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Newsletter N° 1 September 2017
Launched in 2015, the ACP-EU
Commodities Programme (CP) is de-
signed to improve the competitiveness
of small producers engaged in cocoa,
coconut and root/tubers through re-
gional integration of markets concerned
and the intensification of production.
The CP benefits directly to no less than
36 of our ACP countries. It is being im-
plemented by the following partner in-
stitutions:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Inter-
nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- Cocoa;
Food & Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) - Roots & Tubers;
International Trade Centre (ITC)
- Coconuts Caribbean region;
Secretariat of the Pacific Com-
munity (SPC) - Coconuts Pacific
region.
The present Newsletter provides a
sample of the recent activities of these
partners.
Thus, using the Farmer Business
School Approach, GIZ is enhancing
business skills of male and female co-
coa smallholders in West and Central
Africa with a view to improve yields
and revenue, and meet SDGs. We can
also read how, in support of Rwanda’s
Green Growth and Climate Resilience
Strategy, FAO facilitates interventions
promoting sustainable food value
chains.
In the Caribbean, the ITC and
CARDI have joined forces using busi-
ness-driven “Alliance clusters” to bring
together private and public sector ac-
tors in the coconut sector to improve
its competitiveness. The article from
the Pacific Community reports on a re-
cent regional meeting convened to
identify key training and research
Supporting the greening of small food enterprises in Rwanda (FAO)
Within the context of the ongoing ACP-EU
Commodities Programme, FAO is implementing the
project component “Strengthening linkages between
buyers and small actors in the Roots and Tubers sectors
in Africa”. Beneficiaries are: Benin, Cameroon, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda.
Rwanda’s Green Growth and Climate
Resilience Strategy
Rwanda has taken a series of important steps to
promote businesses’ engagement in environmental
issues. The National vision 2020 aims to transform
Rwanda from a subsistence economy based on
agriculture to a middle income country. Sustainable
environmental and climate change management are
acknowledged as pivotal cross-cutting areas to the
realization of this aspiration. To that end, the
Government developed the Green Growth and Climate
Resilience (GGCR) National Strategy for Climate Change
and Low Carbon Development.
However, Rwanda is still highly dependent from the
intense use of non-renewable resources for energy. As
part of the objective of enhancing the competitiveness of
selected value chains, the Project is undertaking an
activity in support of the potato value chain in Rwanda.
The aim of the activity is to catalyze sustainability
measures and energy efficiency drivers in food value
chains in Rwanda, using crisp manufacturers in the Irish
potato value chain, as an entry point. Both the public
sector, mostly SMEs supporting agencies, and the
private sector stakeholders - including potato processing
SMEs, potato collection centers and farmers’
organizations - have been involved in this process.
Project Contributions
Contributing to Rwanda’s efforts, a series of
interventions for effectively promoting sustainable food
value chains in Rwanda have been planned, focusing
mainly on building the capacity of processors and
collection centers in the following areas: (i) adapting
sustainability tools to attract investment - prioritizing
public investment support in sustainable packaging
technologies; (ii) promoting a unified sustainability
vision and strategy for farmers and small food
processors partnership; (iii) developing policies that
E D I T O R I A L
(To be continued on page 2)
ACP-EU COMMODITIES
PROGRAMME
2
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
specifically target the small food companies and that
prioritize convergence between sustainability and
competitiveness; (iv) establishing dialogue platforms
between research institutes, farmer and processors for
sustainable seed systems; (v) moving initiatives that
support innovation and sustainability beyond dialogue on
productivity, through Agricultural Innovation Platforms
(AIPs).
Unfortunately, along the potato chain, value is often
lost or destroyed. In order to support small crisp
manufacturing companies and workshop participants
applying a sustainability lens to business models between
farmers and small food companies, the stakeholders have
been receiving support in, for instance: recycling waste peel
into animal feed or fertilizers and waste cooking oil into
electricity, soap or biodiesel; upscaling good agricultural
practices with farmers to address premature harvesting and
mix variety production; branding on sustainability;
investments in innovation; and products development.
Next Steps
A possible next step could be to increase the ownership
of the GGCR Strategy by institutions, from national to local
level. Capacity building,
provided by the Rwanda
Environment Management
Authority, needs to be up
s ca l ed f r om cen t ra l
government down to
grassroots level. In addition,
a next step for research is to
test and introduce varieties
that are better suited for
processing activities, while
continuing to seek ways of
reducing the number of
years it takes for a potential
variety to be tested and
listed.
Since the Roots and
Tubers Project targets also
cross sectoral collaboration
for the potato value chain -
including downstream actors
-, possible support may
concern ensuring the
i n c l u s i o n o f p o t a t o
processors in the AIPs,
usually left out parties in the
dialogue.
needs, as well as investment
opportunities.
The overal l picture
brought out by these contribu-
tions is one of a dynamic and
modernising ACP agriculture.
Our agricultural entrepreneurs
are seen to be receptive to
change and news ways of doing
business. There is an eagerness
to transform subsistence activi-
ties and family farms into small
but modern and efficient pro-
duction units from which
women, youth and male farm-
ers alike can draw a decent liv-
ing. This is precisely what the
policy “New approach to ACP
Group support for the develop-
ment of agriculture value
chains”, endorsed by the ACP
Council of Ministers during its
105th session last May, seeks
to nurture.
We commend our part-
ners for their technical inputs,
reiterate our support to actors
of these important ACP agricul-
tural value chains, and hope
you will enjoy the reading of
this Newsletter.
Viwanou GNASSOUNOU
Assistant Secretary General Sustainable Economic Development and Trade
(From page 1)
3
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
Family agriculture is business: Farmer Business School (GIZ)
Cocoa is a major agricultural product
and export for Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana,
Cameroon, Nigeria and Togo. Over three
million smallholdings produce 73% of world
cocoa. Yields remain far below the
possibilities of recommended techniques.
Reasons include the lack of technical and
entrepreneurial skills, difficult access to input
markets as well as to technical and financial
services. Incomes average 1.50 USD per day
and person. Additional agricultural income is
derived mainly from food products. In
addition, dependence on cocoa as source of
income and price volatility leads to
impoverishment, malnutrition and social
problems such as child labor.
To improve yields and revenue, and
meet SDGs, the Cocoa-Food Link Programme
(CFLP) is implemented as part of the ACP-EU
Commodities Programme by German
International
Cooperation
(GIZ), with co-
funding by the
EU. The
approach builds
on the
experience of
the Sustainable
Smallholder
Agri-Business
Programme.
Enhancing
business skills
of male and
female cocoa
smallholders is
one of the
result areas of
CFLP
Twenty-eight partners including private
ones such as OLAM, ECOM, as well as public
ones like the Ghana Cocoa Board or ANADER
in Côte d’Ivoire mobilize over 700 specialized
FBS trainers. They have trained more than
400,000 smallholders (28% women) since
2010. Under CFLP, over 130,000 smallholders
(33% women) benefitted from such training.
Over 90,000 received complementary training
on GAP for cocoa and food production.
Subsequent to training, the following changes
and impacts are observed:
• 57% of FBS graduates opened
saving accounts.
• 41% received loans for cocoa or
food production.
• 45% of trained groups
registered producer
organizations
• 6 new producer federations
(>10,000 members) emerged
from FBS trainings
Twelve other programmes of
German Development Cooperation have
adapted FBS. 35 FBS curricula are
implemented in 15 African countries for a
total outreach exceeding 800,000
smallholders. With support from the
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ), the FBS Advisory Facility
has been established. The Facility assists
interested programmes, organizations and
enterprises to introduce the approach and to
customize it to other production systems.
In the framework of CFLP, the successes
with FBS have led to the development of the
Cooperative Business School. The approach is
currently being rolled out in the five partner
countries and covers the following topics:
Markets & value chains;
Strategic & financial management
Business & technical services
Economics of services
Development of Business plans;
Contracts and tender procedures
Mobilizing working capita
(To be continued on page 4)
4
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
Farmer Business School Approach
The CFLP uses the Farmer Business School (FBS) approach which has been developed in 2010
with local partners for large scale implementation. FBS covers investment strategies and
management skills to use production factors and viable Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) of
cocoa and food products. Participants discover during five subsequent mornings that agriculture
does not necessarily equate with poverty, and learn how to develop it as a business.
To this effect, they learn about:
Principles of farming as a business and units to plan and evaluate
Human nutrition and farm management for enough food and a balanced diet
Economics of cocoa and food products
Investment strategies based on cost-benefit analysis to diversify and increase incomes
Financial management, savings and credit
Benefits from quality cocoa and organization
Planning investments in replanting of cocoa
FBS training complements agricultural extension and financial services for agriculture
(From page 3)
5
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
Pacific Coconut Value Chain Workshop provides direction for industry development (SPC)
Coconuts have a unique potential to sustain
healthy rural livelihoods throughout the Pacific
islands and can provide a key driver for em-
ployment, incomes and growth in the region. These
were some of the key messages that came out
from the Coconut Industry Development for the
Pacific Project (CIDP) Pacific Coconut Sector Value
Chain workshop which was held on July 11-13th,
2017 in Nadi, Fiji.
The workshop brought together 51 partici-
pants, private and public sector as well as farmer
representatives, from 13 Pacific Island countries,
as well as key representatives from South Asia and
the Caribbean – whose participation was facilitated
through the Coconut Industry Development for the
Caribbean project. Development partners, the Aus-
tralian Centre for International Agricultural Re-
search (ACIAR), the Asian & Pacific Coconut Com-
munity(APCC) and the International Fund for Agri-
cultural Development (IFAD) and Pacific Trade In-
vest (PTI) also participated in the dialogue. The
workshop was officially opened by the Ambassador
of Samoa to the European Union, His Excellency
Ambassador Fatumanava Pa’olelei Luteru, who also
chairs the ACP Investment and Private Sector Sub-
Committee.
During the three days, a wealth of informa-
tion was shared related to the status of the coco-
nut industry in the various countries represented.
The opportunities and constraints for selected co-
conut products and sub-sectors were also discus-
sed. Participants were briefed on a recent study
undertaken through CIDP that provided global
and regional perspectives of the industry. Guest
speakers from the international coconut industry
provided case studies of success and lessons
learned to enrich the participants’ experience
and provide some inspiration as to what is pos-
sible.
Workshop participants were part of a pro-
cess to identify key training needs, research
needs and investment opportunities. CIDP will
be considering some of these under the current
support programme and will work with stakehol-
ders to identify finance opportunities to address
the rest.
The programme also allowed for discussion
and endorsement of key product/sub sectors
and value chains to be analysed under the cur-
rent CIDP programme.
Participants of the workshop were introdu-
ced to the terms of reference for the Pacific Va-
lue chain Working group and elected two addi-
tional members from the forum (one private
sector representative and one farmer organisa-
tion representative). This group will guide for-
mulation of the Value Chain Road Maps on the
sub sectors identified by the workshop: Virgin
coconut oil (VCO) for local markets; high grade
copra oil for export markets; yoghurt/ice cream
products for local/tourism market and timber.
(To be continued on page 6)
6
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
Caribbean forming Alliances for Action (ITC/CARDI)
The coconut global value chain (GVC) is
at a critical stage, characterized by increasing
demand from global markets and a stagnant
supply base in danger of collapse in coconut
producing countries. In the Caribbean, coconut
value chains have mirrored these global market
trends. The regional trade of coconuts and co-
conut products has grown by approximately
230% since 2008 (UNComtrade, 2015). While
demand is growing, restricted supply is a key
constraint for industry growth in the region.
In order to bridge sustainability and in-
clusiveness ‘gaps’ faced by vale chain opera-
tors, project partners in Jamaica, Dominican
Republic (DR) and Guyana are currently imple-
menting a baseline assessment characteriza-
tion. This has been developed to understand
and monitor smallholder coconut farmers’ deci-
sion making models and priorities. The results
of this activity will help project partners – in-
cluding value chain operators and policy ma-
kers - make informed and evidence based deci-
sions that support coconut sector development,
as well as help in the selection of farmers who
will benefit from the technical capacity building
training package.
The preliminary results of the characteri-
zation from DR indicate that even though far-
mers’ main source of income is coconut far-
ming, the production of other food crops makes
an important contribution to farmer’s income
generation activities. With regards to income
allocation, 50% of farmer income goes to food
expenditures and roughly 20% to farming in-
vestments, whilst the balance goes to educa-
tion, health, taxes, family well-being and sa-
vings. The results also suggest that pest and
A ‘Coconut Product Marketplace’
where participants had the opportunity to
display their products and participate in
social events (including some coconut the-
med activities such as “coconut 10 pin bo-
wling”) provided yet another opportunity
for participants to network and share in-
formation.
Following on from the workshop the value
chain road mapping is now underway and
technical assistance will soon be contrac-
ted to develop training modules relevant
to various coconut sub sectors and value
chain segments.
Financed under the EU-funded intra-ACP
Commodities Programme managed by the
ACP Secretariat, the objective of the Coco-
nut Industry Development for the Pacific
Project (CIDP) is to contribute to increa-
sing food availability and consolidate small
producers’ income by improving the com-
petitiveness of small Pacific producers en-
gaged in the coconut value chains. The
CIDP is managed by the Pacific Community
(SPC) with a budget of EUR 4 million to
the benefit of the 15 ACP Pacific Member
States, namely: Cook Islands, Federated
States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor
Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. A simi-
lar project is being implemented under the
intra-ACP Commodities Programme in the
Caribbean by ITC and CARDI who sent re-
presentatives to the Pacific workshop to
share their own experience of the sector
and in project implementation.
(From page 5)
7
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
ced coconuts
in Jamaica and
implement bu-
siness collabo-
ration frame-
works with
producers and
processors in-
volved in A4A.
In order
to ensure that
current sector
challenges are
addressed,
A4A project
partners are currently working on providing
farmer access to high-quality planting mate-
rial and the establishment of Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) plots. One nursery has
been established in Western Jamaica and
another one in Hope Estate, Guyana.
Additionally, ITC is mediating an agree-
ment between CARDI and the Ministry of
Agriculture in Dominican Republic with the
objective of disseminating production inten-
sification methods and good agricultural
practices through the establishment of nur-
series and IPM plots, a coconut germplasm
bank, producer technical advisory and sup-
port services, etc. The project is also car-
rying out technical capacity building trainings
for improving the competitiveness of coconut
agro-processors. The training package focu-
ses on methodologies to improve enterprise
competitiveness by reinforcing efficiency in
critical operational processes with a delibera-
te focus on complying with customer and
buyer requirements.
Next Steps
The data and outputs generated by the
GVC analysis, value chain workshops, NSP
discussions, country roadmaps, and charac-
terization exercise are inputs for commercial-
ly driven Alliances to generate knowledge
and understanding about the sector, as well
as to ultimately guide the development of
each Alliance through business models inclu-
ding lead firms and finance institutions. The
selection of Alliance cluster areas has been
done in the three countries and the local al-
liances will soon be operational through the
disease are the main issues faced by far-
mers, followed by commercialization
concerns and subsequently transportation,
price fluctuation and cash flow issues while
waiting for harvest. Consequently, the type
of support these farmers would like to have
concerns mostly of financial services, access
to planting material and training in agri-
cultural practices. The preliminary results of
the characterization are in line with the fin-
dings in the Global Value Chain analysis and
the value chain workshops implemented
with public and pri-
vate industry sta-
keholders held in
2016 under the ae-
gis of the project.
Response
The Coconut
Industry Develop-
ment for the Carib-
bean Project pro-
motes coordination
and collaboration
between key natio-
nal and regional
stakeholders along the coconut value chain
in order to address value chain issues by
using the Alliances for Action (A4A) ap-
proach in DR, Guyana and Jamaica. This is
the first time public and private sector re-
presentatives from the region are forming
alliances to unlock sector potential, attract
investments and develop the coconuts sec-
tor in an inclusive and impactful manner
with the financial support of the EU and ACP
Group, and technical support of ITC and
CARDI.
At the global level, the Alliance has
identified bottlenecks and opportunities for
sector development through the establish-
ment of National Stakeholder Platforms
(NSPs) and roadmap development. At the
local level, a series of business-driven Al-
liance clusters are bringing together private
and public sector actors who are investing
in coconut sector development. For instan-
ce, Grace Kennedy Food Limited - one of
the largest single-entity food manufacturers
in the Caribbean - has recently committed
to collaborate with Alliance partners to ex-
pand channels of utilization of locally sour-
(To be continued on page 8)
8
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
selection of farmers involved and the
implementation of the capacity building
training packages. Additionally, project
partners will focus on designing and
adapting financial instruments that res-
pond to coconut industry actors’ needs
in the Caribbean.
In this manner, the A4A process
aims to generate commercially driven
locally owned solutions through a part-
nership system for value chain opera-
tors, from farmers to end buyers, with
scalability at large.
A C P - E U C O M M O D I T I E S P R O G R A M M E
A joint initiative
Implemented by
ACP Secretariat – Avenue Georges Henri 451, B - 1200 - Brussels, Belgium
email : [email protected]
Tel: +32 2 743 06 00
Fax: +32 2 735 55 73
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.
(From page 7)