Support to Business Organisations and their Access to Markets (BOAM)

Lessons learned

Lessons learned at value chain level, at meso and macro levels,
on the value chain approach and on monitoring and evaluation.

 

...at Value Chain Intervention Level:

• The value chain approach helps to create synergies among the value chain members, assists in new product development, creates market linkages and new markets, thereby enhancing productivity and competitiveness.

• Value chain development should involve potential investors, wherever possible in order to create increased production and marketing capacities as well as competitiveness in international markets.

• Coordination Groups are stakeholder meetings of the respective value chain and are a good forum to ensure communication and active participation between retailers and processors as well as small farmer producers and cooperatives (to ensure a pro poor growth).

• Value chain development should include all the supply chain actors, direct and indirect (individual farmers, producer groups, BDS providers and cooperative unions).

• In economic development, particularly in a sector or value chain approach, market demand, "the point of final sale", is the starting point. There is no way of developing a viable business without basing it on a sound knowledge of market demand.

• Value chain development should identify the main value chain constraints and then choose the specific "entry points" for concrete and strategic intervention. Do not take action everywhere, but establish priorities.

• Value chain interventions should be managed by the actors themselves organized in coordination groups in order to develop the self-help initiative of the business community involved. Private business has to take the lead.

• Coordination group meetings encourage linkages between the chain members, experience exchange, new idea generation, participation and the sense of ownership.

• Coordination groups enhance collaboration among development actors on all levels of the value chain (producer groups, business operators, intermediaries, NGOs, public institutions).

• Every Coordination Group (CG) should have a chain leader (one of the entrepreneurs involved) and be assisted by a value chain facilitator (consultant) who holds contact and assures communication between the value chain members in between the CG meetings and assists for specific problem solving interventions.

• The development programme should facilitate and support the implementation process but not play the role of a main actor.

• The participatory approach develops the sense of ownership and helps to get serious partners for value chain development interventions.

• Problems and actions should be identified and requested on a demand-driven basis by the value chain members themselves.

• The demand-driven value chain intervention should be prioritized to solve focal-point constraints in the value chain in order to leverage the businesses throughout the value chain.

• Value Chain Development should come together with Business Development Services (BDS): Concrete constraints at enterprise level can be solved by the help of BDS facilitators and professional BDS providers accompanying the value chain development process.

• Women's participation in value chain development should be enhanced by specific trainings for women entrepreneurs and women associations.

• Business associations and networks created by the business operators themselves help to solve their common problems through self-help initiatives and are the basis for sustainable development after programme's end.

 

... at Meso and Macro levels:

• Policy issues should emanate from the value chain interventions at the micro and meso levels to the policy makers on regional and national level (bottom-up approach).

• The coordination of the different value chain actors will create demand-oriented networking activities at national level including actors at micro and meso levels as well as public and private business support institutions and BDS providers.

• The integrated value chain development and finance approach will create necessary synergies because many initiatives need tailor-made financial solutions.

• Information-sharing helps to avoid unnecessary duplication of interventions and helps to reduce costs.

• Information sharing and coordination between stakeholders and support institutions can be organized by value chain specific networks, national networks, discussion forums, conferences and workshops.

• Website development and e-mail based periodical newsletters are also relevant tools for public information sharing with all actors involved. Concrete business information should be provided as well as guidelines and strategies.

 

...on Monitoring and Evaluation:

• The gender equity should be addressed by presenting segregated data in all monitoring and evaluation documents in order to raise awareness on the gender issue in value chain development.

• Baseline surveys can be replaced by ex-post evaluation because in the demand-driven approach actors involved will only be identified after initial interventions and in the further process of implementation. Value chain members are encouraged to collect the basic data before being supported (basic data on production, quality, employees, production capacity and main problems to be solved by the upcoming support).

• Then, periodical evaluations and sample studies should be made by external independent consultants using questionnaires focusing on impact-relevant indicators such as increased turnover / income generation, better equipment and product quality for clients, increased employment, secured legal status of business and improved legal business environment.

• In a first period, the M+E documentation will be limited to activities and outcomes. Only after a given period, when these interventions create a measurable effect, can they be evaluated by specific sample interviews where impact will be documented.

• All development programmes with a wide range of interventions and without permanent M+E staff are regularly in delay with their M+E update. The permanent M+E document management is a full-time job and cannot be done without a permanent M+E expert.

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