SNV'S WORK TO PROMOTE MARKET ACCESS TO BOOST INCOMES OF THE POOR, WITH PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN THE REGION, REMAINING CHALLENGES AND WORKABLE STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP THE HONEY INDUSTRY IN THE REGION

Tito Arunga, SNV, Kenya

SNV - Netherland Development Organisation

• Improving access to, and delivery of products & services for more equitable wealth distribution.
• Presentation by SNV Market Access, E&SA Region, for the African Honey Trade Workshop
  Oct 10th – 13th 2006
  

SNV Netherlands – ‘Our raison d’etre’

• INGO providing advisory services to organizations in developing countries in support of their efforts towards poverty reduction.
• We focus on sustainable use of local resources to promote living standards of communities through demand-driven, tailored capacity development services and intervene through strategic partnerships with local communities, private and public sector institutions, donors and other development agencies at national, regional and international levels.

Our Practice

• Currently, we support 1,300 organizations spread over 26 countries in 4 continents across the world. In the E&SA we are present in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo-DRC, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• Themes: Market Access, Responsible & Accountable Local Governance, Sustainable & Pro-poor Tourism, Cross-cutters (Gender, Natural Resource Management, PB&CT, HIV/AIDS)
  
  Our strategies & interventions are designed with universal objectives of development in mind – ‘the MDGs’

Where we are in honey (E&SA)

A few cases amongst many...

• Commercialising beekeeping - Kenya, Tanzania
• Business Organisations & their Access to Markets - Ethiopia
• National Beekeeping Programme – Rwanda
• North West Beekeepers Association - Zambia
  

Our Objectives

• Sustainable and equitable production, income and employment for the poor
• Effective, efficient and increased access to and delivery of basic services

"We believe that poverty can be reduced by strengthening private sector initiatives"

Challenges & constraints

Producer incomes are affected by various supply chain deficiencies as follows;

• Quality and quantity of products is inconsistent
• Supply & demand discrepancies (retailers resorting to imports)
• Domestic market opportunities are under-utilised
• Linkages between supply chain actors are inadequate (interventions tend to develop segments of a chain while ignoring other components)
• High transaction costs discouraging to local processors and buyers
• Roles & responsibilities of stakeholders not clearly defined
• The retail sector needs to be supported (majority of domestic consumers believe in imported value added honey products)

Why is the focus on private sector key?

• Poverty can be alleviated through ‘profit’ initiatives
• Private sector remains the main engine of economic growth, generating employment and incomes
• It empowers people with services and consumer products by expanding choices
• Producer organisations should focus on ‘spot on’, quick turnover business partnerships that are consistent
• Private sector drives sustainability of commodity supply chains

Market Access Model

• Ours services are aligned to NDPs, PRSPs and plans of strategic partners

We consider that:

• Many countries are transitioning to emerging market economies from centrally planned ones
• The public sector no longer provides most of the basic services (e.g. extension services, training)
• Current economies are heavily influenced by international development programmes which create opportunities but often ‘distort’ market economies
• Strengthening ‘weak links’ in value chains (a value chain is only as strong as the weakest link)
• Service providers must be considered (logistics, finance etc)

‘If we assist a retailer, distributor, processor, capacity builder or producer association improve their operations, benefits can reach primary producers’

• Work with private businesses and ‘business minded’ associations that have the greatest potential to improve supply chains and benefit the largest number of people
• We design client activities to identify barriers to entry and assist them to participate effectively in market

‘No amount of assistance to primary producers will produce tangible results in reducing poverty if intermediaries are weak’

What we see in this initiative

• The success of this sector if consolidated can make honey competitive alongside other sectors.
• If the target of the forum is to impact on lives of producers then membership should take into consideration the strength of it’s trader representation
• Regional initiatives backed by local solutions should be the starting point

‘Build on what is successful and not replicate failure’

• Consumption patterns w.r.t supply and demand in the region for products be identified and strengthened
• Influence on Governments and regional trade agreements to support the sector

  Download Tito Arunga's PowerPoint presentation here (96kb .pps file)