Newsletter No 5 December 2018

E D I T O R I A L

Dear Readers,

With the New Year around the corner,

implementing agencies of the ACP-EU Com-

modity Programme (CP) are busy complet-

ing activities or actually closing down their

component of the programme. It is there-

fore timely to take stock of what has been

achieved, and to gauge the impact of the CP

in the 36 beneficiary countries. This is what

the articles of the final issue of the CP News-

letter seek to do, albeit in brief.

You will remember that this intra-ACP

programme, started in 2014, with resources

from the 10th European Development Fund -

EDF 10) covers the cocoa value chain in

West and Central Africa; the coconut sector

of the Caribbean and Pacific regions; as well

as the root/tubers value chains in several

African countries. It was designed to im-

prove the competitiveness of small produc-

ers engaged in those value chains through

regional integration of markets and the in-

tensification of production. Other objectives

included better access to finance, infor-

mation services and risk management in-

struments, particularly as regards climate

and market risks.

The picture that emerges from the ar-

ticles, and from the presentations at the

CP’s last Steering Committee, is that the

targeted VCs are now better integrated, with

stronger links along the segments as a re-

sult of the capacity-building initiatives and

linkage efforts undertaken under the differ-

ent components of the CP. Deeper integra-

tion results in lower risks and better condi-

tions for investment at different points of

The Caribbean Coconut Industry

Development Project is the result of collaboration

between the ACP Secretariat, the European Union,

International Trade Centre (ITC) and the

Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development

Institute (CARDI). It aimed to revitalise the

industry in the Caribbean region so as to draw

benefits from the rise in global demand for

coconut products. The project is now completed

and the present article outlines some of its major

results and impact on the ground.

To respond to challenges and opportunities,

ITC and CARDI have implemented the project

through “Alliances for Action”: a participatory

partnership model that engages smallholder

farmers and MSMEs in order to manage risk and

facilitate networks that provide the required

technical expertise, capacity building, and targets

catalytical investment to address value-chain

challenges. A common strategy is to combine

coconut tree planting with other crops and value-

added products that can provide stable income

stream.

(To be continued on page 3)

2

the value chain. The increase in planned in-

vestment in the Caribbean coconut sector is

thus particularly impressive.

VC integration rests on partnerships, as

also underlined in the case of the Pacific coco-

nut sector. To leverage on resources put at its

disposal through the intra-ACP envelope, the

region has mobilized expertise from other

partners such as the Asian and Pacific Coconut

Community (APCC). Over 200 coconut stake-

holders across the region have benefited from

support in value chain analysis; production

improvement and intensification; organic cer-

tification and plantation management; pest

and disease management and E Marketing of

coconut products. Pilot projects are underway

to test innovative solutions in terms of pro-

cessing efficiency, diversification or export

strategies.

The programme has also achieved com-

mendable results as regards roots and tubers

value-chains in Africa, generating an estimat-

ed 70 percent increase in the output of benefi-

ciary farmers. Enhancement of business skills

of women cassava producers has led to in-

creased supply, including to the regional mar-

kets, thereby creating jobs for youth. Access

to finance has also been improved, if margin-

ally, as a result of tailored activities based on

prior gap analysis.

The Cocoa Food Link component in West

and Central Africa has relied on local partners

as well to reach out to some 120 000 produc-

ers in the five beneficiary countries. The ap-

proach combining Farmer Business School

(FBC)/Cooperative Business School (CBS) and

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), coupled

with an enhancement of the diversification of

production, has increased productivity, while

also enhancing the credit-worthiness of

trained farmers, easing their access to fi-

nance. Despite unfavorable world prices,

farmers’ revenue has increased in all but one

country. And as an insurance against cocoa

price fluctuations, the entrepreneurial skills

instilled in farmers have encouraged a larger

number of them to diversify their output, con-

tributing in so doing to greater food security

and better nutrition.

(From page 1)

With the Commodities Programme com-

ing to an end, specific attention will be paid to

consolidating all the lessons learned, tools and

deliverables into a Knowledge Management

Platform, so that new projects and pro-

grammes can benefit from this wealth of infor-

mation. Business ACP has been entrusted with

this particular task, in consultation with the

Implementing Agencies concerned.

Allow me to end by thanking all those

who have contributed to the successful imple-

mentation of this programme, and in particular

the implementing agencies, namely, FAO, GIZ,

ITC supported by CARDI, and SPC. My thanks

are extended to all people and agencies in the

ACP countries concerned who, thanks to their

commitment and motivation, managed to

translate objectives into tangible results. Our

future interventions, notably under the New

Approach, will undoubtedly build on the

achievements of the CP.

Viwanou GNASSOUNOU

Assistant Secretary General

Sustainable Economic Development

and Trade

3

The goal of the approach is to spark the

interest of existing and potential stakeholders

of the Caribbean Coconut Industry, at all levels

of the value chain, and motivate them to

breathe new life into it, to attract investment

and contribute to the region’s economic

development and improvement of livelihoods.

To achieve that goal, the following has

been implemented: farmers have been trained

on a variety of sustainable farming techniques

for coconut production. They have learned to

establish climate smart farming systems that

will enable them to be more resilient to climate

change effects, increase their production,

diversify their crops and income streams and

improve their livelihoods.

Additionally, agro-processors have been

linked with smallholder farmers, and have

been trained on quality control and

international food safety standards, as well as

waste-reducing, efficiency-increasing lean

production methods. Trainings on marketing

and packaging techniques catering to current

market trends have also been successfully

implemented.

Capacity of support institutions, including

lenders, agricultural research and extension

services and government ministries has been

enhanced resulting in improved governance, a

business-enabled environment for small-scale

farmers and SMEs and improved access to

funds and financing.

The project has succeeded in sparking

strategic partnerships and increasing

smallholder farmer representation in National

Stakeholder Platforms, , resulting in concrete

investments, inclusive decision-making and

improved sector governance.

The project has also generated traction

for the development of the coconut industry

in the Caribbean region, improved sector

governance, disseminated market information

and provided technical expertise and capacity

building (reaching over 1,700 farmers/SMEs).

This has helped de-risk and attract

investment in the sector, with tangible results

and solid foundations laid for future

development.

Financial and economic

assessments in Jamaica issued by the

project estimate a staggering return on

investment: a 40-year investment of

USD 400 million, could generate

internal rate returns of up to 26%,

creating 10,631 direct jobs and

reaching 40,000 smallholder farmers

locally – contributing to almost USD

300 million in exports and USD 14

million in tax revenue per year.

For a closer look at the people and

organisations positively impacted by this

project, you may access videos which tell

their stories in the Alliances for Action

Facebook group dedicated to the Coconut

Industry Development for the Caribbean:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

alliances4caribbeancoconut/.

Visit our Instagram account

@alliances4action for more stories from the

field.

POTENTIAL INVESTMENT IMPACT

22.000.000 USD potential investment in Ja-maica on processing value added products & nursery development;

16.000.000 USD in Guyana on processing facil-ities and product development (coconut oil, desiccated coconut, charcoal & coco peat);

5.000.000 USD in the Dominican Republic on

nursery & product development (fresh & pro-

cessed coconut water, coconut milk, coconut

cream, piña colada and cakes).

(From page 1)

4

The Coconut Industry Development of

the Pacific (CIDP) component of the EU-

funded ACP Commodities Programme will

run until early 2019 to make up for a de-

layed start. Significant progress towards set

objectives has nevertheless been made.

Thus, over 200 value chain stakehold-

ers, have benefited from training in value

chain analysis; coconut production im-

provement and intensification; organic cer-

tification and plantation management; pest

and disease management and E Marketing

of coconut products. The plantation man-

agement training was offered in partnership

with the Asian and Pacific Coconut Commu-

nity (APCC) and the Sri Lanka Institute for

Coconut research and Development.

CIDP has also worked with Pacific

Trade Invest (PTI) to support participation

in the important Fine Foods Trade show in

Australia, a valuable experience which not

only provided market connections for par-

ticipants but re-enforced the importance of

understanding markets demands and

trends.

To further support ongoing capacity

building and intensification of production

CIDP has made 43 relevant training materi-

als and programmes available through a

central portal hosted by the Pacific Island

Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO)

(http://www.pipso.org.fj/resources/training

-manuals/processing-manual-virgin-coconut

-oil-products-products-pacific-island-

countries-territories/ ).

Additionally, training manuals devel-

oped by CIDP on Plantation Management

and Pest and Disease management for co-

conut plantations can be accessed through

the web link:

http://replantcoconut.blogspot.com/ and

http://coconutpests.org/.

Recognising the issues around senility of

coconuts in the Pacific and the need for large

scale and ongoing replanting, seed systems

have been designed for the Cook Islands, Ton-

ga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa and

Vanuatu.

The CIDP Pacific Coconut Sector Value

Chain Workshop in July 2017 brought together

67 participants from 15 Pacific Island coun-

tries, as well as key representatives from the

Caribbean and South Asia. A key out-come of

this workshop was to identify coconut value

chains that were thought to be, based on a

market assessment, the most beneficial and

relevant to the Pacific. The value chains select-

ed for study were domestic VCO; small scale,

high quality copra oil; and coconut timber ve-

neer.

Understanding and documenting the val-

ue chains has provided a road map for inves-

tors and other stakeholders such as the public

sector to support the development of these

value chains to the benefit of small holder pro-

ducers. Examples of such impact include:

• a small scale VCO producer in Rabi Island

Fiji utilising the value chain study to gain

support from local government to im-

prove the road to her factory and to pro-

vide a generator for the factory which

had previously relied on a village genera-

tor that was frequently under repair.

• understanding the value chain has also

allowed a Solomon Islands entrepreneur

to have conversations with her suppliers

about pricing leading to more consistent

supply and contributing to their ability to

meet new markets.

5

The purpose of this programme com-

ponent implemented by FAO has been to to

support and improve the commercialization

of cassava, yam and Irish potato crops in

Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire,

Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda, so as to en-

hance the livelihoods of small producers

and processors engaged in these value

chains. With the project closing down next

April, after around 4 years of implementa-

tion, the results show that the project not

only strengthened the overall roots and tu-

bers (R&T) value chains in the targeted

countries, but it also brought concrete

changes in the lives of small cassava, yam

and potato producers and processors.

Thus, the project provided 9,644

farmers with a broad range of trainings

covering – among others - issues related to

the adoption of environmentally sound ag-

ronomic practices, input use-efficiency, nat-

ural resource management, control of biotic

stress agents using the Farmer Field

Schools (FFS approach) and on-farm

demonstration trials. This resulted in an

increase of 70 percent in production and

land harvested, as well as 100 percent

higher productivity for small cassava, pota-

to and yam farmers since 2016.

Cassava Farmer supported by the project in Zomba, Malawi ©FAO/Margherita Bavagnoli

• the study on coconut veneer has resulted

into a proposal to the Australian Centre

for International Agricultural Research on

an applied research project to resolve is-

sues that are restraining investment in

the value chain.

CIDP is also supporting six Pilot projects

in Samoa and Vanuatu, providing equipment

and technical support. The project provides

equipment such as deodoriser, packaging

equipment, centrifuge, bottling plants, VCO

equipment, tractors etc. to help in process effi-

ciency and diversification. Lessons to be drawn

from their implementation will surely contribute

to improved processing efficiency and value-

added diversification, besides assisting the

penetration of new markets and promoting

sustainable replanting.

For more information, visit https://

lrd.spc.int/coconut-industry-development-for-

the-pacific

(To be continued on page 6)

6

ganizations (total of USD 698,000); and 3

new financial products were developed spe-

cifically for cassava and potato processors.

The savings of the members of the Kirundo

Potato Growers Cooperative, in Uganda, are

among the 18,000 USD saved under FFS

schemes supported by the project. With the

financial and business skills acquired, the

group is managing to diversify its business,

making significant profits and it is now

planning to establish its own Savings and

Credit Cooperative (SACCO).

After assessing the severe production

losses of R&T farmers due to the effects of

climate variability and change in these

countries, the project developed climate

information services in collaboration with

meteorological institutes, and other UN

Agencies. As at end of November 2018, 927

farmers were able to access climate and

agro meteorological information in vulnera-

ble areas.

Regarding climate risk financing ser-

vices the project strengthened the capacity

of Government officials, National Meteoro-

logical and Hydrological Services (NMHS as

well as FPSs on the role of insurance for

farmers against climate risks. Forums be-

tween FSPs, insurance companies, regula-

tors and farmers representatives were or-

ganized to elaborate concrete solutions and

develop new products which would be af-

fordable for farmers while sustainable for

insurance companies.

In Uganda, a unique insurance prod-

uct for potato farmers was developed with

the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA) and

the Insurance Consortium. In Rwanda, FSPs

lending already to small farmers as result

of FAO’s activities, expressed the interest to

also ensure access to credit to farmers lo-

cated in flood-prone areas, by exploring the

opportunity of engaging with local insur-

ance companies.

But how do these results actually im-

prove farmers’ livelihoods? In Rwanda, the in-

come of the Kottubumu Cooperative doubled

by doubling productivity, tripling production

(over 300 percent) but also starting formal

savings and investments in land. Given their

sustainable activities, the group is planning to

buy a new office, add land and build their es-

tablishment of small and medium.

The project targeted not only producers,

but also traders, farmer organizations, agri-

food processors, retailers, to develop Inclusive

Business Models (IBM) throughout the sectors,

enabling large or small actors to do business,

market their products and source inputs and

finance. Mr. Jeoffrey Chikaonda from Malawi -

who turned from farmer to cassava processor -

is one of the 5643 producers and processors

profiled and then supported by the project

through capacity building activities to

strengthen market linkages, processing tech-

niques, quality standards, financial and busi-

ness skills. The impact of the support in trans-

forming his business and life, and that of his

family, has been enormous: cassava flour

production increased from 0.5 to 10 tonnes

per season, enabling him to supply both rural

and urban markets , as well as to reach re-

gional markets (Nigeria) through e –commerce

channels, selling through an online page.

Women, in particular, were central in the

implementation of the project. In Côte d’Iv-

oire, for example, priority was given to in-

crease business transactions of women’s coop-

eratives producing cassava,. The Cofembib Co-

operative of Bouaké in central Côte d’Ivoire,

doubled its production after being exposed to

the project’s activities and being able to sign

formal contracts to supply international and

national buyers. Youth employment was boost-

ed through international trade opportunities..

The value chain finance approach adopt-

ed by the project has contributed to increase

accessibility to financial instruments and in-

vestment opportunities for small farmers and

processors. Tailored activities related to provi-

sion and access to financial services have been

developed targeting potential Financial Ser-

vices Providers (FSPs) and small clients. Con-

sequently, access to loans was unlocked for

442 individuals, 10 SMEs and 4 producers’ or-

(From page 5)

7

CFLP ended 27th October 2018 after 4 years implementation by GIZ and 50 partners in the

framework of Sustainable Smallholder Agri-Business (SSAB).

120,000 producers of cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria and Cameroon constitute the

target group of CFLP. The

strategy combines the

Farmer Business School

(FBS) with trainings on

Good Agricultural

Practices (GAP) for co-

coa and food production,

Business Services Cen-

tres operated by input

dealers, cooperatives and

Microfinance services and

the Cooperative Busi-

ness School (CBS) to

strengthen producer or-

ganizations service deliv-

ery

Targets of CFLP and

SSAB have been achieved

and exceeded thanks to the contributions of 50 local partners. Evaluations show adoption of FBS tools

and GAP and significantly improved access to financial services.

In 2017, the reference year for

the evaluation with 1,587 smallhold-

ings, bad weather conditions pre-

vailed and the nominal cocoa price

nose-dived by almost 40% to the

level of 1980/81.

Nonetheless, yields and gross

margins (nominal terms) have in-

creased the same year – except for

the case of Togo. The objectives of

CFLP and SSAB to enhance the diver-

sification of production and income

are thus most relevant.

The regional average of the agricultural income reached 1.69 USD per person and day in real

terms 2011), representing an increase of 8% - instead of the targeted 30% - over the baseline 2011.

Nigerian producers have succeeded to increase their real daily per capita income by 46% to 2.72 USD.

The income of the supported producers in the other countries remains, however, below the poverty

line.

The dramatic increase of the real income derived from agricultural products other than cocoa is

shown to the right. Supported producers were able to compensate fully (Nigeria) or partially the vola-

tility of cocoa farm gate prices respectively of local currency (Ghana). Except for Côte d’Ivoire and To-

Source : GIZ-SSAB Data bank and GFA. 2018

Source : GFA 2018. Impact study SSAB-CFLP with 1.587 smallhold-

ings

(To be continued on page 8)

8

A joint initiative

Implemented by

This publication is an initiative of the ACP Secretariat funded by the European Union . Its content is the sole responsibility of the technical assistance team.

go, cocoa now contributes less than

50% the smallholdings’ income.

This diversification and im-

proved competitiveness of the sup-

ported smallholdings have been

brought about mainly by FBS as

entrepreneurship training and

smallholders’ investments in good

agricultural practice including rec-

ommended inputs for food and co-

coa production.

The interventions brought to

very large scale by CFLP, SSAB

and partners are thus key for sus-

tainable growth and resilience

with regard to market and climate

shocks. To learn more watch the

films with farmers and partners un-

der www.ssab-africa.net/our-work

The FBS Advisory Facility for

Africa will continue to support inter-

ested organizations, programmes

and companies from Africa to intro-

duce agri-business approaches such

as Farmer Business School or the

Cooperative Business School. Your

request for information and ad-

vice are most welcome under

FBS-Facility@giz.de!

Sources: Data Dalberg (2013) and GFA (2018). No baseline for

Togo and Cameroon

Sources: Dalberg (2013) and GFA (2018). No baseline for Togo and

Cameroon

(From page 7)