scholarly journals Critical stages for post-harvest losses and nutrition outcomes in the value chains of bush beans and nightshade in Uganda

Food Security ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Strecker ◽  
Verena Bitzer ◽  
Froukje Kruijssen
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Loss Assessment ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Bush Bean

AbstractThe reduction of post-harvest losses (PHLs) has been identified as a key pathway to food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite policy prioritisation, knowledge about the severity of PHLs remains scant, especially when it comes to nutrient-dense crops such as African nightshade and bush beans. Therefore, this paper identifies loss hotspots, causes and effects throughout the value chains of nightshade and bush beans in eastern Uganda. Primary data collected following the Informal Food Loss Assessment Method, combined with small-scale load tracking and secondary data, allows for an analysis of physical, economic, quality, and nutritional losses throughout the value chains of both crops. Results show that in the bush bean value chain, severe physical and quality losses occur during post-harvest handling by farmers, leading to high economic losses at this stage of the chain. Nutritional losses are not expected to be significant in the bush bean value chain. By contrast, due to the shortness of the nightshade value chain, where produce is moved from harvest to consumption within one or two days, physical losses in most parts of the chain are relatively minor. Only at consumption stage, high physical losses occur. This is also the stage where economic losses and potential nutritional losses are most pronounced. The results of this study offer a deeper understanding of the value chain dynamics of bush beans and nightshade, including underlying gender relations, and identify concrete loss hotspots, upon which further research and practical interventions can build.

scholarly journals The Small-Scale Dairy Value Chain Analysis: Challenges And Opportunities For Dairy Development In Mymensingh District Of Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Rahman ◽  
FA Happy ◽  
AH Efan ◽  
MHR Hera
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Value Chain Analysis ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Chain Map ◽  
Small Scale Dairy

This study examined the prevailing dairy value chain based on primary data collected from 70 small-scale milk producers of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The total cost and net return per month per cow were Tk. 4024.30 and Tk. 3165.70, respectively. The net value additions of Tk. 2091.42, Tk. 495.00, Tk. 655.00, Tk. 503.25, Tk. 309.70 were estimated for milk producers, collectors, Faria, Bepari and retailers respectively. Different actors spent highest marketing cost ranged from Tk.49 to Tk.80 for transportation compared to other marketing functions. Actors mostly dependent on the on-going market prices for setting price of milk in the value chain. A value chain map was developed showing the relationships and linkages among value chain actors of small-scale dairy. The study identified some critical factors for successful dairy marketing. The factors were understanding consumer behaviour, technology and transportation, improved business relationships, reduced transaction costs, and improved information flow, and organized market structure. Milk producer’s share in consumers’ price was highest for channel- I followed by channel- V. Expensive, inadequate, low quality feed, lack of grazing land, green grass, inadequate capital, knowledge about cost of production, weak extension services, high fees and unavailability of veterinary doctors, were some of the major problems of milk producers. Supply of adequate feed at subsidized price, ensuring easy access to institutional credit at a lower interest rate, adequate medicine and veterinary services, allocation of khas land for producing fodder/grass, were suggested to solve the problems. SAARC J. Agri., 17(2): 213-226 (2019)

ASR FORUM: ENGAGING WITH AFRICAN INFORMAL ECONOMIES

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Lyons ◽  
Alison Brown ◽  
Zhigang Li
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Socioeconomic Mobility ◽  
Informal Economies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

Abstract:This article analyzes the value chain for Chinese manufactured goods such as garments and textiles sold in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores the opportunities for Africans with small, private businesses in the export trade from China, the potential for long-term business development, and how strategies of engagement have changed over time. It finds that the value chains for low-cost goods vary. There is great diversity of entry levels and opportunities for socioeconomic mobility, and traders evolve diverse strategies to obtain and defend their position in the chain. These findings are discussed in terms of understandings of international value chains, the informal economy, and African economic development strategies.

scholarly journals Chemical vegetable safety in China: “supermarketisation” and its limits

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 3433-3449
Author(s):  
Lita Alita ◽  
Liesbeth Dries ◽  
Peter Oosterveer
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Value ◽  
Better Than

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of supermarketization in the vegetable retail sector in China and its impact on food safety.Design/methodology/approachData from food safety reports by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) are used to investigate the degree of vegetable safety in different value chain types. To assess the predictors of the degree of vegetable safety, a logistic regression model is applied.FindingsSupermarketization has led to the reorganization of the vegetables provision system, through closer coordination along the supply chain and the use of secured production bases. We identify four types of vegetable value chains in China based on their form of coordination. Supermarkets improve vegetable safety even when they rely on external suppliers, but also wet markets perform significantly better than other small-scale retailers in terms of vegetable safety.Originality/valueThe study has expanded the knowledge of the supermarketization in urban China by collecting data from CFDA. Furthermore, the study used the theory of food value chain to understand determinant factors in securing food safety. Moreover, this study reveals that wet markets also have prospects in solving vegetable safety problems in China, especially in underdeveloped areas.

scholarly journals Linking Household Food Security and Food Value Chains in North West Mt. Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4999
Author(s):  
Veronica Mwangi ◽  
Samuel Owuor ◽  
Boniface Kiteme ◽  
Markus Giger ◽  
Johanna Jacobi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
North West ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Food Value

Smallholder farmers and pastoralists produce the largest proportion of food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they remain among the food insecure populations. This paper explores the food (in)security among smallholder farmers and pastoralists using a sample of 175 households in three agro-food value chains of wheat, dairy, and beef in the north-west Mt. Kenya region. The study seeks to answer if a farmer’s participation in a particular agro-food value chain determines his/her food security situation. We use the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and two Poisson regression models, parsimonious and full, to assess the household food security status and determinants of food security among the smallholder farmers and pastoralists. The results show that 61% of the households were either mildly, moderately, or severely food insecure. Households in the beef value chain experienced relatively higher incidences of food insecurity compared to households in the wheat and dairy value chains. The HFIAS scores revealed a wide gap between households with minimum and maximum score. Household size, income and income-related variables (ability to save and borrow to meet family needs), transport assets, membership in farmers’ associations, and household energy were significant in determining household food security, while access to credit and to extension services was not. Strategies that focus on boosting smallholder farmers’ incomes, building strong and resilient farmers associations to improve inclusive and equitable value chains have the potential to get smallholder farmers out of recurrent food insecurity.

scholarly journals Post-Harvest Practices, Constraints and Opportunities Along Cassava Value Chain in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Abong ◽  
Solomon Shibairo ◽  
Elizabeth Wanjekeche ◽  
Joshua Ogendo ◽  
Tom Wambua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Composite Flour ◽  
Equal Proportion ◽  
Value Addition ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Coast Region

Despite its great potential as a food, feed and for industrial application, its processing and marketing remains economically unexploited. A cross-sectional baseline survey was undertaken in Western (Migori and Busia) and Coastal (Kilifi and Kwale) regions of Kenya between March 2013 and February 2014 using structured questionnaires to assess the post-harvest practices, opportunities and constraints in cassava processing. Results indicate that cassava processing is predominantly (58%) a women affair, males accounting for 42% with modal processors age being 32 years. Flour was the most common processed cassava product in the Coast (33%) while dried chips was highly produced in Migori and Busia in equal proportion of 43%. Other important products included cassava crisps and composite flour. Coast region had a greater diversity of products which are none existent in other regions. Most of the processing across the regions are small scale with workers mostly being the owners and activities take place in open yards with majority of these being in Busia (85 %) followed by Migori (67 %) and Coast region (57 %). Constraints during cassava processing were ranked in the following order: irregular and inadequate supply coupled with low seasonal demand for cassava and cassava products; high perishability of cassava roots; lack of value addition and processing tools; poor group dynamics, cohesion and management structure; lack of capacity building in production and processing technologies. There is very limited value addition to cassava in the study regions and hence the need to develop innovative technologies as well as new domestic and industrial products. Consumer sensitization and awareness on utilization of cassava and cassava products may be key to its promotion.

scholarly journals The Role of Small-Scale Processors in Supporting Agricultural Commercialisation Among Smallholder Rice Farmers in East Africa: Lessons from Ethiopia and Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawit Alemu ◽  
Aida Isinika ◽  
Hannington Odame ◽  
John Thompson
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rice Farmers ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Intermediary Role

Until recently, attention to rice value chain upgrading has been limited in many rice-producing countries of Eastern Africa. Yet, it is this mid-stream section (the millers and traders) – the so-called ‘hidden middle’ – which is essential to sustaining the capacity of rice value chains to contributing to food security in the region, as it fulfils a crucial intermediary role between supply and demand. In this paper, we focus on the role of rice processors as key actors in rice sector development in East Africa along with what challenges and opportunities they face, drawing on primary data generated from surveys and key informant interviews in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Building value chains for indigenous fruits: lessons from camu-camu in Peru

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trent Blare ◽  
Jason Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Indigenous Fruits ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Risky Business

AbstractGovernments and NGOs have enthusiastically promoted value chains for lesser-known indigenous fruits in the pursuit of poverty reduction and other development goals. This paper examines experiences in Peru in building the value chain for camu-camu—a fruit native to the Amazon that is in the process of being domesticated. We look at interventions to build the chain, the environment in which the chain operates, the implications of chain development on livelihoods, and prospects for future chain development. Information was collected from gray literature as well as from primary data from household and key informant interviews. The results of this study suggest that the emergence of the camu-camu chain has led to higher farm income without generating large trade-offs in livelihood activities or the environment. However, the results also demonstrate an unrealized potential to achieve greater impact at scale due to gaps in services and inputs, limited coordination among farmers and chain actors, and a risky business environment. Building value chains for lesser-known fruits will require more than a techo-managerial focus on smallholder production. Greater attention is required to build stronger public–private collaboration to expand and diversify markets, with particular attention on strengthening institutions and growing local markets for high-value products.

The entrepreneurship myth in small-scale service provision: Water resale in Maputo, Mozambique

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Zuin ◽  
Leonard Ortolano ◽  
Jennifer Davis
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan

About 20% of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa relies on resellers of utility water for their water supply, yet the practice has received little attention either in the academic literature or in sector policy. This study uses primary data collected from more than 200 resellers in Maputo, Mozambique, through in-person surveys, participant observation and focus group discussions. Despite the widely held assumption that all small-scale water providers are profit-maximizing entrepreneurs, this study suggests that this model does not characterize resale behavior in Maputo. Instead, three non-mutually exclusive motivations provide more persuasive explanations for why households resell utility water: (1) earning cash to meet daily subsistence needs; (2) obtaining a form of informal social insurance to deal with future needs; and (3) solidifying embeddedness in social relationships by satisfying the social norms of their communities. These findings suggest that programs and policies typically designed for small-scale providers may be inappropriate for water resellers.

scholarly journals Integrating Regionalized Socioeconomic Considerations onto Life Cycle Assessment for Evaluating Bioeconomy Value Chains: A Case Study on Hybrid Wood–Concrete Ceiling Elements

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4221
Author(s):  
Alberto Bezama ◽  
Jakob Hildebrandt ◽  
Daniela Thrän
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Lightweight Concrete ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Industrial Sectors

As bioeconomy strategies strive to integrate industrial sectors for achieving innovative materials alternative to the ones produced from non-renewable resources, the development of monitoring systems and tools to assess the implementation of such value chains is still a work in progress. This work intended to integrate the traditional life cycle assessment with a regionalized social life cycle assessment method to evaluate alternative production scenarios of a hybrid construction system with a wood-based lightweight concrete panel as a core component currently in its final stages of technical development. The life cycle impact assessment was carried out by comparing the relative advantages of two product development scenarios against the reference system’s results. The social life cycle assessment was carried out using the model “REgional SPecific cONtextualised Social life cycle Assessment” (RESPONSA), which was developed for assessing wood-based value chains under a regional scope. The results showed that both alternative scenarios present large advantages when compared to the reference system. Moreover, the implementation of the production value chain was found to imply positive socioeconomic advantages in the region, in particular, due to the quality of the jobs found in the organizations associated with the production system.

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