflects on the mistakes that most emerging economies make when planning to grow tourism, as they fail to invest in the most creative, caring, responsible and capable segment of their population. It offers an alternative and holistic model to empowering women, which mixes mindfulness, responsible tourism and business (market access) training. It is about growing women and their business to celebrate them in their 'fabulousness'.

There is an urgent need to reduce alarming rates of undernutrition in Tanzania. This report analyses options for policies and interventions to improve the functioning of markets that deliver nutrient-dense foods. Currently, a set of constraints inhibit businesses from making nutrient-dense foods that reach the poor. These constraints affect businesses across the spectrum, from small enterprises to large corporations, and impact on a range of food products. This report examines the case for why government and development actors in Tanzania should act to overcome these constraints. It asks how these actors might intervene by looking at five broad strategies, including various forms of regulation and public–private partnership. While no single strategy can address all the constraints completely, different interventions can address some of them and benefit certain populations.

Far too often, global supply chains distribute value in ways that contribute to income inequality and the uneven accumulation of wealth. Despite a surge of innovations to address this problem— such as fair trade, corporate social responsibility, and creating shared value—the issue of value distribution persists as a pressing priority for the international development and business communities. This article puts forth a first attempt at theorizing profit sharing as a potential mechanism for more equitable value distribution in global value chains. Drawing on two in-depth, multi-method case studies of companies that share profits in the coffee sector, we develop eight theoretical propositions about the applicability and efficacy of profit sharing as a tool for redistribution. Our research suggests that profit sharing can distribute value without requiring suppliers to compromise price stability, profit maximization, value creation, or alternative economic opportunities. This conclusion challenges extant theory which asserts (based on studies of fair trade certification, direct trade, and solidarity trade) that these tradeoffs are typically necessary or inevitable. We also extend the literature on profit sharing. Extant literature examines firm-level attempts to maximize productivity and minimize dissent. We contribute by theorizing profit sharing’s fitness for redistributive objectives in the context of value chains. The implication of our findings is that, in some contexts, companies may be able to increase prices and improve income stability without requiring suppliers to compromise other economic priorities.

The study describes four clusters for organic vegetables along the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC). These clusters have three goals: (a) to foster the conversion of conventional agricultural farming to organic production, and thereby enable the generation of high value-added activities; (b) to promote linkages among micro and small scale producers, and thereby improve their competitive position within the value chain; and (c) to spur the development of agricultural activities affecting the majority of the EWEC population either directly or indirectly, and thereby enable the transformation of the EWEC transport and logistics corridor into a full-fledged economic corridor.

This paper outlines the application of systems thinking in investigating ways to improve the returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The paper illustrates how a systems approach was used in the conceptualisation of the project and how systems thinking facilitated a shared understanding of the how each individual’s research contributed to the broader project activities. Systems thinking has also been used in the design and implementation of various project activities. Three examples are provided. The first example illustrates how a systems diagram was developed which outlined the direct and indirect linkages between biophysical data on tree farms and various activities designed to increase returns. The second example illustrates how the suggested approach for improving the flow of information concerning tree registration, harvest and transportation regulations and approval mechanisms link with various project activities and have been informed by a series of action res...

IDS is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 877338). The IDS programme on Strengthening Evidence-based Policy works across seven key themes. Each theme works with partner institutions to co-construct policy-relevant knowledge and engage in policy-influencing processes. This material has been developed under the Reducing Hunger and Undernutrition theme. The material has been funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government's official policies.

This paper outlines the application of Systems Thinking in investigating ways to improve the returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The paper illustrates how a systems approach was used in the conceptualisation of the project and how systems thinking facilitated a shared understanding of the how each individual's research contributed to the broader project activities. Systems Thinking has also been used in the design and implementation of various project activities. Three examples are provided. The first ...

Without the right employees, companies cannot operate effectively or efficiently. Employer Branding is a tool used for companies to build a brand for themselves as a place to work for, and Employer Attractiveness is the benefits shown that a potential employee will receive for that company. Although proven as useful, our knowledge of Employer Attractiveness has been insufficient globally and practically nonexistent in Thailand, especially when it comes to the study of a generational perspective. This study aims to investigate the factors, which consist of Application Value, Development Value, Economic Value, Reputation Value, Social Value, Work Diversity Value, and Working Environment influencing Employer Attractiveness for Generation Z in Bangkok, Thailand, the demographic factors’ influence is tested as well. 407 responses were collected from online questionnaires distributed through convenience sampling to be analyzed using Multiple Linear Regression, ANOVA, and Independent Sampl...

Whether market liberalisation can promote agricultural development in Africa depends on how well existing institutions can facilitate trade by private agents. This article assesses the performance of the Tanzania coffee marketing system after liberalisation and the emergence of private, vertically integrated exporters (VIEs).

Critical scholarship on geographical indications (GIs) has increasingly focused upon their role in fostering development in the Global South. Recent work has drawn welcome attention to issues of governance and sparked new debates about the role of the state in GI regulation. We argue that this new emphasis needs to be coupled with a greater focus upon local social relations of power and interlinked issues of social justice. Rather than see GI regimes as apolitical technical administrative frameworks, we argue that they govern emerging public goods that should be forged to redress extant forms of social inequality and foster the inclusion of marginalized actors in commodity value chains. In many areas of the world, this will entail close attention to the historical specificities of colonial labor relations and their neocolonial legacies, which have entrenched conditions of racialized and gendered dispossession, particularly in plantation economies. Using examples from South Africa an...

There is an urgent need to reduce alarming rates of undernutrition in Tanzania. This report analyses options for policies and interventions to improve the functioning of markets that deliver nutrient-dense foods. Currently, a set of constraints inhibit businesses from making nutrient-dense foods that reach the poor. These constraints affect businesses across the spectrum, from small enterprises to large corporations, and impact on a range of food products. This report examines the case for why government and development actors in Tanzania should act to overcome these constraints. It asks how these actors might intervene by looking at five broad strategies, including various forms of regulation and public–private partnership. While no single strategy can address all the constraints completely, different interventions can address some of them and benefit certain populations.

The concepts like 'value chain development (VCD)' or 'Market Development (MD)' were often promoted as implementation approach in development project to identify overall constraints that were hindering more production and income generating potential among beneficiaries. NGOs and development organizations adopted VCD as approach and picked potential products or services that can, not only ensure more profit to beneficiaries but also make the process self-sustaining. There is need to understand these concepts.

The central theme of this article is that the usual Shannon’s entropy [1] is not sufficient to address the unknown Gaussian population average. A remedy is necessary. By peeling away entropy junkies, a refined version is introduced and it is named nucleus entropy in this article. Statistical properties and advantages of the Gaussian nucleus entropy are derived and utilized to interpret 2005 and 2007 waste disposals (in 1,000 tons) by fifty-one states (including the District of Columbia) in USA. Each state generates its own, imports from a state for a revenue, and exports to another state with a payment waste disposal [2]. Nucleus entropy is large when the population average is large and/or when the population variance is lesser. Nucleus entropy advocates the significance of the waste policies under four scenarios: (1) keep only generated, (2) keep generated with receiving in and shipping out, (3) without receiving in, and (4) without shipping out. In the end, a few recommendations are suggested for the waste management policy makers