Value Chain Analysis, Program Design and Implementation
AFE's technical experience in value chain development is summarized in the following table that reflects the countries and the value chains for which AFE has conducted analyses, designed programs and/or implemented programs.
| COUNTRY | VALUE CHAIN(S) |
|---|---|
| ASIA | |
| Afghanistan | Poultry; Nuts; Wheat; Wool; Livestock Inputs; Wheat; Tree and Vine Fruits |
| Bangladesh | Crafts-for-Export; Potato; Seed (jute, potato, vegetable, & rice); Agriculture Exports; Private Health Care; Garments; Plastics; Knit Wear; Honey; Wood Furniture; Sweet Gourd; Animal Health Products |
| Bhutan | Mandarins; Tourism; Fresh Vegetables & Herbs; Crafts |
| Cambodia | Cashews |
| China | Eco-Cultural Tourism; Pottery; Cultivated Herbs; Yak |
| East Timor | Coconut; Construction |
| Mongolia | Pork; Vegetables; Dairy |
| Nepal | Tourism; Vegetables; Crafts; Non-Timber Forest Products |
| India | Organic Agriculture Products; Poultry; Textiles; Spices |
| Indonesia | Cocoa Beans; Maize; Legumes; Crafts for Export |
| Myanmar | Beans and Pulses; Pigs and Piglets; Fresh Fruits and Vegetables; Corn; Bananas |
| Philippines | Crafts-for-Export; Seaweed/Carrageenan; Hogs |
| Tibet (China) | Construction; Dairy (milk/cheese) |
| Vietnam | Tourism; Medicinal Herbs; Vegetables; Crafts; Pork |
| Kyrgyzstan | Medicinal Herbs |
| AFRICA | |
| Botswana | Tourism; Construction |
| Cape Verde | Tourism, Horticulture, Fish |
| Egypt | Furniture |
| Ethiopia | Vegetables |
| Ghana | Baskets (for export) |
| Kenya | Vegetables (for export); Milk |
| Mali | Shea Nuts and Butter; Crafts; Local Grains/Cereal Crops |
| Rwanda | Green Beans; Pineapples; Vegetables; Maize |
| Senegal | Tourism; Beef; Vegetables |
| Sierra Leone | Vegetable Seed; Fertilizer |
| Sudan | Grains; Vegetables |
| Zambia | Poultry; Organic Chilies/Herbs; Milk; Indigenous Vegetables; Soya Bean; Sunflower Oil; Groundnuts; Dried Fruit/Vegetables; Honey; Fish; Cultural Tourism; Crafts For Export; Ceramics |
| EUROPE/GLOBAL | |
| Bosnia | Non-Timber Forest Products; Medicinal & Aromatic Plants; Raspberries |
| Kosovo | Wood Furniture |
| Serbia | Medicinal & Aromatic Plants; Vegetables |
| Haiti | Craft Export Sector |
| Lebanon | Apples; Grapes; Pickled Vegetables; Agricultural Inputs |
| Yemen | Agricultural Inputs, Watermelons, Tomato, Onion, Livestock, Shipping / Tourism |
WORLDWIDE
Consortium Member for USAID's REPLACE IDIQ: As a consortium member of the new Restoring the Environment through Prosperity, Livelihoods, and Conserving Ecosystems (REPLACE) IDIQ, AFE will use its private sector development experience and skills to contribute to public-private partnerships in eco-tourism, sustainable agricultural intensification, and conservation enterprise development. (2013 - present)
Core Team Member of Field Support Learning with Associates Project: AFE is a core team member of the FHI-360 led "Financial Integration, Economic Leveraging, Broad-Based Dissemination" (FIELD-Support) Leader with Associates award (LWA). FIELD Support LWA designs and implements innovative, comprehensive, and integrated approaches to sustainable economic growth with poverty reduction. This includes improving the competitiveness of industries in which micro and small enterprises participate, building more inclusive financial systems, and enhancing the overall policy and regulatory environment to enable broad-based economic growth. (2005 - Present)
AFE conducted the following short term activities under the FIELD-Support LWA
(Most of these documents/publications are available on our Resources page):
- Handbook for Working with Lead Firms: AFE developed a handbook to assist development practitioners to effectively work with Lead Firms (also referred to as Inclusive Businesses) in value chains. The Handbook presents methodologies for supporting Lead Firms to improve the products, services, support and market access they provide to MSMEs in their supply chains and distribution channels.
- Assessment of Commercial Models for Selling Agricultural Inputs to The Rural Poor: Based on an AFE program in Bangladesh, AFE worked with researchers from FHI360 to carry out an ethnographic and qualitative assessment that documented learning about successful tools, strategies, and approaches to facilitate commercial access to quality and affordable inputs for ultra-poor farmers through collaboration with private sector input supply companies.
- Business Planning Facilitation Tool: AFE developed a Business Planning Facilitation Tool designed to help development programs facilitate business and strategic planning sessions with input supply companies interested in producing and marketing quality agricultural inputs to small-scale producers and households.
- Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and Agriculture: Through the FIELD Support FACET Program (Fostering Agriculture Competitiveness Employing Information Communication Technologies) AFE conducted field research and developed briefing papers on ICTs being used by African agribusiness companies to: a) better manage their input supply distribution networks and; b) improve outgrowing (contract farming) operations. Paper was also developed on how private firms can use ICT to access market price information.
- Improving Economic Development Activities in PEPFAR Programs: Through the LIFT Program (Livelihood and Food Security Technical Assistance Program) AFE fielded consultants as part of teams that reviewed PEPFAR portfolios of USAID Namibia and USAID Ethiopia and made recommendations for improving their economic development programs.
- Manual for the Facilitation of Outgrowing Operations: Completed field work, case studies and a "facilitators manual" designed to assist development practitioners to promote mutually beneficial outgrowing (contract farming) operations between agribusiness companies and farmers.
- Working Group on Lead Firms: Coordinated a working group of leading international development agencies to identify principles and best practices for the "facilitation" of value chain development programs with a focus on working with Lead Firms.
- Program Design and Evaluations: Led teams to design a new agribusiness private sector development program for USAID Liberia and conduct assessment of a USAID-funded GDA program in the Congo.
- Market Development for Private Sector Health Care: Completed value chain analysis of private sector health products and services in Bangladesh and developed briefing paper to better understand how market development principles can be applied to promote sustainable access to health care products/services for underserved populations.
- Mentoring to FIELD Support program in Bolivia: AFE conducted two country field visits to assist Save the Children to develop and implement interventions based on sustainable commercial linkages among market actors and best practices in value chain and market development.
Consortia Member in Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Program (AMAP): AFE was a key consortia member under AMAP BDS, a multi-year USAID funded research project which focused on enterprise development. Examples of work that AFE has conducted under this contract included: 1) ongoing technical assistance and comprehensive impact assessment for USAID Kenya portfolio of value chain projects; 2) value chain analysis and program design exercise for the poultry and organic agriculture sectors in India; 3) development of five case-studies representing best practice in value chain development worldwide; 4) value chain analysis of the cocoa industry in Indonesia; 5) value chain and competitive analysis of the craft export sector in Haiti; 6) development of training materials in value chain development; 7) contributions to strategy papers, training sessions, and technical reviews. (2003 - 2009)
Value Chain Manuals for SNV Netherlands: AFE was contracted by the SNV Netherlands Development Organization to support them in developing a "Value Chain Field Manual" for their staff, partners, and programs in the Asia region. Much of the manual was based on the AFE methodology but it also included new chapters and topics of particular interest to SNV. AFE staff person presented draft of the manual to SNV staff in Asia. AFE also supported SNV Nepal to develop a "Practical Guide for Value Chain Development" for their "Great Himalaya Trail Development Program." AFE provided ongoing training, program design and mentoring services to SNV over the course of three years. (2008 - 2010)