1. Landcare, Food Security and Value
Chains in East Africa
Presentation to ALI AGM
16 November 2012
Bernie Wonder
AIFSC Project
2012-13

2. Apologies for the acronyms!!
• BW – ABARE, DPIE, DAFF, PC
• NSCP, FWRAAP, NLP, NHT, NAP, MDBC,
WSSD
• AIFSC (www.aciar.gov.au/aifsc)

3. Food Security is the issue of our time.
Hilary Clinton 2011
• AIFSC announced October 2011
• $A 33m over 4 years
• Initial focus-sub Saharan Africa
• Canberra, Nairobi offices
• First Centre Director-Mellissa Wood

4. AIFSC Themes
• Sustainable & Productive Farming Systems (R)
• Markets, Value Chains & Social Systems (R)
• Food Nutrition & Safety (R)
• Communications & Knowledge management
(CB)
• Education, Training & Capacity Building (CB)

5. Food Security-Context & Conditions
• Availability - Sustainable production, NRM,
Enabling Policies
• Access - Income, Cash crops & Livestock
Products, Purchasing Capacity,
Market Access
• Utilisation - Nutrition, Diet, Reduced waste,
Adding value

6. The Big Picture
• World Population grows from 7B (2012)
to 9B (2050)
• Accounted for entirely and approximately
equally by Africa and Asia (1B each)
• Sub Saharan Africa fed 80% by smallholders
• Declining farm size & yields + urbanisation

7. Where to Focus Food Security Effort
• Increased food Production
• Increased Income
• Improved Nutrition & Diet Diversity
• Improved Access to Knowledge
• Increased Institutional & Individual Capacity

8. Agri-Food Value Chain (1)
• Much of what needs to be done captured by
Value Adding chain
• Production, Storage, Processing, Distribution,
Trading, Consumption
• Value Chains for Transforming Smallholder
Agriculture Conference
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

9. Agri-Food Value Chain (2)
• Not new-used by Agribusiness for long time
• A tool for describing segments, linkages,
points of co-operation, risks and opportunities
from input to market decisions
• Aid organisations now using to help
smallholders & guide interventions
• Can involve public as well as private sectors

10. Agri-Food Value Chain (3)
• Demand driven by customers
• Can work for Subsistence as well as
Commercial smallholders
• Both have potential partners, decision points,
knowledge requirements, capacity needs
• Helps with linked journey of Subsistence,
Small surplus, Commercialisation
• Eg. Cereals 1 to 2t/ha gives +100Mt

11. Farmer & Landcare Groups (1)
• The importance of Scale
• Landcare Groups have Landscape focus
• Business Groups have joint enterprise focus
• Common interest farmer groups

12. Farmer & Landcare groups (2)
• Farmer Groups throughout East Africa
• Landcare one common purpose
• Kenya Landcare Network origins in farmer
groups
• Kalama & Kola (Machakos) groups focussing on
Landcare & Business Opportunities

13. Farmer & Landcare Groups (3)

14. Farmer & Landcare Groups (4)

15. Farmer & Landcare Groups (5)

16. Farmer & Landcare Groups (6)

17. Farmer & Landcare Groups (7)

18. Evergreen Agriculture Trees (for holes)

19. Group 1-Nursery
• Landcare Group-nursery focus for erosion
protection. Formal constitution. Local markets
• Also mangoes, oranges, potatoes grown for
household consumption & cash crop
• Water scarcity & tree security challenges

20. Group 2 – Evergreen Agriculture
• IFAD sponsored, ICRAF advice
• Fertiliser trees (Caliandra & others) &
conservation agriculture focus with
intercropping of maize, beans & pigeon peas.
Bees for honey as well
• Low tree survival-water stress & predator
attack

21. Observations on Groups (1)
• Highly enthusiastic & committed, Group 2
established in 1989
• Average age of farmers in Kenya-60, Youth
leaving. Overwhelmingly, women members
• Poor planning, budgeting, marketing skills. Very
limited capital, agricultural skills and partnerships
but KENDAT & AusAid providing valuable
support

22. Observations on Groups (2)
• Groups social capital can be broadly applied
beyond NRM
• Enable market power for procurement and
marketing relevant to Landcare & enterprise
projects
• Capacity building needs concern business skills,
budgets, risk management, input usage, marketing
decisions and technology

23. Some Tentative Inferences (1)
• Remoteness and infrastructure limitations often
mean non-perishable focus but not always (eg.
Carribbean smallholders supplying supermarkets)
• Groups give scale for engaging value adding
chain
• Marketing channel choices include local village,
supplying a large farm, contract farming, co-
operatives, farmer collective, supermarkets

24. Some Tentative Inferences (2)
• Group capacity to make decisions critical –
business, technology, financial as well as what
they do in the chain – produce, store, process –
and who they choose to value add (pack,
transport, market)
• Partnerships central to progress. NGOs play key
role but potential to link with researchers, LG,
Agriculture agencies as well as private players
(seed, fertiliser, chemical companies)

25. Some Tentative Inferences (3)
• Innovation Platforms having broad focus look
useful. Kapchowra, Uganda example?
• Innovation triangle embracing farmers, service
providers (seed, fertiliser, chemicals, credit) &
Enablers (Government policy, research,
science) also useful
• Good governance needed-eg. market power,
contract terms and law

26. Success story-Honey-Ethiopia (1)
• Located Adama, 135km SE Addis Ababa
• Established 2003
• 2000 smallholder outgrowers (mostly women)
• Honey production-36t (2003) to 196t (2012)
• Wax & pollen sales
• Demonstration sites
• Pre & post harvest handling training (SNV)
• EU accredited, Fairtrade certified

27. Success story-Honey-Ethiopia (2)
• HACCP, ISO 20000
• NGO training (SNV) embedded
• Germany, Belgium, UK, US sales
• Market channels include co-op & traders
• Whole of Chain stakeholder meetings
• Price varies based on quality specifications
• Mobile phone communication (eg container
requirements)

28. Success story-Honey-Ethiopia (3)
• Investment in trust and commitment
• Competition central-growers have several sales
outlets
• Processor/marketer sources of smallholder
finance
• Improved incomes, food security, livelihoods,
standard of living

29. A Landcare Based Approach to food
Security in East Africa-Scoping Study (1)
• Contribution made now to food security
through Landcare
• Whether Landcare approach can be more
broadly applied along agri-food marketing
chain
• What partnerships might assist this broader
focus

30. A Landcare Based Approach to food
Security in East Africa-Scoping Study (2)
• Undertake a pilot study of how the Landcare
approach might work in a broader, through-
chain food security context
• Propose ideas on areas worthy for further
research

31. Next Steps for Project
• Analyse Group Capability
• Better understand Food Security status
• Identify smallholder development needs
• Assess Innovation Platform requirements
• Kenya through chain pilot study