Annual General Assembly

Food, Farmers and Markets

World Cafes Programme overview

Session overview
Station A Van Kleffenszaal Session Ia // 14:35-15:10 GAFSP - ONE program with TWO windows to promote competitive and inclusive food systems Laura Mecagni, International Finance Corporation & Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, World Bank Station B Multi-purpose room Findings from the conference on value chains for transforming smallholder agriculture held 6-9 November 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Lamon Rutten, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation CTA Station C Room 1D29 Inclusive business models for food and nutrition security at the Base of the Pyramid Myrtille Danse & Nicolas Chevrollier, Base of the Pyramid Innovation Center

Session Ib // 15:15-15:50

How infrastructure development contributes to food security Josephine Mwangi-Mutuura, African Development Bank

Putting the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security into practice at country level: Challenges for continuing international cooperation Marylaure Crettaz, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Jorge Muoz, World Bank

Seas of Change: Innovation and exchange for scaling inclusive agri-food markets Joost Guijt, Wageningen University

Session IIa // 16:20-16:55

Agricultural cooperatives as a business model for development Mara Larrea Loriente, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, World Bank

The New Alliance and GrowAfrica David Hegwood, United States Agency for International Development

Session IIb // 17:00-17:35

Green growth, South-South and policy progress: State of play for recommendations from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change Christine Negra, CCAFS Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change

On common ground: Platform priority areas and emerging messages - Building on the Joint Donor Concept Karim Hussein, Platform consultant

Leaping & learning: Linking African smallholders to markets for better food security. What development partners need to know Iris Krebber, Department for International Development & Steve Wiggins, Overseas Development Institute

00

Station D Room 1D91 Mobilising Aid for Trade to enhance CAADP implementation and private sector initiatives - How to strengthen bridging between agriculture, trade and environment? Sven Walter, Global Mechanism & Francesco Rampa, European Centre for Development Policy Management Leveraging production through financial services Bruce Dick, Rabobank

Station E Van Kleffenszaal lounge Womens collective action in agricultural markets: The missing link for empowerment? Sally Baden, Oxfam

Station F Room 1D41 Scaling-up sustainable trade through global private-public collaboration Ewald Wermuth, Sustainable Trade Initiative

Value chains - Generating local value added: Linking farmers through innovative approaches Waltraud Rabitsch, Austrian Development Agency

Resilience to external and internal shocks while seizing economic opportunities in the emerging and changing circumstances Parvindar Singh, Common Fund for Commodities Scaling-up access to credit for rural development in Haiti Matthew Straub, Canadian International Development Agency

Results measurement in the development of agricultural value chains Jim Tanburn, Donor Committee for Enterprise Development New world food system Eric Smaling, Senator and Professor at the University of Twente

Promoting farmer entrepreneurship through partnering Hedwig Bruggeman, Agri-ProFocus

02

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 1 // 14:35-15:10 GAFSP - ONE program with TWO windows to promote competitive and inclusive food systems Laura Mecagni, International Finance Corporation & Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, World Bank
Introduction
The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) addresses the need for more and better public and private investment in agriculture and related sectors to improve the income and food security of poor and vulnerable people in low-income countries. It is a multilateral financing mechanism that allows the rapid targeting and delivery of additional funding to public and private entities for support of strategic plans for agriculture and food security. With over $1.3 billion in pledges, it is imperative to leverage synergies between the two windows and maximise the impact of GAFSP investments on the ground.

The Private Sector Window

The other window demonstrates new and innovative financing aimed at increasing the commercial potential of small and medium sized agri-businesses and farmers by bringing them into the local, national, and global value chains. It supports private initiatives that help increase productivity, improve market access, support innovation, and develop new ideas in financing and technology development, as well as projects that reduce information asymmetries between small end users of capital and financial institutions and reduce risks associated with financing small holders/companies in the agribusiness sector.

Objectives of the session

1. Introduce GAFSP and its two distinct funding windows as an innovative multi-lateral financing instrument that is now fully operational 2. Provide a forum for sharing experiences from publicprivate partnerships for fostering food security 3. Help to pin-point areas for closer international collaboration and for leveraging synergies more widely in realising competitive but inclusive global food systems

Agenda
1. Overview of the Program as a whole (Yurie) 2. Status and update on the public sector: Announce new call for proposals and discuss examples from the field (Yurie) 3. Status and update on the private sector window: Discuss funding mechanism, pipeline, and examples from the field (Laura) 4. Discuss working in partnerships with public, private, recipient, donor, and CSO stakeholders.

The Public Sector Window

This window provides a pooled source of additional donor financing targeted at scaling-up assistance to agriculture and food security by financing medium to long-term investments that will reduce risk and vulnerability, and ultimately raise incomes and food and nutrition security of poor households in the poorest countries. It supports technically sound, country-owned, and country-led agriculture and food security investment plans, thereby improving the sustainability prospects of donor financed investments.

1 0
Materials

Hand-outs brought by speakers

02

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 2 // 14:35-15:10 Findings from the conference on value chains for transforming smallholder agriculture held 6-9 November 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Lamon Rutten, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation CTA
Key messages:
1. There are many different definitions for value chains, but at a minimum, a value chain requires a structured link of producers to consumer demand. So it is not just establishing the nature of demand and informing the producers of this, but also, enabling producers to meet this demand by organising, when necessary, the supply of inputs, and providing a structure for conveying the products to consumers in the form desired by the latter. Implicit to this is that there has to be an enabler, an entity that drives the creation of a value chain. In most cases, this will be a private sector entity; NGOs, government bodies and development agencies can be facilitators. It also implies that there are economic opportunities not just for farmers, but also for providers of services (inputs, finance, post-harvest handling, packaging etc.); a proper value chain approach therefore cannot focus exclusively on farmers. 2. For the private sector, it is generally much easier to work with a few large farmers than with a large number of smallholders. For value chains to be smallholder-inclusive, the organising power of cooperatives and NGOs can be critical; many of the most successful experiences are trilateral. 3. Organised value chains can enable producers to meet demand, and can improve their returns from their activities. The larger opportunities lie in developing national and regional value chains (in particular to meet the demand in rapidly-growing urban areas) and South-South trade. For example, in countries like Cte dIvoire or Mali, the size of the local food market is already more than double the size of agricultural exports. 4. There are already strong, well-organised value chains for food commodities, but they tend to originate in developed markets and end in developing country urban markets (large and small). To a large extent, the challenge is to permit producers in, say, Africa to plug into these value chains. This requires creating the conditions that permit producers to meet the exigencies of urban demand, in terms of price, quality, timeliness and conditions of sale. 5. Value chains provide good opportunities to financiers, as they can use the strongest point in the chain to anchor their financings to all the value chain partners. However, this is not a traditional mechanism in developing country banks, and there is much scope for enhancing the understanding of value chain finance. 6. Governments main role is in the provision of physical infrastructure, and a proper legal, regulatory and policy framework, including for intra-regional trade. However, some parts of trade-related infrastructure (e.g. grading systems, commodity exchanges) can best be organised by the private sector, and in such cases governments should facilitate private sector investment rather than try to control these activities. Further information: http://makingtheconnection.cta.int/

02

03

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 3 // 14:35-15:10 Inclusive business models for food and nutrition security at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Myrtille Danse & Nicolas Chevrollier, Base of the Pyramid Innovation Center
Question to audience
How can we contribute to scalable inclusive business models in small-scale agriculture in developing and emerging regions, so that it not only contributes to food security but also can spur economic growth in developing countries and lift millions out of poverty?

Inclusive business challenges: Obstacles to link smallholders to markets and to integrate them into value chains
Small farms face major disadvantages with respect to accessing modern market supply chains: Low volumes of produce to sell Variable quality High transaction costs Poor market infrastructure Limited ability to meet the high credence requirements of many high value outlets Further, it is becoming clear that a major obstacle is caused by a financing missing middle between micro finance and the regular financial instruments available to support companies developing products and services for the BoP. Potentially ground-breaking initiatives - from local entrepreneurs as well as innovative MNEs and SMEs in industrialised economies - remain without financing at the early stage of entrepreneurial development, because impact investors have difficulties assessing in a satisfactory manner the risks involved, and entrepreneurs are insufficiently able to present themselves as investment-ready.

Role of the private sector

In recent years, there has been increased attention for understanding the poor as value-demanding consumers, resilient and creative entrepreneurs, producers, business partners and innovators which operate not detached from, but merely at the base of the economic pyramid (the BoP). Also, there is a growing interest in private sector development and in programmes that support the creation of new business models for provision of services in the BoP markets where around 500 million smallholder farmers operate.

Business interventions
Currently, five business interventions can be identified in practice, that aim to achieve social impact, financial sustainability and, potentially, scalable food and nutrition security strategies: 1. Farmer development services 2. Secured sourcing schemes 3. BoP intermediaries 4. Food product adaptation 5. Hybrid market creation

On one extreme, there are companies focusing on including smallholders in the value chain to improve quality and volume of production. For example, DADTCO, a social enterprise, develops mobile small-scale cassava processing units in Nigeria allowing first processing close to farms. On the other extreme, there are companies developing new nutritious products for low income consumers, such as Danone which ventured with Grameen in Bangladesh to create Grameen Danone Food Ltd that produces an ultra-low cost fortified yoghurt for small children distributed by entrepreneurial Bangladeshi ladies.

03

04

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 4 // 14:35-15:10 Mobilising Aid for Trade to enhance CAADP implementation and private sector initiatives How to strengthen bridging between agriculture, trade and environment? Sven Walter, Global Mechanism of the UNCCD & Francesco Rampa, European Centre for Development Policy Management
Background
ECDPM and the GM are both supporting CAADP implementation in order to mobilise finance for sustainable land management through the promotion of synergies between CAADP Regional Compacts/National Investment Plans and other relevant environmental and traderelated processes such as TerrAfrica and Aid for Trade (AfT). CAADP plays a crucial role in improving coordination among various players on agriculture strategy development, and mobilising expertise and resources to support them. While initially focused on increasing public investment in agriculture and donor support to public expenditure, it has been noticed that a real transformation of the African agriculture will depend on its capacity: To develop more efficient agriculture markets and boost intra-Africa trade To use public resources to leverage private investment, both foreign and domestic

Target support to boost intra-Africa trade and private sector investment in agriculture
Promoting institutional transformation across agriculture and trade institutions through improved coherence of agriculture and trade development plans in defining regional and national priorities for the development of effective agriculture markets and value chains Strengthening the operational capacity of stakeholders to develop and implement joint value chain support projects/programmes

Key questions for discussion

1. How can GDPRD members strengthen coherence between CAADP, AfT and other relevant processes to promote the sustainable trade in agriculture products in Africa? 2. How can GDPRD members support the increased operational capacities of African stakeholders, and in particular the private sector, at all levels (national, regional, continental) to promote key agricultural value chains?

Challenges in building the enabling conditions to boost intra-Africa trade and capitalise on private investments
1. Weak coordination between agriculture and trade institutions in planning and developing coherent national and regional strategies in support of efficient agriculture markets 2. Limited scale and coordination of the blossoming number of private sector initiatives established to boost agricultural trade through catalysing the private sector, and the communication between private sector partners, country and regional partners.

4 0
05

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 5 // 14:35-15:10 Womens collective action in agricultural markets: The missing link for empowerment? Sally Baden, Oxfam

Supporting women small-scale farmers

Development actors increasingly emphasise the importance of investing in women to ensure food security and sustainability - as well as equity - in agricultural and rural development. In this context, collective action is potentially a critical - if poorly understood and underused - mechanism for women small-scale farmers to increase their engagement in agricultural markets. Women small-scale farmers face gender specific - as well as more general - barriers to engaging in markets in addition to their better documented production constraints such as land, credit and inputs. Women producers are often poorly represented in formal collective action. So, to what extent does collective action provide benefits to women in agricultural markets? What strategies of support are effective to realise these benefits? During 2010-2012 Oxfam and partners, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, set out to answer these questions, via stakeholder dialogue and quantitative and qualitative research in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mali. This work, which has just been completed, provides an evidence base on womens market oriented collective action and its economic and empowerment benefits in a range of agricultural subsectors, as well as on the strategies of development actors to support this.

Objective of the session

This session will share insights from the research as well as views and related experiences of participants, to draw out key points to guide future policy and practice. We will debate some key messages including: Support to formal collective action such as agricultural marketing cooperatives is beneficial for women who have some assets and limited household responsibilities. Younger and poorer women need investment in assets and/or more flexible organisation and support. Collective action in markets provides significant economic benefits to women who participate in groups, compared to those not in groups, engaged in the same markets. Economic benefits of collective action are accompanied by increases in decision making control over some areas, but do not translate into broad based empowerment.

05

Strategies to support womens collective actions To leverage the potential of collective action to overcome gender specific constraints to womens engagement in agricultural markets, development actors need to adopt explicit strategies, or risk further exacerbating rural gender inequalities as they strive to engage farmers in markets. Some effective strategies of support to womens collective action in markets are: Focus on high value subsectors where control of land assets is not a critical constraint Strategic use of new technologies as focus of collective action to promote womens entry into growing sectors Raise awareness of benefits of womens market engagement and gain buy in of men - in companies, organisations, households and communities - for womens participation in collective action Enable existence of informal as well as formal collective action and promote links between them Cultivate womens leadership capacities (including in women-only groups) and gender responsive leadership in mixed organisations.

06

World Cafe Session Ia // No. 6 // 14:35-15:10 Scaling-up sustainable trade through global private-public collaboration Ewald Wermuth, Sustainable Trade Initiative
Background
Governments and NGOs strive for public goods, such as poverty reduction, economic empowerment of producers and safeguarding the global environment. For companies supply security and the license to operate have become serious challenges. IDH merges these public and private interests in a common action agenda that aims at mainstreaming global sustainable production. Through bundling of forces of the private and public sectors, IDH convenes a large sustainable sourcing commitment in the sector, the know-how and enabling environment power of the public sector for market transformation. Thus, contributing to domestic private sector development and delivering impact on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 1, 7 and 8.

Key discussion points

How can sustainable change (both social and environmental) become self-perpetuating? Limitations and strengths of certification and standards - IDH supports to go beyond certification Donor alignment: How can we improve linkages? Involving the domestic markets in our theory of change

Key emerging lessons

Transformation PPP models must be scalable to create meaningful impact on a global scale. The inclusion of millions of smallholder producers is essential. Training in Good Agricultural Practices is key to increase livelihoods of farmers, as we see in tea. Public and private partners must collaborate to reach scale. Governments have a role to play in creating an enabling environment that supports sustainable market transformation. Laws and regulations (including fiscal) that either reward sustainable practices or push laggards towards more sustainable practices , can help create a level playing field. Public procurement can help create more market demand and has a spill over effect. International lobby can support the cooperation with governments in developing and emerging economies. Market transformation should become a self propelling mechanism. To make sustainable market transformation self sufficient, the embedding in, or building on local structures is a prerequisite. This calls for the inclusion of local governments, local NGOs and local companies in the process of market transformation. PPP market transformation needs the involvement of NGOs. Both in the role as implementer as in the role of watch dog. Donors should be clear on what they seek to achieve through private sector partnerships.

6 0

07

AF

BANQU

AF R

CA RI

INE DE DEVE LO
EN T EM PP

AN C

ELOPME DEV NT

D UN

AF P R IC LO AIN DE DEVE

World Cafe Session Ib // No. 7 // 15:15-15:50 How infrastructure development contributes to food security Josephine Mwangi-Mutuura, African Development Bank
Why infrastructure development is a basic requirement for food security
Road networks that connect food production farms to market centres Reduce the cost of production and food distribution (including cost of inputs) Increase farmers incomes and incentive to produce Connect regions of food surplus to regions of food deficit, thus eliminating pockets of hunger Reduce postharvest losses and increase food availability Connect farmers to road and rail corridors and hence regional markets Improve productivity through irrigation and access to inputs Reduce crop destruction by floods through flood control infrastructure, and use of collected water for irrigation Enable food processing to increase shelf live and add value (power generation) Provide information on markets

PE M

EN T

Conditions of the majority of the African population, especially in sub-Saharan Africa

Live in the middle of nowhere with no connectivity to main roads, telecommunication, power Carry goods on their heads and backs, and on donkeys Their crops rot in the fields Experience extreme hunger due to drought and perishing property in floods

Characteristics of infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa

08

Very low connectivity density (in terms of paved road network), estimated at 16.8 km/1000 sq. km compared to 37 km/1000 sq. km in the rest of the worlds Low Income Countries; although roads carry the bulk of freight and passengers (80-90 per cent on average) Very low rail road connectivity estimated at about 2.8 km/1000 sq. km. compared to 3.4 km/1000 sq.km for the rest of the low income countries Minimal water storage capacity and distribution infrastructure for agriculture, domestic and industrial use, resulting in gross underutilisation of Africas abundant water resource Limited irrigated agriculture less than seven per cent of agriculture land is irrigated Lowest power generation capacity in the world while it is estimated by some that about 93 per cent of continents economically viable hydropower potential remains unexploited

S ND FO

Some of the reasons for these deficiencies

High cost of infrastructure development in Africa and the associated services that are several times more expensive than elsewhere High tariffs and cost of doing business Governance issues Inadequate competition Underdeveloped construction industry Lack of political will

Results
Population concentration in high agricultural productive areas with high rainfall due to lack of alternatives such as irrigation facilities Poor water management and wastage that could be used for irrigation Poor returns to agriculture as farmers cannot access markets, resulting in serious rural-urban migration that constrains provision of services and food in urban areas High cost of transportation of goods due to poor road and rail network Very high postharvest loses of agricultural produce, sometimes up to 40 per cent for luck of transport and storage facilities and link to markets, Disincentive to produce food and other agricultural products for lack of markets, and input supply, causing hunger and food insecurity Pockets of food deficit and pockets of food surplus and waste at national and regional level that could be eased by free and cheap movement of food Acknowledging the importance of infrastructure to address food security, the African Development Bank has in recent years focused on infrastructure development in Africa, with the expectation that other development partners would complement these efforts through support of other agricultural production aspects such as research and extension, credit provision, farmer mobilisation, etc.

07

World Cafe Session Ib // No. 8 // 15:15-15:50 Putting the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security into practice at country level: Challenges for continuing international cooperation Jorge Muoz, World Bank & Marylaure Crettaz, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
The Tenure Guidelines were endorsed in May 2012 by the Committee on World Food Security. Developed in an inclusive and participatory process, they are the first international instrument on the governance of land, fisheries and forests, recognising that secure tenure rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests are crucial to achieve food security of vulnerable rural poor populations, as well as to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. diagnostic tool to assess the status of land governance at country level in a participatory process that draws on local expertise and existing evidence rather than on advice from outsiders. For the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Tenure Guidelines implementation represents a unique opportunity to address land governance issues at global, regional and country levels, through various instruments and modalities.

Country-level implementation

The World Bank is actively engaged with multiple partners in supporting the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines at the country level through wide-spread dissemination, capacity building, financial support to policies and projects that enhance the governance of land tenure according to these guidelines. The Bank considers these Guidelines as a major international instrument to guide specific policy reforms, since it provided an agreed framework for action, broad participation, and monitoring outcomes.

8 0
Key messages Key questions

Supporting land surveying

The World Bank supports and recommends government policies that implement systematic land surveying and titling programs that recognise all forms of land tenure. At the same time, respect for customary and traditional land rights should be looked at dynamically, focusing on the shortcomings (e.g. womens access to land) and striking a balance between what needs to be preserved and what needs to be changed.

Why modern, efficient and transparent land tenure policy is vital

Land tenure policy reduces poverty, and promotes growth and sustainable development. Security of property rights is central to preserving livelihoods, maintaining social stability, and increasing incentives for investment and for sustainable, productive land use. The Banks support at the country level is in the form of investment projects, technical assistance, research, training, and dissemination of best practices.

The implementation of the guidelines will allow working with a wide-range of stakeholders. Through the Multi-donor Trust Fund established by FAO, countries can use the Tenure Guidelines as yardstick to guide their land governance systems and institutions in a responsible manner. They can benefit from technical assistance and tools currently finalised by FAO (implementation guides, e-learning modules, etc.). The FAO-led initiative will also promote capacities through scientific and technical partners at national and regional level and finally ensures proper monitoring of the implementation of the Tenure Guidelines. SDCs financial contribution to the trust fund will be complemented with contributions from other donors (Belgium, Germany, and others were reportedly finalising their contribution. Synergies between the Land Policy Initiative of the African Union-Economic Commission for Africa and African Development Bank, on the one hand, and the Tenure Guidelines implementation need to be sought in a systematic manner. Specific attention will be given in 2013 by SDC to the implementation of the AU Declaration in Niger where SDC has been actively supporting in the last couple of decades the implementation of the Code rural. The Tenure Guidelines approach and content currently serve as reference for an informed policy dialogue between SDC offices at country level and governments (Benin, Laos), for shaping on-going or new programmes (Mekong region, Great Lakes) and supporting countries interested in implementing comprehensive land policies and reforms.

Connection to GrowAfrica
The World Bank is an active participant in Grow Africa which is a partnership platform to accelerate investments for sustainable and inclusive growth in African agriculture. In addition, the Bank and several partners have developed the Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF), a

1. What are your institutions doing to facilitate an effective implementation of the tenure guidelines? 2. What kind of partnerships and coordination at country level should the donor community help put in place?

09

World Cafe Session Ib // No. 9 // 15:15-15:50 Seas of Change: Innovation and exchange for scaling inclusive agri-food markets Joost Guijt, Wageningen University

The coming decades require unprecedented change in global agriculture and food systems to maintain secure supplies and assure food security. Agriculture offers the best opportunity for the estimated two billion people living in smallholder households to work and trade their way out of poverty. Significant impact on poverty and food security requires change at scale, both scaling up successful approaches and implementing new approaches with scale built-in to the initial design.

The three pathways of impact

1. Improved programs led by committed, senior practitioners - reaching deep 2. More commitment and activity within practitioners own organizations - reaching in 3. Advocacy and advice to wider industry groups - reaching out

The Seas of Change Initiative

Since 2011, the Seas of Change initiative focuses on the question of, What works when scaling inclusive agri-food markets? Initial research and interaction with several hundred leading business and development practitioners point to many inclusive business initiatives. Yet, few are having an impact at scale, and there is a marked lack of learning and synthesis across these initiatives. A longer-term applied research, innovation and exchange programme is being developed to assist businesses to directly tackle their operational challenges and actively and effectively share innovative practices. This will be complemented by support for multi-actor collaboration on strategic issues.

The three interlinked components that feed into the strands of reaching deep, in and out
1. Organisational support: Support for individual businesses or clusters of businesses. 2. Collaborative research on strategic issues 3. Coordination and exchange hub

Current priority research and capacity building themes identified by practitioners

Business models for working with large numbers of small-scale suppliers Scaling inclusiveness Measuring performance and impact of inclusive agrifood markets, certification Pre-commercial financing and public private partnerships Agri-clusters as drivers of rural vitality The role of small-scale suppliers and business in future food supply Transitions out of agriculture and subsistence level safety nets

Overall programme objective

To help drive an inclusive approach to agricultural development that can draw 20-30 per cent more small-scale producers into long term commercially viable markets, create significant numbers of new and fair employment opportunities in the sector and stimulate small and medium enterprise

Critical masses of interest and questions emerging around the following topic/region combinations
Effective Approaches to Inclusive Markets, regional meeting: Philippines, 2013 Inclusive Business Models and PPPs: Eastern Africa mid-2013 Performance Measurement Practitioners Meeting (part II): Washington, DC, December 2013 Sharing concept and findings with goal setting platforms: on-going Aligning public and private investments and pre-commercial finance pathways (2013 and 2014) G20 Meeting, connecting to food security agenda: Australia, November 2014 SFL summit: May 2014

Core functions of the Wageningen UR Center for Development Innovation and the Sustainable Food Lab

Identifying and understanding innovative practices and trends Proactively sharing experiences among leading firms and development organisations Adapting and applying in different contexts Rigorously assessing impact. Key business and policy bottlenecks are the focus. Engaged practitioners are main partners and target group champions leading practical work on inclusive markets from influential organisations in both the private and public sectors.

09

10

World Cafe Session Ib // No. 10 // 15:15-15:50 Leveraging production through financial services Bruce Dick, Rabo Development
Key messages
Rabobanks cooperative background and historical roots in the food and agricultural sector has fostered a passion when talking about food, farming and markets. Rabo Development, a division within Rabobank Group, has a mission of increasing access to financial services in developing countries that have substantial potential in the food and agri sector.

The way forward

Reaching small and emergent farmers, utilising cooperative principles and banking experience. The agricultural cooperative model provides an excellent model to connect small and Emerging farmers and develop national rural economics. Provides a voice to its members, gains economics of scale and a financing vehicle for financial institutions. Connecting farmers to other actors in the value chain, e.g. inputs, production, processing, marketing, service providers etc. Connecting farmers to financial service providers

Our business model

Strategic investment in local financial institution Board, Management and Advisory Services to accelerate development and capacity building

Some of the challenges in rural financing in developing economies

Enabling environment is suspect Lack of scale at farm level Agriculture often not viewed as economic activity Poor or non-existent supply chain organisation Agricultural policy framework absent/distorted Poor financial literacy

0 1
Conclusion

Cooperative models, professionalising banking and unlocking agricultural potential can enhance food production and help in alleviating poverty.

11

World Cafe Session Ib // No. 11 // 15:15-15:50 Value chains - Generating local value added: Linking farmers to markets through innovative approaches Maria-Waltraud Rabitsch, Austrian Development Agency
Switching the focus of value chain development
Many strategies in addressing value chain development are primarily addressing those farmers, who already have access to markets and also have sufficient surplus to sell in an acceptable quality. Thus, market-oriented interventions in general fail to sufficiently integrate smallholder farmers and other vulnerable groups in value chains. Even when they are targeted, it has been acknowledged that the poor and vulnerable can benefit less than the slightly wealthier farmers.

Innovative and inclusive partnership models at local level as effective approaches

These have to be based on transparent arrangements and regulations as well as explicitly defined roles and responsibilities of all actors involved along the whole value chain. ADCs experiences show that a multistakeholder approach, placing special emphasis on the empowerment of poor and vulnerable groups in order for them to have more equal access to required assets, information and innovation is crucial.

Biases against involving the poor

Biases exist at different levels, as the involvement of the more poor and vulnerable is more demanding and challenging: They are less visible and articulated and more difficult to reach. Moreover, supporting the poor and vulnerable is still partially considered as politically and economically not worthwhile, resulting in less emphasis of these groups in the framework of national policies and budget allocation. Quite often the specific needs, interests and priorities of small-scale farmers are not sufficiently taken into account. In this respect, ADCs experiences show that insecure access and user rights to natural resources, access to financial resources as well as inadequate social and economic services are restricting factors. It is especially difficult for smallholder farmers to take up the associated risks when entering value chains, because they have to invest in new and/or improved varieties for example.

Further success criteria

Further success criteria are related to more balanced power relations Common understanding and trust Mutual accountability Possibilities for joint learning amongst all stakeholder Strong social networks and relationships between farmers, processors, traders, service providers In ADCs point of view, organisational development and enhancing negotiation capabilities of smallholder farmers and cooperatives enabling them to receive better prices for their products and better services also need to be addressed. Finally, farmers and farmers organisations need to be empowered to be able to advocate for a more favourable policy environment and to participate in decision-making processes. ADA has just started a small research project dealing with the documentation of change processes which are resulting in long-term enhancement of value added. This includes an analysis regarding enabling respectively disenabling framework conditions, capacities and resources for such processes. This analytical work should result in recommendations in terms of approaches and methodologies as well as appropriate supporting mechanisms. ADC would be happy not just to share these results (to be expected end of 2013) with interested other parties, but also to join forces in such analytic work, information sharing and joint learning.

Social and institutional capacities neglected

It has also been learned that market-oriented approaches focus too much on technical aspects of value chains. In this respect, main emphasis is given towards improving agricultural production and productivity through training and extension services, linking to markets and businesses especially by providing access to relevant information and business development services as well as the establishment of basic infrastructure).

11

12

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 12 // 16:20-16:55 Agricultural cooperatives as a business model for development Mara Larrea Loriente, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain
Background
The agriculture sector is the principal source both of income and food in rural areas. It is mainly a private activity collecting most labour force in rural areas and particularly between women. Agriculture developed by smallholders may contribute to economic growth and thus to reduce hunger and poverty, as 75 per cent of people suffering from abject poverty live in rural areas.

The particular case of Spain

In Spain, 62 per cent of farms had fewer than five hectares of land and the majority of producers are small farmers. In this regard, Spanish cooperatives have a long tradition, but during the 1980s - through the creation of a legal framework - they were fostered. Agricultural cooperatives have helped small farmers to get better organised when it comes to buying agricultural inputs, to have better capacity of negotiation against big agroindustry companies, and going beyond the production stage by working on product processing. Though there are still big challenges ahead, it goes without saying that cooperatives are an essential tool for small farmers to face these challenges.

Challenges for smallholders

Agriculture is an economic activity with its own singularities: Production uncertainty (droughts, floods and plagues), the nature of supply (difficulties for stocking perishable food) and demand of food (cheaper food does not mean more sales) Little or no access to credits, inputs and/or natural resources, insecure access to markets and little market information Moreover, food production is expected to increase more than 70 per cent to satisfy the worlds population needs in 2050, when the world would have nine billion inhabitants

What can small farmers do to improve exploitations productivity and have the opportunity to upscale their production and improve their incomes?
Sustainable development deserves a sound private sector, and cooperatives and social economy initiatives are surely the most accessible way for smallholder producers, and among them women, to business venture and to private sector. Cooperatives are a business model with social conscience. A participatory and inclusive business model that empower most vulnerable by improving their development opportunities and by the promotion of smallholder farmers role concerning private investments. Fostering the participation of vulnerable groups in activities generating income and wealth. Cooperatives and other kind of social economy enterprises provide a way of access to decent work and formal economy to vulnerable groups by promoting self-employment and facilitating job placements. Agricultural cooperatives may foster smallholder farmers access to markets by empowering them and promoting market-oriented training and education.

2 1

13

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 13 // 16:20-16:55 Nutrition-sensitive agriculture Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, World Bank

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture aims to maximise impact on nutrition outcomes for the poor, while minimising the unintended negative nutritional consequences of agricultural interventions and policies on the lives of the poor, especially women and young children. The issue is highly relevant to inclusive food systems. Agriculture can be geared to produce foods with the nutrients necessary for healthy, active, and productive lives. ARD projects can also affect water quality, disease occurrence, and food safety, which are each important for health and nutrition.

Key references
World Bank ARD/Human Development Network Economic and Sector Work Addressing Nutrition through Multi-Sectoral Approaches (see Module C on ARD), forthcoming. www.securenutritionplatform.org: Knowledge Platform aims to bridge knowledge gaps between agriculture, food security, and nutrition. This platform offers a space to exchange experiences and to disseminate and gather information.

Guidance for mainstreaming nutrition

The World Banks Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) department is developing guidance for Bank teams for mainstreaming nutrition into Bank operations, including the following actions: Incorporate nutrition-sensitive analysis and activities into ARD project design and food security policy dialogue Measure the progress of activities affecting nutrition periodically through relevant output indicators and through outcome indicators at baseline, mid-term, and project completion and potentially more regularly on an on-going basis Ensure that agriculture projects and policies do not cause unintended harm to nutrition We would benefit from learning about other agencies guidelines as well as their modalities for making them operational.

Agenda
1. Introduction of the World Banks approach to nutrition sensitive agriculture 2. Group discussion

Materials
Hand-outs brought by speaker

3 1

14

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 14 // 16:20-16:55 The New Alliance and GrowAfrica David Hegwood, United States Agency for International Development
Increasing private sector investment is indispensable to the growth of African agriculture
Unfortunately, despite the growth of private sector investment in developing countries, almost none of it has been going to poverty-reducing agricultural development in Africa. Global and local firms frequently complain about the same barriers to investment, including corruption, ineffective policies, and a lack of access to donor programs that could help make projects in developing countries feasible.

African countries with Country Cooperation Frameworks

Ghana, Tanzania and Ethiopia were the first three countries to conclude Country Cooperation Frameworks. At UNGA, Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire and Mozambique became members of the New Alliance. Additional countries are expected to conclude Country Cooperation Frameworks and become New Alliance members in 2013.

New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition

Launched at the G8 Camp David Summit in May, 2012, the New Alliance aims to mobilise private sector investment as a catalyst for long-term economic growth by creating a more favourable private sector investment climate. The New Alliance brings together donors, private sector companies, and developing countries to expand investment opportunities in African agriculture by matching commitments from the private sector with commitments from African countries to implement serious market-oriented reforms.

Commitment to mutual accountability

The New Alliance is committed to mutual accountability of all partners. It intends to build on the accountability work of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program and LAquila Food Security Initiative, which respectively track the commitments, investments and impacts of African governments and donors. A Leadership Council is to drive and track implementation and will report to the G8 and African Union on progress toward achieving the commitments under the New Alliance, including commitments made by the private sector.

Country Cooperation Framework

Each New Alliance country develops a Country Cooperation Framework outlining key commitments by countries, donors and the private sector. New Alliance countries commit to serious market-oriented policy reforms. Donors commit to align financial and technical assistance with CAADP investment plan priorities. Private sector companies commit to make investments, frequently in the form of partnerships between large continental or multinational firms and smaller local firms.

GrowAfrica
GrowAfrica and the New Alliance share a common perspective on mobilising private sector investment in agriculture. The African Union, NEPAD, and the World Economic Forum convened GrowAfrica in 2011 to help countries take advantage of the work on CAADP investment plans to begin attracting private sector investment. GrowAfrica works with countries to prepare investment blueprints and to connect countries with investors. The complementarities between GrowAfrica and the New Alliance will create positive momentum for accelerating private sector investment.

Companies committing to agricultural investments

Since Camp David, more than 70 global and local companies have committed $3.5 billion in investments in agriculture to New Alliance countries. Private sector participants include Cargill, DuPont, Rabobank, Syngenta, and Unilever, which are already engaging with the New Alliance countries, shaping their investment plans to benefit smallholder farmers, and defining the next steps in their investment process.

14

15

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 15 // 16:20-16:55 Resilience to external and internal shocks while seizing economic opportunities in the emerging and changing circumstances Parvindar Singh, Common Fund for Commodities
Role of commodities in development
Commodities remain crucial to individual livelihoods, as well as national economic well-being and development of commodity dependent developing countries thus also for food security. Commodity sector can deliver the key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by increasing basic food supplies, enhancing incomes and creating employment in the rural areas, improving terms of trade leading to better living standards, and greater gender equality, contributing to womens empowerment.

Intervention areas

Vulnerability of commodity producers

Improving the competitiveness of commodities and enhancing the cost effectiveness of commodity production; for trade and to enhance self-sufficiency Introducing new technologies, encouraging use of appropriate inputs, higher quality seeds and planting materials, and reducing wastage Expansion of processing of primary products - moving up the value addition chain Diversification of production-reducing the dependency on a few commodities Providing appropriate risk management tools These are to be implemented through partnerships and coalitions.

Commodities are a link to markets thus producers are vulnerable to markets and face income volatility. Volatility sources in physical commodity markets: Uncertainties about production, e.g. weather, pests, and calamities. Low elasticity of demand: small variation in availability means large variation in price. Demand for physical commodity determined by fundamental consumption, hence self-stabilizing. Long-time lags in production capacity response, so may have price cycles Volatility mostly affects the poor: The adverse impact of price fluctuations falls on the least efficient and poor market player, i.e. weakest commodity producers.

Uniqueness of CFC

Solutions need to address vulnerability of commodity producers

Exposure to volatility Mitigate the impact and enhance ability to cope

Known practical measures include 1. Market development 2. Value-chain development 3. Diversification and value-addition 4. Enhancing productivity and food Security 5. Advocacy, building partnerships and dissemination

While commodity producers face many threats, there are also many opportunities

1. Developing entrepreneurship to provide goods and services to the emerging and growing urban areas 2. Upgrading production techniques and commercialising commodity production and processing 3. Improving access to markets by technological up gradation 4. Understanding and creating access to new markets 5. Understanding and creating access to new market structures - emerging super markets 6. Information and knowledge dissemination using modern ICT techniques

5 1
Key message

Exclusive focus on commodities Projects are mainly Aid for Trade and identified and implemented without formal governmental involvement Normally involve a counterpart contribution by any entity with a direct interest in the project The CFC works with diverse partners and builds coalitions to foster local ownership and leadership.

Solutions are case specific

The case of productivity - food security: CFC investing in rice food security programmes in LAC and Africa. The introduction of innovative agronomic practices of irrigated rice cultivation led to immediate increase of average rice yields by two tons/ha in the major rice growing areas of Brazil/ Venezuela. This technology package is now being introduced via private sector rice producer associations in all other major rice producing countries in Latin and Central America. When market access is the problem: Sorghum production in West Africa is a subsistence farming activity involving small farmers who produce for their own domestic needs. They have no access to commercial markets. A public private project partnership of CFC with international breweries in West Africa led to the substitution of imported grains with locally produced sorghum. CFC Sorghum Project got 2010 MDG Award.

Key Challenges

Aging population engaged in agriculture Increasing feminisation of rural areas Agriculture losing its economic attractiveness because of perceived lack of remunerative economic opportunities

16

What matters is not the scale, but precise targeting of interventions keeping constraints in view. The commodity sector is interlinked across sectors, industries and ministries. There is a need for policy coherence to obtain maximum leverage from commodities and focussed national, regional and international cooperation. Building Partnerships and engaging all stakeholders including private sector from early stages with clear and measurable outputs leads to sustainable results.

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 16 // 16:20-16:55 Results measurement in the development of agricultural value chains Jim Tanburn, Donor Committee for Enterprise Development
The situation
Despite great interest in results, relatively little information is available on what is being achieved in the development of agricultural value chains. Even self-reported results are rare, and may not always be credible. For example, project reports provide a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence for the positive outcomes and impacts of value chain initiatives. Some of the outcomes appear to be very positive. Beyond this, there was little systematic impact evaluation evidence across the 30 projects... This lack of systematic impact assessment is understandable ... but it is a problem (Value Chains, Donor Interventions and Poverty Reduction, Humphrey and Navas-Alemn, IDS, 2010). Meanwhile, many practitioners believe that they are achieving great results, but lack a credible channel through which to communicate those results.

Individual steps of the DCED Standard

1. Articulating the results chain / logic / theory of change 2. Defining the indicators of change, based on that results chain 3. Good measurement practice 4. Building a story around attribution 5. Looking for wider change in the system or market 6. Relating the measured results to programme costs 7. Reporting results (internally and externally) 8. Managing the monitoring system day-to-day

The point of the session

There is rapidly growing interest to articulate and understand the results chain or logic of programmes; some people are also using terms like the theory of change and the causal model to refer to very similar ideas. Systems similar to the Standard (if any) are likely to become increasingly widely-used, and indeed requested by donors. Jim Tanburn will outline actual experiences with the DCED Standard since 2009, and hopes that others will bring their own, related experiences to share. The emphasis will be on practical experience rather than elegant theory - since the challenge is not to develop better theories, but to make a difference to the way that programmes are managed in the field.

The solution: The DCED Standard

Providing a practical framework, programmes can monitor progress towards their objectives - based on clarity and agreement around the programme logic. The development communitys failure to learn is not a failure of evaluation or measurement more broadly, but instead a failure of strategic clarity (Jodi Nelson, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). The process of clarifying the results chain or logic, on its own, can already deliver substantial improvements in effectiveness - since all partners can understand the basis for the whole programme. For example, in a training intervention, it is often useful to agree the behaviour change anticipated as a result of the training, and then to estimate projections of the hoped-for improvement in business performance as a result of that behaviour change.

Once clarified, the results chain can be used to design an appropriate and tailored monitoring system. Implementers can work with this system to verify whether events are unfolding in the way they had hoped. They can then make changes in the course of the project to maximise effectiveness, based on the feedback grained. Credibility of the system can be assured through a DCED audit, if desired.

16

17

World Cafe Session IIa // No. 17 // 16:20-16:55 Promoting farmer entrepreneurship through partnering Hedwig Bruggeman, Agri-ProFocus

About Agri-ProFocus

Agri-ProFocus is an international partnership of agricultural professionals and their organisations, companies and knowledge institutes. Originating from the Netherlands, Agri-ProFocus is now active in 12 African countries and will soon also venture into Bangladesh and Indonesia. The partnership is facilitated by a small dedicated team.

Agri-Hubs in Africa

Examples from the field

The mission of Agri-ProFocus is to promote farmer entrepreneurship by creating spaces and opportunities for multi-stakeholder action and learning. Ethiopian Learning Alliance Support Programme for Promoting Rural Entrepreneurship (APEA), Niger Gender in Value Chains Community (Book and Practical Toolkit) Initiative for the Promotion of Rural Entrepreneurship (IPER), Rwanda

7 1

The local communities in African countries, which we call Agri-Hubs, are our greatest asset. Agri-Hubs have individual membership bases from 100 to 1500 local professionals in the agricultural sector. In addition, a range of local as well as international companies and organisations are active participants in and contributors to the Agri-Hubs. By having such a broad and (inter)active network, Agri-ProFocus offers its members and other parties access to: Useful contacts en entries in the local agricultural sector Cooperation opportunities and potential business partners (for which we can do brokering) Information about access to new markets and market opportunities Access to innovation communities with fresh ideas Specific knowledge about countries and value chains Access to/ assistance with applying for subsidies of the Dutch government for joint programmes and public-private partnerships Feedback on new products directly from a potential consumer/ beneficiary base. Shortly summarised: Agri-Hubs open doors! Agriculture in Africa is currently considered booming and there are lots of opportunities for investment as well as for improving the livelihoods of millions of farmers and their dependants. What do we do with those opportunities?

Facts and figures about the Agri-Hubs

Countries: Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, DR Congo (East), Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; each with an online platform. Largest Agri-Hub: Uganda (1,515 professionals, 430 associated organisations) Largest joint programme: Ethiopian Food Security and Rural Entrepreneurship Fund (6.6 million, offering biannual tenders for innovative agricultural products and services) Successful intervention: Agri-ProFocus organises Agri-Finance Fairs in various countries, where farmers and banks meet, exchange and make deals on the ground. Fairs and similar events have already been organised in Kenya (3), Uganda (4), Rwanda (2), Mali, Niger, Mozambique and Ethiopia (2). Successful matchmaking: Agri-ProFocus and AgriHub Ethiopia linked TGT (an Ethiopian mechanisation company) to Dutch Rumptstad. TGT has started to import two-wheel Rumptstad tractors and we help them to find funding for on-farm testing and local assembly.

18

World Cafe Session IIb // No. 18 // 17:00-17:35 Green growth, South-South and policy progress: State of play for recommendations from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change Christine Negra, CCAFS Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change
Key messages
Established in 2011 by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) with support from the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change has: Outlined a comprehensive set of science-based policy actions to achieve food security in the context of climate change. Over 22,000 report downloads. Reached priority audiences through presentations (COP 17, Planet Under Pressure, SBSTA, ICSU, Rio+20, Hanoi CSA conference, COP18, etc.), briefings, op-eds and other communication tools. Nearly 16,000 views of the safe space video. ARDD4 learning events built around the recommendations. Created new knowledge and influenced policy. Commissioners led studies on food price and eating patterns and injected messages into policy venues. Received significant media attention. The New York Times editorial page lauded the Commission, which was also covered in 37 different news outlets. Brokered multi-sector engagement. Dialogues with over 100 decision makers about who can do what to advance the recommendations. Articulated the role for scientists. Peer-reviewed journal articles grounded and showcased the Commissions recommendations including a Science Policy Forum.

Assessing the state of play related to selected Commission recommendations

18

1. National progress toward green growth that includes agriculture and climate change Innovative public and private action around the world is testing the green growth concept through context-specific projects and policy. 2. Integrated national policy interventions for climate change, agriculture and food insecurity Policy advancements in New Zealand, Ethiopia and Brazil illustrate holistic approaches. 3. South-south knowledge exchange at the food securityclimate change nexus Knowledge-sharing interactions and shared investments are addressing sustainable technologies and methods in food production and land management. 4. Prevention of food price spikes and effective response to food access crises Activity within the G20 and WTO, investments in early warning and updates in crisis response are reshaping the landscape for food reserves, market transparency and trade. 5. The fight against hunger and how climate change is factored in Global and regional platforms and public-private partnerships are addressing food availability, access and utilization with increasing recognition of climate change risks. 6. Information resources for human dimensions of food security and climate change New initiatives are promoting integrative measurements of agriculture, ecosystem services and human well-being.

19

World Cafe Session IIb // No. 19 // 17:00-17:35 On common ground: Platform priority areas and emerging messages - Building on the Joint Donor Concept Karim Hussein, Platform consultant
Common ground in the Platform to date
Two main policy documents establish the common ground among donors on rural development concepts and programming principles: 1. The 2006 Joint Donor Concept on Rural Development 2. The 2009 Joint Donor Principles for Agriculture and Rural Development Programmes At its meeting in September 2012, the Board of the Platform decided to update the Joint Donor Concept. The concept principles are still valid, but do not fully reflect the changing context for agriculture, rural development, food security and nutrition since 2008. Harmonising policy concepts and establishing common ground on priorities is a key function of the Platform and is therefore relevant to this AGA.

Nine areas of common ground on agriculture, rural development, food security and nutrition
1. Aid and development effectiveness and results in ARD and FSN (an overarching priority) 2. Climate change and resilience; 3. Gender equity and youth 4. Agricultural research for development 5. Private sector development in ARD and FSN 6. Nutrition and agriculture 7. Pastoralism and livestock 8. Postharvest losses/food waste 9. Land and water management This update will strengthen harmonisation between donors at the policy level as well as help to align the efforts of the Platform to engage in international processes and initiatives. As several agencies are drafting new policies or guidelines on ARD and FSN, it reflects these changes underway.

Consultation process
Starting in November 2012, Platform members were consulted by SDC and IFAD on priorities and key messages to establish common ground on core Platform topics. A draft was shared with members in late 2012 following a task team meeting hosted by Sida in December. Comments, suggestions and further inputs were taken into account in mid-January. 17 inputs were received from Platform members and in addition the strategy documents of seven further countries were reviewed. The update will be a living resource to be adjusted over time, to reflect new donor thinking, emerging challenges and priorities for a rapidly changing global development context.

Aim of the session: Gather feedback, find key messages, discussion questions
What processes will ensure this becomes a truly living resource? Periodic reviews and updates? Use of interactive web-based tools? On-going update of an overview table of all donor strategies? Not all members place the same emphasis on each priority area, e.g. water; land; pastoralism. Here, does common ground reflect Platform priorities or the lowest common denominator?

9 1

20

World Cafe Session IIb // No. 20 // 17:00-17:35 Leaping & learning: Linking African smallholders to markets for better food security. What development partners need to know Iris Krebber, Department for International Development & Steve Wiggins, Overseas Development Institute

Creating an enabling rural investment climate

In broad terms, agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa requires an enabling rural investment climate, plus investment in rural public goods and agricultural research and extension. But many smallholders also need more and better links to markets - for outputs, inputs and services. They participate in markets less than expected given the potential gains from selling specialised produce, or from buying inputs that allow higher productivity.

Success stories

Pressing questions for smallholders

A plethora of pilot and commercial experiences are taking place across the continent that aim to widen and enhance links to markets. Commercial companies, NGOs, official donors and government agencies have all promoted and supported schemes to increase these links; varying by crop and intended market, class of smallholder contacted, degree of external support, and focus on output or input markets (or both). Only a minority of these experiences have been objectively reviewed and documented. Yet in the last two or three years, a dozen studies have tried to examine samples of these cases and distil the lessons. Our work, looking at 30 cases across Africa, is one such effort.

What matters more are the processes and approaches that lead to the formation of effective links between smallholders and markets: Working within current capacity, competence and trust amongst the supply chain participants. With time, of course, capacity, competence and trust will develop, thereby allowing more sophisticated linkages. Adjusting to changing circumstances: markets will change as customer preferences shift, as other suppliers compete and as logistics advance. Effective links will thus not be set in stone. Learning from experience - and mistakes - to correct actions through time. Most successful linkages have emerged by adaptation, sometimes from failed initial ideas; almost all have faced unexpected obstacles, but leaders have been resourceful and determined to overcome them.

Food for thought for donors

Key emerging lessons

1. Governments have to ensure an enabling investment climate - although it does not have to be perfect, and to invest in rural public goods. 2. Business models must confer realizable benefits for all in the supply chain, not least smallholders. Time and again, the markets that smallholders can supply without unreasonable demands or risks these turn out to be domestic and regional, rather than export markets. Fortunately, the former markets are growing quickly and increasingly demanding higher value produce. 3. Supply chains may not be accessible to all marginal smallholders, at least not in the short term. Market relations have their demands and their risks: They are not suitable for all smallholders, not the most marginal. However, this does not mean that these, who often make up half or more of current smallholders, should be abandoned; it only suggests that there are simpler interventions, such as raising yields of home-consumed food crops, that are more appropriate for them. 4. Processes, not models, matter most when linking small farmers to markets. Many templates exist for linking smallholders to markets, through spot market deals to varying degrees of contracting, or through farmer associations and co-operatives. In differing conditions they may work or fail. When looking for lessons, what to scale up, these forms are not the place to look.

20

Some reviews criticise donors for over-emphasising high value export crops, short time horizons and for tending to over-support initiatives to ensure success at any cost including that of sustainability. Can you support processes that will take time, perhaps ten years, where adjustments will need to be made as experience accumulates, and where some initiatives will fail? How can the need for flexibility, patience and rigorous learning be made compatible with donor requirements for reliable plans, targets, milestones and the reassurance that outcomes will be achieved? How much are you prepared to invest in monitoring and evaluating, and adjusting programmes as lessons are learned? These require much time and attention from agency staff, while disbursements of funds may be small and slow.

21

World Cafe Session IIb // No. 21 // 17:00-17:35 Scaling-up access to credit for rural development in Haiti Matthew Straub, Canadian International Development Agency
Agriculture in Haiti
Agriculture, once a mainstay of the Haitian economy, still offers one of the most promising paths to sustainable poverty reduction and stability in Haiti. The agriculture sector is the main source of income for two-thirds of Haitians, and generates 25 per cent of Haitis gross domestic product. Despite its potential contribution, the development of this sector in Haiti has been extremely challenging. Haitian producers typically farm less than one hectare of land, and lack access to inputs, services and infrastructure. Furthermore, limited government resources and a poor national policy framework for agriculture have failed to encourage investment in agriculture, instead exposing Haitian farmers to international market forces without adequate safety nets. As a result, Haiti production covers less than 50 per cent of the countrys demand, leaving Haitian consumers exposed to the high price volatility of food imports. Malnutrition affects between two to three million Haitians, who live primarily in rural areas.

Le Levier
Founded in 2008 based on the cooperative model of Development international Desjardins, this network of 50 credit unions has rapidly expanded its membership, offering savings and credit services to over 437,000 Haitians. It has become the countrys dominant force in supporting the cooperative movement, and helped develop value chains for bananas, coffee, sugar cane, beans, vegetables corn and rice. Haitian women comprise 147,000 of the network members. Its deep roots in communities across Haiti enabled Le Levier to take an active and effective part in reconstruction efforts following the 2010 earthquake, providing an array of financing mechanisms, lines of credit, emergency funds for damaged cooperatives, and fund for employees and local communities. Le Levier is providing inroads for programming in other sectors. For example, the Federation struck an agreement with 233 schools across Haiti to provide small loans that allow parents to send their childrens to school. This programme has translated into academic success for student beneficiaries, but has also provided parents, largely Haitian women, with their first loan experience. While part of CIDA funding supports the operations of Le Levier, the ultimate goal is to move the network toward completely autonomy. In addition, the network is looking to expand its coverage in rural areas.

Renewed investment in agriculture

Since the 2010 earthquake, the Haitian Government has shown some enthusiasm for renewed investment in agriculture, and in late-2010 released its National Agriculture Investment Plan, which seeks to build coherence across investments in the sector. As a key donor in the agriculture sector, Canada has aligned its efforts with this investment plan, with continued emphasis on its tradition area of strength in providing access to financial services. Credit and insurance, in particular, are vitally important to encourage farmers to invest more and to reenergise the agricultural sector by making it more competitive and attractive to outside investors. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has long supported work to improve access to financial services by developing Haitis cooperative movement, and providing financial products for farmers.

1 2

22

World Cafe Session IIb // No. 22 // 17:00-17:35 New world food system Eric Smaling, University of Twente

Seven billion people currently eat, but both sides of the spectrum are troubled
One billion is malnourished One billion is obese

Another two billion people are expected by 2050

30 per cent more people FAO, however, expects food needs to increase by 70 per cent

1. Open up more currently non-agricultural land for food production 2. Increase food production per unit land and water 3. Reduce food losses and waste 4. Improve food distribution systems 5. Change food habits

There are roughly five avenues to realise sufficient food in 2050

22

Not all of the above solutions are equally suitable or easy to achieve
What has worked well, where and when? Which possible improvements are low hanging fruit?

How can we build a Food Security Council, a New World Food System?
Private sector commitment National and regional policies Farmer-consumer associations International institutions A new movement?

23

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

www.donorplatform.org/aga

Secretariat of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development at GIZ Offices Godesberger Allee 119, 53175 Bonn, Germany

Download booklet as PDF.