PMCA: A Participatory Approach for stimulating Propoor Market Chain Innovation in Uganda

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PMCA A Participatory Approach for stimulating
Pro-poor Market Chain Innovation in Uganda

• Berga Lemaga
• CIP Annual Review, October 2008

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PMCA in Uganda

• PMCA-Uganda was implemented from 2005 to 2007 on
  potatoes, sweetpotatoes and vegetables (tomatoes
  and hot pepper)
• Funded by DFID, CIP, ASARECA
• A Good example
• Of trans-continental tech. exchange
• For showing that Capacity building is a powerful
  tool for technology dissemination and
  sustanability
• Of a technology that has a potential for a global
  impact
• A success
• Main constraints were
• Shortage of funding
• Lack of institutional commitment

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Research Development Institutions facilitated
the process

• NARO (Mukono, Kawanda, NaCRRI)
• CIP
• PRAPACE/ASARECA
• Africa 2000 Network
• Competitiveness Investment Climate strategy
  (CICS) Secretariat
• Ssemwanga Group

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Participating Market Chain Actors

• About 100 MCA participated, representing
• Producers
• Marketers
• Processors
• Exporters
• Consumers
• Transporters

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Genesis of PMCA in Uganda

• 1. PRAPACE, CIAT visited Peru in April 2005
• 2. Participatory planning and evaluation of local
  actors
• Survey of 44 RD Institutions done
• 20 actors for 1st PMCA Workshop Identified
• 4. A study tour to Peru and Bolivia
• 5. Training
• 6. Knowledge sharing among practitioners
• 7. Learning-oriented evaluations

All three phases of PMCA conducted
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PMCA Phase 1

• Objective
• Understand MCA, their activities, interests,
  challenges and ideas for addressing challenges
• Main Activities
• Visit to the Andes
• Capacity building (training and meetings)
• Survey of RD organizations
• Diagnostic res. on commodity chains
• Final event and review workshop for phase 1
• Output
• Market chain actors interest developed to
  participate in Phase 2.

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PMCA Phase 2Objective Identify Market Chain
actors and analyse joint business/market
opportunities

• Main activities
• Conduct training
• Formation of thematic groups (TG)
• Meeting of TG to discuss business opp. (BO)
• Conduct Rapid Market appraisals
  to identify potential BO
• SWOT analysis on potential BO
  and innovations
• Output
• Market opportunities identified

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PMCA Phase 3Objective Implement joint market
opportunities to generate innovations

• Main Activities
• Training and backstopping
• Rapid market surveys
• Develop innovations for different market
  opportunities
• Work with marketing specialists, graphic
  designers, etc
• Final event for phase 3 and review of PMCA
• Output
• Commercial, technological and institutional
  innovations developed
• Capacity created and enhanced

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Commercial innovations

• Potato and SP crisps
• Packaging
• OFSP flour
• New SP var. in supermarket
• Marketing stall
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato chili appetizer
• Hot pepper paste
• Pickled hot paper
• Hot pepper pesticide

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Technological Innovations

• Quality seed of hot paper
• Sealing machine for processed products
• Improved packaging

Institutional innovations

• Sweet Potato Market Chains (SPOMAC) club formed
• Platform for Market chain actors provided
• Hot pepper contract farming scheme started
• Constant supply to Europe
• More negotiating power for reduced shipping
  rates

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Post PMCA experiences Tomcris enterprises

• Firm links with potato producers  
• Regular delivery of quality potatoes
• Penetrated larger supermarkets and big hotels.   
• Accessed a niche market airport restaurants,
  KLM.
• Thomas has obtained bar- coding for his products
• Got more recognition even by the govt More
  access to market

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Thomas

• Acquired knowledge
• managing business
• Improving product quality and packaging
• UNBS bases on his products to establish standards
  for potato crisps
• Income increased significantly
• Number of workers increased from 22 to 27
• Uses different labels for different users
• Now a partner in the CFC-funded Potato wealth
  creation project

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Some constraints

• Working conditions are very poor and harsh uses
  traditional tools/equipment
• Stove, pans, hand grating and washing, flat iron
  for sealing
• Hygiene needs improvement
• During the off season supply becomes shaky
• Labels dont yet contain important information

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Potato

• With support from Cordaid and FIT-Uganda, A2N
  assists 25 micro entrepreneurs (ME) to produce
  potato seed.   
• ME trained in various aspects of seed production
• ME will be provided with Business Development
  Services. 

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Sweet Potato

• Sweetpotato crisp production by Tomcris has
  increased
• The SP Kiosk is now managed by a local women NGO
  to sell fresh roots (whole retail), vines and
  OFSP confectionaries
• The composite flour (KF) has been a success, but
  production stopped due to shortage of soy bean
  flour

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Sweetpotato

• Sulma Foods (SF) exports OFSP and supplies
  supermarkets like Uchumi.
• SF exports a ton/week to Dubai.
• Plans to export EU and the Middle East
• Found importer in Amsterdam, quality of EA OFSP
  is excellent, but expensive Airfreight
• Stiff competition from Israel and SA (cheaper)
• Another exporter, AMFRI Farms, has been asked by
  an importer in Denmark to supply organic OFSP

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Vegetables

• Solar dried tomato rings is doing very well.
• Introduced to Austria
• Supermarkets have registered good sales in
  Uganda.
• Hot pepper contract production scheme is being
  aggressively expanded in response to increasing
  demand

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Institutional progress

• A2N-Uganda received funding from McKnight F. to
  apply PMCA on banana and cassava   
• A2N-Uganda got a small grant from CORDAID to
  support the devt. of cassava value chain
• Concept notes on PMCA submitted to  donors, one
  to apply PMCA on pineapples.
• 3 Resource persons invited to ACTS-Kenya to share
  PMCA experiences
• 1 resource person invited to KIT (Netherlands)
• Ssemwanga consulting won an IFAD assignment to
  apply PMCA in Vegetable Oil sector Value Chain
  Development

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it is concluded that the PMCA has potential
value as a means to stimulate pro-poor innovation
in Uganda and in other countries of the region.
Horton (2008)
We have proven him right
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Thank-you to Papa Andina team/CIP
Tomato products development
Thank-you to Thomases (2)