IMI Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation

1. Developing Marketing Chains from Producers to Consumers LESSONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION IMI Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation

2. Content of the Presentation • Context and objective of the project • Market access problems faced by small-scale producers • What was done during the pilot phase? • Lessons learnt • Opportunities for innovation

3. Context and objective • The process of globalisation has created both challenges and opportunities for small rural producers in developing countries • However, small producers face difficulties in accessing markets notwithstanding their potential comparative advantage in the production of certain commodities Objective: to develop innovative tools and upscale best practices in order to help small- scale producers take advantage of new market opportunities

4. Value chain development Traditionally, IFAD placed emphasis on the supply side, giving little attention to the development of marketing chains. Where and how the product was sold was not at the core of IFAD business Final consumption Secondary transformation Primary transformation Primary production Exports Imports Local markets Supermarkets

5. Market access problems faced bysmall-scale producers

6. Market access problems faced bysmall-scale producers

7. The Pilot Phase: Participants IFAD an International Development Organization IFAT a Global Network Traidcraft Market Access Centre GLOBAL PROGRAMME ON MARKET ACCESS

8. What was done during the pilot phase? Who did it? • Virtual Library on market access • “Into the Market” – A manual for market access • Case Study on Business Development Centres tailored for rural producers • Participating in Trade Fairs: a Toolkit • E-commerce for rural producers: lessons and opportunities • Traidcraft – IFAD • FIDAMERICA and IFAD HQ • IFAD HQ and PROMER • Traidcraft and Asia Forum (IFAT) • IFAD HQ

9. Virtual Library on market access A virtual space where the rural producers and the organizations working with them could find resources and tools in terms of information and documents The internal structure is organized according to the following classification: (i) manuals and guides; (ii) best practices; (iii) electronic conferences; (iv) publications and documents; (v) statistical information; (vi) regional operators; (vii) other information

10. “Into the Market”A manual for market access • The manual aims at helping small producers understand the key priciciples and best practices accessing markets (local, regional and international). It has a “pragmatic approach”, and is written in a clear, simple language with a user-friendly structure and extensive use of visuals • The intended users are small producers and organizations working with them

11. Lessons Learnt • To successfully tackle market access issues it is essential to develop a systematic approach, identifying the main problems and developing a clear market access strategy • There is a need to identify and develop newmarket opportunities and explore new marketing channels, where small-scale producers may have a comparative advantage (e.g.: organic products, fair trade) • There is a need to develop links and partnerships with the private sector and specialised NGOs, taking advantage of their experience and expertise

12. Lessons Learnt (cont.) • Information and communication technologies can be of great help to small-scale producers, but they cannot work alone and they cannot lead the process • A critical aspect when working with small-scale rural producers is their limited volume of production. Strengthening theirorganisations becomes essential for them in order to achieve economies of scale and the develop their skills

13. Opportunities for innovation 1. Development of an Information platform A virtual space where people and organizations working on market access can find and exchange information The information Platform will be developed in coordination with FIDAMERICA (www.comercioactivo.org) and IFAT (www.IFAT.org), and will be linked to the IFAD Rural Poverty Portal

14. Opportunities for innovation 2. Knowledge sharing & best practices An internal assessment of IFAD experience in market access was carried out. The document: “Taking stock of IFAD Experience in Market Access” was one of the products of the pilot phase The document: “Taking Stock of Tools, Service Providers and Best Practices in Market Access – The top 20” is being prepared. It examines what the leaders in market access provide in terms of resources and services

15. Opportunities for innovation 3. Business Development Services Trying out new forms of institutional arrangements by which rural producers take direct and increasing responsibility for hiring and assessing business development services 4. Making use of information and communication technologies to facilitate rural producers in accessing information • Interaction with Finnish organizations • Two pilot projects (Peru and Tanzania)

16. The Institutional Triangle IFAD Project (Enabling Agency) CONTRACTS PARTICIPATION Service Provider (Delivery Agency) PARTICIPATIONCONTRACTS RuralProducers Source: A Practitioner’s Guide for Institutional Analysis of Rural Development Programmes, IMI, IFAD.