Thank you all to the contributors who participated this past week! The consultation will still be open until April 19, so we hope that others will keep writing in with their thoughts and experiences related to nutrition-sensitive value chains.
This week featured an impressive range of contributions, which was notable not only for describing the actions that can be taken by individual value chain actors (e.g. farmers, agribusinesses or governments), but also the relationships among different value chain actors and the more coordinated action we should seek to achieve, including through a more enabling environment. We were very happy to see that numerous contributors were able to share specific experiences they have had at country level working with value chains – these will be very informative for our work moving forward.
One key theme which continued this week was how value chains can benefit smallholder farmers more, i.e. how can smallholders capture more of the value (economic and nutritional) that is being created along a value chain? A couple different contributors shared useful experiences related to farmers’ organizations, associations or cooperatives, which enable smallholders to collectively negotiate purchase agreements as well as access vital inputs, including loans. An honest, transparent, mutually beneficial relationship between smallholders, purchasers (e.g. agribusinesses, processors, marketers, etc.), input providers (e.g. banks) and consumers is foundational, with several contributors noting the importance of traceability of raw materials and private sector colleagues also sharing their experience with more responsible sourcing and investing in smallholders livelihoods.
The experience from Cote d’Ivoire also described the precarious position farmers often find themselves in, but this time, among a less discussed group: urban market gardeners. While itself having developed as an innovative response to the food need generated by urbanization, urban gardening still contend with the consequences of urbanization (e.g. pollution) and lack of land tenure.
Indeed, addressing these issues can contribute to more nutrition-sensitive value chains via an income pathway, where smallholders are more empowered and earning better income, which could wind up getting spent on more nutritious food or health services. But what will it take to apply these types of models that are common in export-oriented cash crops to value chains for nutritious foods that also benefit local nutritionally vulnerable populations? Several contributors addressed this questions by stressing the importance of a business case for nutritious foods, which relies not only on creating demand among consumers (via awareness, labelling), but also working with producers, processors, etc. to increase their understanding of the benefits (including economic) of producing nutritious food.
Looking beyond value chains from a smallholder perspective, it is also important to consider what contribution value chains can make to the broader group of consumers through a market pathway. These also include many farmers who are net consumers, but also urban consumers or others who access food in markets or through other distributions channels supplied by food value chains. Colleagues from LANSA shared another framework for value chain interventions, which focuses specifically on the link between distribution and consumption post-farm gate, and the role of markets, informal sector and SMEs. We believe this framework can be complementary to the one we have presented in our background paper, by focusing on the effectiveness of interventions as well as bottlenecks and incentives that might determine positive private and public action for nutrition in this key phase of the value chain.
A key step that is required for nutrition-sensitive value chains, however, is still to define what the nutrition problem is. Various commodities can be selected and various actions taken at different stages to enhance nutritional value, but which are likely to be the most cost-effective at addressing particular drivers of malnutrition in a given context? Linking value chain actions more closely with nutrition assessment and analysis would not only be part of making them more nutrition-sensitive, but also making them more nutrition-smart. We are grateful to hear any experiences the forum participants may have had with linking nutrition assessment to value chain actions, including through commodity selection or other strategies.
Thanks again for the great participation and we look forward to more contributions, especially for those who may have some educational experiences to share with us!
Working Group on Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains of Rome-based Agencies