CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT FOR MARKETING BEE PRODUCTS
Elizabeth Ssemwanga, Ssemwanga Research Ltd, Uganda

Who we are

• A private research and consulting company
• Ten years with credible services record in agriculture and food, strategic planning, and enterprise development.
• Collaborate with agribusiness Associations – TUNADO, ACDIVOCA, HORTEXA, UFPEA, UOSPA, Research Institutions, etc.
• Further information visit www.ssemwanga.com
  

Context

• Need for beekeepers to be organised in viable groups in order to exploit the advantage of economies of scale.
• Increase production of honey
• Commercialize beekeeping
• Diversify beekeeping products
• Develop markets for beekeeping products
• Improve quality and safety for local and international markets
• Are the services reaching the remote farmers to enable them to link into export supply chains? "Even those producing 10 kg want to export"

Cluster Development

An approach where enterprises, concentrated in a given geographic location and engaged in the production and selling of complementary products, combine their strengths and jointly take advantage of business opportunities or solve common problems.

Role and key elements

• Role
  To strengthen and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises within a particular sub-sector.

Key elements

1. trust building
2. cooperation and/or joint action among the sub-sector actors
3. coordination by full time Cluster Development Agent (CDA)
4. implementation of a strategic Action Plan,

Trust building

Among players AND between players and CDA

• Entails

  - Sustained interaction
  - Recognition & communicating of mutual benefits/interests
  - Recognize shared values
  - Identify leaders

• Benefits

  - Prepared to share risks
  - Prepared to share information
  - Learn & Innovate together

Types of joint activities

• Trust building: Meeting, exposure, general seminar/workshop
• Pilot activities: Technical lectures/seminars/workshops, demonstration of new technology
• Regular (short/medium run) activities: participation in fairs, raw material purchases, quality improvement training/consultancy, sourcing business development services, skill up-gradation
• Strategic (long run) initiatives: Brand building, laboratory creation, information centre, R&D centre, technology modernization, etc.
• Improvement of linkages: networks formulation, association/ institution building/ restructuring,

Implementation of a Strategic Action Plan

• A strategic plan of activities, with well-defined time frame and budget derived from in-depth participatory diagnosis of cluster challenges and needs.
• Must have measurable indicators & targets, integrated into and contributing to sector-wide development objectives.
• Takes 3-5 years
• Coordinated by a Cluster Development Agent (CDA)

Cluster Development Agent – qualification

• The catalyst
• Formulates and facilitates implementation of the development strategy, in collaboration with the beekeepers, processors, traders and support institutions active in the sector
• generally from outside the cluster (not a stakeholder in the cluster)
• A crucial task is to build trust among the cluster stakeholders.
• Must be able to get stakeholders with divergent views to agree on targets and implementation priorities.

Attributes and Skills

• Strong interest in overall development of the cluster, applying best possible methods.
• Age bracket late 20s - late 40s, physically capable of travelling a lot and should possess strong leadership qualities.
• able to communicate in the local language.
• stationed in the cluster for the project duration, and may need assistants or advisers.
• Self-starter, Communicator , SME expert, Conflict resolver, Delegator, Negotiator

Cluster Development approach in strengthening Uganda’s Beekeeping Sub-sector

• Viability of Clusters

  - Current beekeepers’ groupings

• membership ranges 10 – 500,
• geographic coverage ranges from a single village to a district.

- Compare the above type with

• West Nile cluster (Uganda) with 5,000 – 6,000 farmers from a region
• NWBP (Zambia) with 6,500 farmers from six districts.
  

TUNADO Zoning

Cluster Development approach consistency with existing initiatives

• TUNADO’s 2003 -2008 National Strategic Plan

- overall goal to establish a viable and profitable industry that produces high quality honey and other hive products for domestic and export markets through a number of activities.

• The cluster action plan complements TUNADO’s Plan

- BUT it focuses on strengthening grassroots enterprises, allowing TUNADO to concentrate on sector wide/crosscutting activities.

Possible activities under the CDP

Must be based on identified gaps/bottlenecks in the cluster

• Mobilise and train
• Avail information
• Raise production volume
• Improve processing methods
• Improve quality
• R&D, including market research
• Promote value addition to the apiculture products
• Facilitate access to credit

Other Possible activities under the CDP

Competitiveness enhancement

• Promotion of complementary businesses
• Promotion of policy dialogue through a stronger voice from the grassroots enterprises as a joint action
• Coordination and monitoring technical assistance provided by various development organisations at the grass-root level
• Identifying and engaging business development services providers
  

Project Proposal – by Ssemwanga Research and TUNADO

• Pilot project for the Western Region (can be adopted for other regions)
• Train 15 key actors including prospective cluster development agents in principals of Cluster and Network Development in order to raise general understanding of this program and initial capacity for trust building.
• Conduct an in-depth diagnostic study of beekeeping in the cluster to:

  - Understand the socio-economic environment of the cluster;
  - Identify the most effective leverage points for intervention;
  - Provide a baseline for future monitoring and evaluation;
  - Build initial trust with and among the stakeholders.
  
  

• Building on the findings of the diagnostic study, and working in close cooperation with the cluster stakeholders, develop a vision for each cluster and a strategy to achieve it, as well as the cluster action plan.
• The diagnostic study will be a basis for developing and implementing longer term visions, goals and action plans aimed at improving the competitiveness of the cluster.
• This program can be replicated in different clusters in the country.

Acronyms

TUNADO The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation.
HOTEXA Horticulture Exporters Association.
UFPEA Uganda Fish Producers and Exporters Association.
UOSPA Uganda Oilseeds Producers Association.

  Download Elizabeth Ssemwanga's PowerPoint presentation here (212kb .pps file)