Scaling Up the Fight Against Rural Poverty - FIDAfrique

approval of IFAD projects in which value chains were either components or the primary instruments
for poverty alleviation increased from 1.8 per cent in 2005 to 50 per cent last year.” 20
IFAD is currently completing a thematic study of the development of value chains as a way to assist
the rural poor. Based on a number of case studies it develops a thorough understanding of the value
chain concept, reviews some of the experiences to date, analyzes the potential and constraints of the
value chain approach and draws conclusions for IFAD’s operational engagement in value chain
development. The study does not specifically focus on the opportunities and challenges of scaling up
with value chains, but some of the conclusions are of relevance here. First, the study identifies three
key factors for successful pro-poor value chain development: (a) achievement of higher farm-gate
prices; (b) development of strong and inclusive farmer organizations; and (c) outreach to rural women
and the rural poor. Second, the study stresses the important role of the enabling environment (in terms
of policies, regulation, and broadly the investment climate) and of effective private-public
partnerships. Third, the development of appropriate financing mechanisms is a critical element to
successful pro-poor value-chain development. All three factors will likely play and important role if
IFAD wishes to scale up its value chain interventions so as to reach a broader range of poor rural
beneficiaries.
IFAD has various interesting examples of successful scaled-up value chain programs, among them
some going back 20-30 years. A case in point is IFAD’s engagement in support of a broad-gauged
approach to cassava development in Africa. 21 Another example of a successful value chain program,
albeit more limited, is the case of “PhytoTrade Africa”, a membership-based company in South Africa
which has aimed to develop, with IFAD support, “a sustainable natural products industry in southern
Africa that will be of benefit both to people and to biodiversity” (IFAD 2009a, p. 42). It involved “the
creation of new value chains from tree products in arid zones, including beverages, cosmetic oils and
health-care products in eight countries in eastern and southern Africa.” (ibid.) A third example in
which IFAD was concerned with the scaling up of a value chain approach, involved a thematic
evaluation of organic agriculture and poverty reduction in Asia, which in effect took a value-chain
approach to the question how organic agriculture could be developed in Asia. (IFAD Office of
Evaluation, 2005).
However, according to recent evaluations, the effectiveness of IFAD’s value chain interventions
remains a concern. The ARRI 2009 credits IFAD with incorporating more value chain elements into
its programs, but it also concludes “that constraints to improving market access are enormous and
there are no easy solutions.” (IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation, 2009d, p. 10). The 2009
Portfolio Review similarly gives IFAD credit for having given more attention to value chain aspects in
the programs which it supports, but it concludes that the area of market access remains one of the
weakest in terms of IFAD’s effectiveness. (IFAD, 2009c, p. 14). The recent Country Program
Evaluations for India and Nigeria also conclude that IFAD’s engagement in support of value chains
needs improvement. (IFAD Office of Evaluation 2009 A, B)
In short, the value chain approach holds great promise for establishing a pathway towards scaling up.
20 http:/www.ifad.org/events/op/2010/unido.htm
21 Cheikh Sourang summarized IFAD’s experience of the 1980s and 1990s in his Key Note Address at the
“Validation Forum on the Global Cassava Development Strategy (GCDS)” held in Rome on 26-28 April 2000,
under the heading of “Scaling up the implementation of GCDS”. See FAO/IFAD (2001). p. 50. Based on the
experience of the 1980s and 1990s the Global Cassava Development Strategy was developed by a multistakeholder
alliance in 2000 (including IFAD, FAO, CIAT, IITA, CIRAD and NRI), with a view to laying
ground to further scale up the development of the cassava value chain. Unfortunately, it appears that the
strategy has not been systematically implemented since.
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