The value chain approach of World Vision in Malawi

Dan Norell, Senior Technical Advosor Economic Development
International Programs Group World Vision &
co-author of  the Field Guide

22-26 April 2013. Lilongwe, Malawi. World Vision organised a workshop around the value chain approach  in Malawi. On the third day the Field Guide on Linking Very Poor Producers to Buyers and Suppliers was presented.

Through dynamic group sessions facilitations following topics were tackled:

• Understanding the Context of Very Poor Producers
• Introduction to World Vision’s Local Value Chain Approach
• Vertical ‘Buyer & Supplier’ Linkages
• Factors Impacting Buyer & Supplier Linkages/Vertical Win-Win Relationships 
• Factors Impacting Buyer & Supplier Linkages/Trust in Vertical Relationships
• Factors Impacting Buyer & Supplier Linkages/Learning & Information Flow in Vertical Relationships
• Factors Impacting Buyer & Supplier Linkages/Stakeholder Workshops and Vertical Win-Win Relationships
• Smart Subsidies
• Working with the private sector – Tool – Market Offers & Niche Markets
• Factors impacting ‘Producer-to-Producer’ Linkage/Lack of Participation by Women 
• Horizontal ‘Producer-to-Producer’ Linkages
• Factors impacting ‘Producer-to-Producer’ Linkages & Limited Ability to Take on Risk
• VisionFund International – Value Chain Financing
• Factors impacting ‘Producer-to-Producer’ Linkages/Lack of Confidence & Trust 

Background:

World Vision has been working in Malawi since 1981 and is currently the largest International NGO working in the country. Our programming is community-based development focusing on three programmatic areas: transformational development, advocacy and humanitarian and emergency affairs. Current programming includes health and nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support and education.

World Vision supports different value chains to address production constraints in order to boost the production capacity of Malawi. This will enable Malawi to meet its international market demands. The agricultural sector should also venture into agro processing and value addition which World Vision believes would create more jobs.

Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide

Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide

Summary Pocket Guide

Author(s):

DAN NORELL, MARGIE BRAND

Organization(s):

WORLD VISION, FHI 360

Institution(s):

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Date Published:OCTOBER 23, 2012

The Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide provides the field-level practitioner with tools and applications to reach very poor households. The intended outcome of the Field Guide is to have greater market engagement for very poor households through enterprise development activities.

The Field Guide focuses on allowing practitioners to more effectively reach the very poor, defined as those persons in the bottom half of the population below the nationally defined poverty line or those living on less than the purchasing power parity equivalent of $1 per day.

Value chain development methodologies have been used widely in enterprise and market development. Donors such as USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, DFID, GIZ and AusAID have supported this work. For development organizations, value chain development tools have been helpful, but many of the tools have not been specifically designed to support or benefit very poor producers.