Synopsis
Value Chain Analysis (VCA) diagnoses the current state of a value chain and makes recommendations to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. Applying VCA in developing countries is very often subject to limited time and funding. This manual shows how VCA principles can be applied under such circumstances. It explains how to undertake an affordable VCA that still generates valid data and so produces recommendations that will have impact.The manual has four parts:Part 1: Our Approach to Value Chain Thinking - sets out the principles and practice of taking a value chain approach. Part 2: Conducting Value Chain Analysis - covers planning a VCA, conducting consumer research, interviewing, analysing, creating recommendations and reporting.Part 3: Case Studies - illustrates successful VCAs with case studies e.g. Ghanaian pineapples and Kenyan indigenous chicken.Part 4: Further Reading and Biographies The practical style and content will make this manual accessible to a wide audience: NGO practitioners; government policymakers and extension officers; private sector managers and consultants; and academics for teaching and researching.
About the Authors
Dr Benjamin Dent specialises in improving agri-food supply chains' competitiveness through building collaboration and better understanding of both business customers and consumers. He has worked with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the World Vegetable Center on projects in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, and he is Lead Facilitator for the annual Australia Awards Africa Agribusiness short course, including leading delivery of the programme in Ghana. He has also worked extensively with farmers and agri-food companies in Australia, Canada and the UK, where he is based. In addition, he has 12 years' experience of working in the UK government on agriculture, food and environment policies; and currently chairs the UK Soil Association's Standards Board, which certifies a market worth over £1.4b/year. His publications include co-authoring A Guide to Value Chain Analysis and Development for Overseas Development Assistance Projects and Food Waste: Aligning Government and Industry within Value Chain Solutions. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at The University of Queensland and a Senior Associate at Value Chain Management International.
Emeritus Professor Ray Collins was the Agribusiness Group Leader in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the University of Queensland until 2014, and retained an appointment as Professor of Agribusiness until 2016, when he became Emeritus Professor. Professor Collins has 30 years' experience working with new industries with a special interest in linking small independent farmers with markets and consumers. He developed one of the first research programs that adopted an integrated view of the production, marketing and human resource challenges of new industries. Along with Associate Professor Tony Dunne, Professor Collins codeveloped the "Walking the Chain" participatory research and training method. He has applied this method in developing country projects in Pakistan, the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Currently, he is the Course Director of the annual Australia Awards Africa Agribusiness short course, member of the International Advisory Panel to the New Zealand government's Our Land and Water Science Challenge and Chair of the external reference group to a $16m Australian research program investigating innovative technologies for tracking horticultural produce quality through export chains. He has published over 100 refereed papers and book chapters, supervised approximately 20 PhD and 30 Masters students, and has been a recipient of University of Queensland and National Excellence in Teaching Awards.
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