Newsletter No 5 · 2019-01-27 · value-chains in Africa, generating an estimat-ed 70 percent...
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Newsletter No 5 December 2018
E D I T O R I A L
Dear Readers,
With the New Year around the corner,
implementing agencies of the ACP-EU Com-
modity Programme (CP) are busy complet-
ing activities or actually closing down their
component of the programme. It is there-
fore timely to take stock of what has been
achieved, and to gauge the impact of the CP
in the 36 beneficiary countries. This is what
the articles of the final issue of the CP News-
letter seek to do, albeit in brief.
You will remember that this intra-ACP
programme, started in 2014, with resources
from the 10th European Development Fund -
EDF 10) covers the cocoa value chain in
West and Central Africa; the coconut sector
of the Caribbean and Pacific regions; as well
as the root/tubers value chains in several
African countries. It was designed to im-
prove the competitiveness of small produc-
ers engaged in those value chains through
regional integration of markets and the in-
tensification of production. Other objectives
included better access to finance, infor-
mation services and risk management in-
struments, particularly as regards climate
and market risks.
The picture that emerges from the ar-
ticles, and from the presentations at the
CP’s last Steering Committee, is that the
targeted VCs are now better integrated, with
stronger links along the segments as a re-
sult of the capacity-building initiatives and
linkage efforts undertaken under the differ-
ent components of the CP. Deeper integra-
tion results in lower risks and better condi-
tions for investment at different points of
The Caribbean Coconut Industry
Development Project is the result of collaboration
between the ACP Secretariat, the European Union,
International Trade Centre (ITC) and the
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development
Institute (CARDI). It aimed to revitalise the
industry in the Caribbean region so as to draw
benefits from the rise in global demand for
coconut products. The project is now completed
and the present article outlines some of its major
results and impact on the ground.
To respond to challenges and opportunities,
ITC and CARDI have implemented the project
through “Alliances for Action”: a participatory
partnership model that engages smallholder
farmers and MSMEs in order to manage risk and
facilitate networks that provide the required
technical expertise, capacity building, and targets
catalytical investment to address value-chain
challenges. A common strategy is to combine
coconut tree planting with other crops and value-
added products that can provide stable income
stream.
(To be continued on page 3)
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the value chain. The increase in planned in-
vestment in the Caribbean coconut sector is
thus particularly impressive.
VC integration rests on partnerships, as
also underlined in the case of the Pacific coco-
nut sector. To leverage on resources put at its
disposal through the intra-ACP envelope, the
region has mobilized expertise from other
partners such as the Asian and Pacific Coconut
Community (APCC). Over 200 coconut stake-
holders across the region have benefited from
support in value chain analysis; production
improvement and intensification; organic cer-
tification and plantation management; pest
and disease management and E Marketing of
coconut products. Pilot projects are underway
to test innovative solutions in terms of pro-
cessing efficiency, diversification or export
strategies.
The programme has also achieved com-
mendable results as regards roots and tubers
value-chains in Africa, generating an estimat-
ed 70 percent increase in the output of benefi-
ciary farmers. Enhancement of business skills
of women cassava producers has led to in-
creased supply, including to the regional mar-
kets, thereby creating jobs for youth. Access
to finance has also been improved, if margin-
ally, as a result of tailored activities based on
prior gap analysis.
The Cocoa Food Link component in West
and Central Africa has relied on local partners
as well to reach out to some 120 000 produc-
ers in the five beneficiary countries. The ap-
proach combining Farmer Business School
(FBC)/Cooperative Business School (CBS) and
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), coupled
with an enhancement of the diversification of
production, has increased productivity, while
also enhancing the credit-worthiness of
trained farmers, easing their access to fi-
nance. Despite unfavorable world prices,
farmers’ revenue has increased in all but one
country. And as an insurance against cocoa
price fluctuations, the entrepreneurial skills
instilled in farmers have encouraged a larger
number of them to diversify their output, con-
tributing in so doing to greater food security
and better nutrition.
(From page 1)
With the Commodities Programme com-
ing to an end, specific attention will be paid to
consolidating all the lessons learned, tools and
deliverables into a Knowledge Management
Platform, so that new projects and pro-
grammes can benefit from this wealth of infor-
mation. Business ACP has been entrusted with
this particular task, in consultation with the
Implementing Agencies concerned.
Allow me to end by thanking all those
who have contributed to the successful imple-
mentation of this programme, and in particular
the implementing agencies, namely, FAO, GIZ,
ITC supported by CARDI, and SPC. My thanks
are extended to all people and agencies in the
ACP countries concerned who, thanks to their
commitment and motivation, managed to
translate objectives into tangible results. Our
future interventions, notably under the New
Approach, will undoubtedly build on the
achievements of the CP.
Viwanou GNASSOUNOU
Assistant Secretary General
Sustainable Economic Development
and Trade
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The goal of the approach is to spark the
interest of existing and potential stakeholders
of the Caribbean Coconut Industry, at all levels
of the value chain, and motivate them to
breathe new life into it, to attract investment
and contribute to the region’s economic
development and improvement of livelihoods.
To achieve that goal, the following has
been implemented: farmers have been trained
on a variety of sustainable farming techniques
for coconut production. They have learned to
establish climate smart farming systems that
will enable them to be more resilient to climate
change effects, increase their production,
diversify their crops and income streams and
improve their livelihoods.
Additionally, agro-processors have been
linked with smallholder farmers, and have
been trained on quality control and
international food safety standards, as well as
waste-reducing, efficiency-increasing lean
production methods. Trainings on marketing
and packaging techniques catering to current
market trends have also been successfully
implemented.
Capacity of support institutions, including
lenders, agricultural research and extension
services and government ministries has been
enhanced resulting in improved governance, a
business-enabled environment for small-scale
farmers and SMEs and improved access to
funds and financing.
The project has succeeded in sparking
strategic partnerships and increasing
smallholder farmer representation in National
Stakeholder Platforms, , resulting in concrete
investments, inclusive decision-making and
improved sector governance.
The project has also generated traction
for the development of the coconut industry
in the Caribbean region, improved sector
governance, disseminated market information
and provided technical expertise and capacity
building (reaching over 1,700 farmers/SMEs).
This has helped de-risk and attract
investment in the sector, with tangible results
and solid foundations laid for future
development.
Financial and economic
assessments in Jamaica issued by the
project estimate a staggering return on
investment: a 40-year investment of
USD 400 million, could generate
internal rate returns of up to 26%,
creating 10,631 direct jobs and
reaching 40,000 smallholder farmers
locally – contributing to almost USD
300 million in exports and USD 14
million in tax revenue per year.
For a closer look at the people and
organisations positively impacted by this
project, you may access videos which tell
their stories in the Alliances for Action
Facebook group dedicated to the Coconut
Industry Development for the Caribbean:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/
alliances4caribbeancoconut/.
Visit our Instagram account
@alliances4action for more stories from the
field.
POTENTIAL INVESTMENT IMPACT
22.000.000 USD potential investment in Ja-maica on processing value added products & nursery development;
16.000.000 USD in Guyana on processing facil-ities and product development (coconut oil, desiccated coconut, charcoal & coco peat);
5.000.000 USD in the Dominican Republic on
nursery & product development (fresh & pro-
cessed coconut water, coconut milk, coconut
cream, piña colada and cakes).
(From page 1)
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The Coconut Industry Development of
the Pacific (CIDP) component of the EU-
funded ACP Commodities Programme will
run until early 2019 to make up for a de-
layed start. Significant progress towards set
objectives has nevertheless been made.
Thus, over 200 value chain stakehold-
ers, have benefited from training in value
chain analysis; coconut production im-
provement and intensification; organic cer-
tification and plantation management; pest
and disease management and E Marketing
of coconut products. The plantation man-
agement training was offered in partnership
with the Asian and Pacific Coconut Commu-
nity (APCC) and the Sri Lanka Institute for
Coconut research and Development.
CIDP has also worked with Pacific
Trade Invest (PTI) to support participation
in the important Fine Foods Trade show in
Australia, a valuable experience which not
only provided market connections for par-
ticipants but re-enforced the importance of
understanding markets demands and
trends.
To further support ongoing capacity
building and intensification of production
CIDP has made 43 relevant training materi-
als and programmes available through a
central portal hosted by the Pacific Island
Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO)
(http://www.pipso.org.fj/resources/training
-manuals/processing-manual-virgin-coconut
-oil-products-products-pacific-island-
countries-territories/ ).
Additionally, training manuals devel-
oped by CIDP on Plantation Management
and Pest and Disease management for co-
conut plantations can be accessed through
the web link:
http://replantcoconut.blogspot.com/ and
http://coconutpests.org/.
Recognising the issues around senility of
coconuts in the Pacific and the need for large
scale and ongoing replanting, seed systems
have been designed for the Cook Islands, Ton-
ga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa and
Vanuatu.
The CIDP Pacific Coconut Sector Value
Chain Workshop in July 2017 brought together
67 participants from 15 Pacific Island coun-
tries, as well as key representatives from the
Caribbean and South Asia. A key out-come of
this workshop was to identify coconut value
chains that were thought to be, based on a
market assessment, the most beneficial and
relevant to the Pacific. The value chains select-
ed for study were domestic VCO; small scale,
high quality copra oil; and coconut timber ve-
neer.
Understanding and documenting the val-
ue chains has provided a road map for inves-
tors and other stakeholders such as the public
sector to support the development of these
value chains to the benefit of small holder pro-
ducers. Examples of such impact include:
• a small scale VCO producer in Rabi Island
Fiji utilising the value chain study to gain
support from local government to im-
prove the road to her factory and to pro-
vide a generator for the factory which
had previously relied on a village genera-
tor that was frequently under repair.
• understanding the value chain has also
allowed a Solomon Islands entrepreneur
to have conversations with her suppliers
about pricing leading to more consistent
supply and contributing to their ability to
meet new markets.
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The purpose of this programme com-
ponent implemented by FAO has been to to
support and improve the commercialization
of cassava, yam and Irish potato crops in
Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire,
Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda, so as to en-
hance the livelihoods of small producers
and processors engaged in these value
chains. With the project closing down next
April, after around 4 years of implementa-
tion, the results show that the project not
only strengthened the overall roots and tu-
bers (R&T) value chains in the targeted
countries, but it also brought concrete
changes in the lives of small cassava, yam
and potato producers and processors.
Thus, the project provided 9,644
farmers with a broad range of trainings
covering – among others - issues related to
the adoption of environmentally sound ag-
ronomic practices, input use-efficiency, nat-
ural resource management, control of biotic
stress agents using the Farmer Field
Schools (FFS approach) and on-farm
demonstration trials. This resulted in an
increase of 70 percent in production and
land harvested, as well as 100 percent
higher productivity for small cassava, pota-
to and yam farmers since 2016.
Cassava Farmer supported by the project in Zomba, Malawi ©FAO/Margherita Bavagnoli
• the study on coconut veneer has resulted
into a proposal to the Australian Centre
for International Agricultural Research on
an applied research project to resolve is-
sues that are restraining investment in
the value chain.
CIDP is also supporting six Pilot projects
in Samoa and Vanuatu, providing equipment
and technical support. The project provides
equipment such as deodoriser, packaging
equipment, centrifuge, bottling plants, VCO
equipment, tractors etc. to help in process effi-
ciency and diversification. Lessons to be drawn
from their implementation will surely contribute
to improved processing efficiency and value-
added diversification, besides assisting the
penetration of new markets and promoting
sustainable replanting.
For more information, visit https://
lrd.spc.int/coconut-industry-development-for-
the-pacific
(To be continued on page 6)
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ganizations (total of USD 698,000); and 3
new financial products were developed spe-
cifically for cassava and potato processors.
The savings of the members of the Kirundo
Potato Growers Cooperative, in Uganda, are
among the 18,000 USD saved under FFS
schemes supported by the project. With the
financial and business skills acquired, the
group is managing to diversify its business,
making significant profits and it is now
planning to establish its own Savings and
Credit Cooperative (SACCO).
After assessing the severe production
losses of R&T farmers due to the effects of
climate variability and change in these
countries, the project developed climate
information services in collaboration with
meteorological institutes, and other UN
Agencies. As at end of November 2018, 927
farmers were able to access climate and
agro meteorological information in vulnera-
ble areas.
Regarding climate risk financing ser-
vices the project strengthened the capacity
of Government officials, National Meteoro-
logical and Hydrological Services (NMHS as
well as FPSs on the role of insurance for
farmers against climate risks. Forums be-
tween FSPs, insurance companies, regula-
tors and farmers representatives were or-
ganized to elaborate concrete solutions and
develop new products which would be af-
fordable for farmers while sustainable for
insurance companies.
In Uganda, a unique insurance prod-
uct for potato farmers was developed with
the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA) and
the Insurance Consortium. In Rwanda, FSPs
lending already to small farmers as result
of FAO’s activities, expressed the interest to
also ensure access to credit to farmers lo-
cated in flood-prone areas, by exploring the
opportunity of engaging with local insur-
ance companies.
But how do these results actually im-
prove farmers’ livelihoods? In Rwanda, the in-
come of the Kottubumu Cooperative doubled
by doubling productivity, tripling production
(over 300 percent) but also starting formal
savings and investments in land. Given their
sustainable activities, the group is planning to
buy a new office, add land and build their es-
tablishment of small and medium.
The project targeted not only producers,
but also traders, farmer organizations, agri-
food processors, retailers, to develop Inclusive
Business Models (IBM) throughout the sectors,
enabling large or small actors to do business,
market their products and source inputs and
finance. Mr. Jeoffrey Chikaonda from Malawi -
who turned from farmer to cassava processor -
is one of the 5643 producers and processors
profiled and then supported by the project
through capacity building activities to
strengthen market linkages, processing tech-
niques, quality standards, financial and busi-
ness skills. The impact of the support in trans-
forming his business and life, and that of his
family, has been enormous: cassava flour
production increased from 0.5 to 10 tonnes
per season, enabling him to supply both rural
and urban markets , as well as to reach re-
gional markets (Nigeria) through e –commerce
channels, selling through an online page.
Women, in particular, were central in the
implementation of the project. In Côte d’Iv-
oire, for example, priority was given to in-
crease business transactions of women’s coop-
eratives producing cassava,. The Cofembib Co-
operative of Bouaké in central Côte d’Ivoire,
doubled its production after being exposed to
the project’s activities and being able to sign
formal contracts to supply international and
national buyers. Youth employment was boost-
ed through international trade opportunities..
The value chain finance approach adopt-
ed by the project has contributed to increase
accessibility to financial instruments and in-
vestment opportunities for small farmers and
processors. Tailored activities related to provi-
sion and access to financial services have been
developed targeting potential Financial Ser-
vices Providers (FSPs) and small clients. Con-
sequently, access to loans was unlocked for
442 individuals, 10 SMEs and 4 producers’ or-
(From page 5)
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CFLP ended 27th October 2018 after 4 years implementation by GIZ and 50 partners in the
framework of Sustainable Smallholder Agri-Business (SSAB).
120,000 producers of cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria and Cameroon constitute the
target group of CFLP. The
strategy combines the
Farmer Business School
(FBS) with trainings on
Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP) for co-
coa and food production,
Business Services Cen-
tres operated by input
dealers, cooperatives and
Microfinance services and
the Cooperative Busi-
ness School (CBS) to
strengthen producer or-
ganizations service deliv-
ery
Targets of CFLP and
SSAB have been achieved
and exceeded thanks to the contributions of 50 local partners. Evaluations show adoption of FBS tools
and GAP and significantly improved access to financial services.
In 2017, the reference year for
the evaluation with 1,587 smallhold-
ings, bad weather conditions pre-
vailed and the nominal cocoa price
nose-dived by almost 40% to the
level of 1980/81.
Nonetheless, yields and gross
margins (nominal terms) have in-
creased the same year – except for
the case of Togo. The objectives of
CFLP and SSAB to enhance the diver-
sification of production and income
are thus most relevant.
The regional average of the agricultural income reached 1.69 USD per person and day in real
terms 2011), representing an increase of 8% - instead of the targeted 30% - over the baseline 2011.
Nigerian producers have succeeded to increase their real daily per capita income by 46% to 2.72 USD.
The income of the supported producers in the other countries remains, however, below the poverty
line.
The dramatic increase of the real income derived from agricultural products other than cocoa is
shown to the right. Supported producers were able to compensate fully (Nigeria) or partially the vola-
tility of cocoa farm gate prices respectively of local currency (Ghana). Except for Côte d’Ivoire and To-
Source : GIZ-SSAB Data bank and GFA. 2018
Source : GFA 2018. Impact study SSAB-CFLP with 1.587 smallhold-
ings
(To be continued on page 8)
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A joint initiative
Implemented by
This publication is an initiative of the ACP Secretariat funded by the European Union . Its content is the sole responsibility of the technical assistance team.
go, cocoa now contributes less than
50% the smallholdings’ income.
This diversification and im-
proved competitiveness of the sup-
ported smallholdings have been
brought about mainly by FBS as
entrepreneurship training and
smallholders’ investments in good
agricultural practice including rec-
ommended inputs for food and co-
coa production.
The interventions brought to
very large scale by CFLP, SSAB
and partners are thus key for sus-
tainable growth and resilience
with regard to market and climate
shocks. To learn more watch the
films with farmers and partners un-
der www.ssab-africa.net/our-work
The FBS Advisory Facility for
Africa will continue to support inter-
ested organizations, programmes
and companies from Africa to intro-
duce agri-business approaches such
as Farmer Business School or the
Cooperative Business School. Your
request for information and ad-
vice are most welcome under
Sources: Data Dalberg (2013) and GFA (2018). No baseline for
Togo and Cameroon
Sources: Dalberg (2013) and GFA (2018). No baseline for Togo and
Cameroon
(From page 7)