In the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), market and related aspects have been mostly addressed by PIM Flagship 3: Inclusive and Efficient Value Chains. The team has been focusing on the evolving international, regional, and local contexts for agricultural markets, and investigating how value chains (VC) can be strengthened to generate more benefits for smallholders and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with differentiated opportunities for women, men, and youth. In this webinar on 22 November 2021, the team presented key findings from the Flagship’s work in 2017-2021 in three areas: 1) value chain innovations, 2) use of value chains for scaling CGIAR solutions, and 3) interactions between research and practice for value chain development. For more information about this webinar and to access the full recording, visit https://bit.ly/3c6siV5.

2. Value Chain Innovations for
Inclusion and Equity:
Accomplishments and Looking
Forward
Alan de Brauw and Erwin Bulte

3. PIM Milestone for Value Chain Innovations
• Work on innovations in at least 12 countries
• Have influence on:
• Practitioners, locally and internationally
• Goal of this presentation- show both of these occurred
• In our study:
• We build a narrative around broad innovation types
• We bias ourselves towards stronger evidence (e.g., RCTs)
• Describe directions for future study

4. Production
Inputs
Agricultural
Production
Trading,
Bulking,
Storage
Processing Wholesale Retail
Finance/Insurance
1. Multiple Constraints
2. Contract Farming
4. Certification
5. Public-Private Partnerships
3. Other
Services

5. 1. Multiple Constraints
• Main project was in Senegal and Malawi (Phase 1 holdover)
• Bilateral- exported Brazilian intervention to Africa and rigorously
tested (Fomento)
• Idea-> Help farmers plan move into cash crops + give them (one time)
capital grants to begin production shift + access to markets
• Planning + crops -> heavily influenced by partners (FONGS and
NASFAM)
• Treatment arms with the cash grants largely more successful than
those without cash grants (relative to a control group)
• Yet planning components were more successfully taken up by partners in
their programming

6. 2. Contract Farming
• Contract farming can reduce risk
for both farmers and ag product
buyers
• Risk of growing perishables, price risk
for farmers
• Risk of consistent supply for
purchasers
• Challenge: Impact estimates
affected by (positive) selection bias
• Solution: Randomize contract design,
study side selling

7. Contract Farming: Studies randomizing
contract design
• Deustchmann et al (2021) in Senegal- randomize offers of credit to
purchase Aflasafe for groundnut production (to reduce aflatoxins)
• Premium offered for low aflatoxin groundnuts
• Find increase in availability of low aflatoxin groundnuts
• Ambler et al (2021) randomize gender of plotholder, recipient of
payments among sugarcane producers in Uganda
• Find men are willing to reduce control, meaningful control ceded to women
• Bernard et al (2019) study contracting pastoralists providing milk to a
dairy by providing yogurt for their children- to regularize and increase
supply
• Find increase in supply during dry but not wet season

8. 3. “Other” Market Services
• Livestock sheds
• Helped study willingness to pay among herders for improved services at
livestock markets (water source, feed selling facilities)
• Provided clear policy advice for Ethiopian government
• Warehouse receipt systems (Pakistan)
• Precursor for commodity markets
• Study hesitancy of rice farmers to participate in warehouse receipts system
• Helped shift design of contracts to induce farmer participation in new scheme

9. 4. Certification
• Two main types of certification
studied:
• “Process standards”- very
common in coffee and cocoa
markets, not really elsewhere
• “Quality standards”- common in
grain markets but not often used
in Africa; also incorporates food
safety standards
Process Standards Quality Standards
Process of growing crop is
“certified” –e.g. that only
organic inputs used,
“fair” wages are paid,
other conditions are met
(shade etc.)
Crop meets or exceeds
certain specifications–
size, water content,
protein content, minimal
damage, low aflatoxins or
bacteria levels

10. Certification continued (highlights)
• Process Standards
• Studies of coffee markets in
Uganda and Nicaragua
• Quality Standards
• Study of low-cost wheat
certification scheme in Ethiopia
• Traders tried to sabotage!
• Still being scaled up by partner
(Digital Green)
• Study of food safety certification
in fisheries- Nigeria and Ghana
(ongoing)

11. 5. Public-Private Partnerships
• Public-private partnerships seen as possible “win-win” for development
• Public money can “de-risk” and accelerate development
• “Private sector” (in this case, we mean large companies) has incentives to
participate (e.g., profitable at least initially due to public money)
• Risks…
• Incentives for one actor or the other change over time (e.g., public priorities
change)
• Incomplete contracts can cause disputes in PPPs
• “Narratives”- companies want to be perceived as a “good guy” (e.g., beneficial for
smallholders) even if their programs do not really benefit smallholders

12. Summary
Type of Intervention Country Product
Multiple Constraints Senegal (1) Multiple
Malawi (2) Groundnuts/Soy
Certification Uganda (3) Coffee
Nicaragua (4) Coffee
Ethiopia (5) Wheat
Nigeria (6) Fish
Contract Farming Nepal (7) Tomatoes
Peru (8) Coffee
Togo (9) Cowpea
Uganda Sugarcane
Senegal Milk
Senegal Groundnuts
Ghana (11) Maize
Public-Private Partnerships Indonesia (12) Milk
Ghana Fish
Other Market Services Pakistan (13) Rice
Ethiopia Livestock

13. Limitations
• As you see from the previous slide, only a few product-
country combinations have been studied
• They are all opportunistic- sometimes bilateral grants, sometimes for
other reasons
• Nothing systematic about how we picked them
• Could be value in instead focusing on several product value
chains within a smaller set of countries
• -1CGIAR initiative on “Rethinking Markets…” will work in a smaller
set of countries, though perhaps not small enough
• Concern that a two-dimensional focus (inclusion and
efficiency) can neglect other important factors in value
chain research (food safety in perishables, distribution)

14. Promising Directions?
• Reducing transaction costs in value chains as an overarching theme
• Alleviating multiple constraints at once
• For example, credit constraint, information, and market access
• Innovative Contractual Structures
• Can better contractual structures lead to better outcomes for both parties, limit side selling,
as markets are developing?
• Cross-Chain Services
• Digitization of finance, advice, prices, local availability…. Can potentially help reduce
transaction costs and lead to higher returns (distribution of additional returns, if they exist, is
an open question)

15. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Conceptualization and use of value
chains for scaling CGIAR solutions
Dietmar Stoian & Diego Naziri
PIM Webinar
November 22, 2021

16. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Background and objectives
CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) as multi-center
and multi-partner collaboration
Objectives of the study:
1) Better understanding of how CGIAR has engaged
with value chain stakeholders for scaling its
technical and socio-economic solutions
2) Identification of opportunities for achieving
higher impact at scale

17. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Methodology
1) Assessment of CRP proposals (2017-2022): conceptualization and design
2) Assessment of CRP Annual Reports (2017-2018): implementation
3) Survey among CRP value chain experts (n=52): current situation and outlook

18. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Relevance of value chains in CRP proposals (2017-2022)
CRPs
Value
Chains in
Structure
Theory of Change
& Context
Partnerships
Capacity
Development
Monitoring
and Learning
RTB 2 2.5 2.3 1.7 2.3
FISH 2 2.3 2.3 1.7 2
LIVESTOCK 1.5 2.2 3 1.3 2
RICE 3 3 2.3 1.7 2
PIM 3 2.5 1.3 1.7 1.7
FTA 3 2.5 2 2 2.3
WHEAT 1.5 1.7 2 1.3 1.7
MAIZE 3 2.3 1.7 1.7 2.3
GLDC 2 2.2 2 1.3 1.7
A4NH 2 2 1.3 1 1.3
AVG 2.3 2.3 2 1.5 1.9
Scale from 1 (not addressed) to 3 (strongly addressed)

19. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Stages of value chain innovations as per CRP annual reports (2017-2018)
• 50 innovations linked with value chains
• 22 innovations in earlier stages and 28 in more mature stages
0 5 10 15 20 25
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Total FTA PIM RTB Fish A4NH MAIZE LIVESTOCK RICE WHEAT
4 – Uptake by "next users"
3 – Available for use
2 - Piloting
1 – Research/proof of concept
STAGE OF INNOVATION

20. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Level of maturity of VC outcome/impact cases as per CRP annual reports (2017-2018)
• Total of 11 outcome/impact cases linked with value chains
• Seven cases at level 1, three cases at level 2, and one case at level 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Level of maturity 1
Level of maturity 2
Level of maturity 3
Total FTA PIM RTB Fish
A4NH MAIZE LIVESTOCK RICE WHEAT
3 - Adoption or Impact at scale
2 - Policy or practice changed
1 - Discourse or behavior changed
LEVEL OF MATURITY

21. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
SMEs Farmers'
organizations
Reserch
orgnizations
Donors Business and
financial service
providers
Extension /
Tech. service
providers
NGOs Regulatory
bodies
Large
companies /
Private investors
Mult. Banks /
Invest. Funds /
Philanth.
High relevance Some relevance Little/no relevance
Expert survey: Relevance of value chain stakeholders for going to scale
Research
organizations
• SMEs and farmers' organizations as principal scaling partners
• Research organizations also relatively relevant
• Large companies and investors relatively least engaged with for scaling

22. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
• Projects as principal engagement mechanism
• PPPs and multistakeholder partnerships also relevant
• Pooling of human and financial resources and leverage of innovative finance less prominent
Expert survey: Relevance of engagement mechanisms with VC stakeholders for going to scale
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Projects (Reser /
Dvp / R-D
partnerships)
PPPs Multistakeholder
partnerships
Policy dialogue Media
engagement
Private-private
partnerships
Pooled
resources
Innovative
financing
High relevance Some relevance Little/no relevance
Projects and
R&D partnerships

23. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Budgetary constraints
Time constraints (time-bound projects)
Limited capacity in private sector engagement
Limited capacity in tech., business and financial services engagement
Time constraints of staff
Limited capacity for leveraging private investments
Mindset of staff and partners
Lack of suitable approaches, guidelines and tools
Limited capacity for engaging in policy dialogue
Limited capacity in using existing approaches, guidelines and tools
Limited capacity in establishing & managing multi-stakeholder platforms
Limited capacity in assessing/addressing capdev needs of VC stakeholders
Limited capacity in fostering effective partnerships with gov. agencies
Other
% respondents
•Financial constraints (>50%) reflect under-resourcing of scaling activities in intervention design
•Time-bound nature of interventions (>40%) limits achieving impact at scale
Expert survey: Limitations for CGIAR to use value chains for going to scale

24. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
• Need to strengthen CGIAR capacities to engage with private sector and service providers
• Increasing the ability to mobilize alternative funding sources also seen as important
Expert survey: Opportunities for CGIAR to enhance scaling through value chains
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Private sector
engagement
Engagement with
service providers
Partnerships res.
and dvp
projects/programs
PPPs Multistakeholder
partnerships and
learning alliances
Policy dialogue Private-private
partnerships
Pooling of
resources
Embedding in
multi-sector
programs
Media
engagement
Innovative
financing
High relevance Some relevance Little/no relevance
Partnerships
with R&D
programs

25. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Implications and the way forward
• Diversity of value chain approaches allows for versatile implementation
• Conceptualization and structural embedding of value chains relatively strong in CRPs
• Partnership, capacity development and M&E strategies less strong
• Considerable number of value chain innovations
• Outcome/Impact cases emerging, with pipeline for reaching maturity
• Value chain stakeholders: opportunity for strengthening engagement with large
companies, regulatory bodies, service providers, and responsible investors
• Engagement mechanisms: need for strengthening the business case for CGIAR solutions
to mobilize private sector resources and to leverage impact investments

26. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Thank you!
Emails:
d.stoian@cgiar.org
d.naziri@cgiar.org

27. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Bridging Research and Practice:
Toward Impactful Value Chain
Development
Dietmar Stoian & Jason Donovan
PIM Webinar
November 22, 2021

28. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Background and objectives
• Significant investments in value chain development (VCD) since early 2000s
• Strong interest of academia in value chain research, but less so in VCD
• CGIAR engaged in development-oriented value chain research
Objectives of the study
1) Determine key focus areas in value chain research & VCD over past decades
2) Identify priority needs of VCD practitioners regarding value chain research
3) Guide future value chain research and engagement by CGIAR

29. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Methodology
1) Literature review on agri-food value chain research and
development with a view on 'issue-attention cycles'
2) Key informant interviews among international organizations
engaged in value chain development (n=11)
3) Online survey among field staff of international
organizations engaged in value chain development (n=32)

30. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Issue-attention cycles in value chain research and development
Source: Donovan, Stoian & Hellin (2020)

31. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Key focus areas in value chain approaches by VCD practitioners
• Emphasis on up- and midstream segments, and on technical and business services
• Less focus on downstream segments, financial services, or enabling environment
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32) of development organizations
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Downstream segments of the chain (retail, consumption)
Sustainability standards (certifications, labels, codes of conduct)
Enabling environment (public policies, norms, and regulations)
Financial services
Midstream segments of the chain (processing, wholesale)
Business services
Upstream segments of the chain (production, post-harvest)
Technical services
No relevance Little relevance Some relevance High relevance

32. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Key clients in value chain approaches by VCD practitioners
• Strong emphasis on farmers, coops, and SMEs
• Less focus on large companies, financial institutions, and investors
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32) of development organizations
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Cooperatives
and farmers'
associations
Small and
medium
enterprises
Individual
farmers
Banks Large domestic
companies
Large
multinational
companies
International
financial
institutions
Impact
investors
No relevance Little relevance Some relevance High relevance

33. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
2
19
12
4
2
4
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
I have not heard
about the CGIAR
I have heard
about the CGIAR
but know little
about them
I know
publications on
value chains by
CGIAR
I know value
chain
methodologies
and tools by
CGIAR
I have used value
chain
methodologies
and tools by
CGIAR
I have heard
about the CGIAR
portal Tools for
Value Chains
I have used the
CGIAR portal
Tools for Value
Chains
• Dominant use of organization's own VCD methodology and tools
• Some use of VCD tools developed by other organizations
• Limited use (and knowledge) of VCD methodologies and tools by CGIAR
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32) of development organizations
50%
50%
Methodology and tools of your organization
Methodology from your organization and tools from
other organizations
Methodology and tools from other organizations
Methodology & tools of own organization
Methodology of own organization & tools from
other organizations
Methodology & tools from other organizations
Methodologies and tools used by VCD practitioners

34. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Relevance of engagement mechanisms used by VCD practitioners
0
5
10
15
20
25
Projects Provision of
services
Public-private
partnerships
Leverage of
investments
Multi-stakeholder
platforms
Political advocacy
No relevance Little relevance Some relevance High relevance
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32) of development organizations
• Projects and provision of services as principal engagement mechanisms
• PPPs, multi-stakeholder platforms, and leverage of investments also relevant
• Political advocacy relatively least relevant

35. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
CGIAR support considered most useful by VCD practitioners
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Impact assessments
and evaluations
Joint R&D projects Value chain
methodologies and tools
Value chain research Capacity development
No relevance Little relevance Some relevance High relevance
• Impact assessments and evaluations by CGIAR considered most relevant …
• … followed by joint projects and VC methodologies & tools by CGIAR
• Value chain research and capacity development by CGIAR also of interest
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32) of development organizations

36. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Future research topics prioritized by VCD practitioners
Source: Survey among field staff (n=32)
of development organizations
• Broad interest in value chain research across diverse topics
• Strong interest in emerging topics, such as digital finance, regenerative business, living income, resilience metrics
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Farm management
Sustainability standards
Trade policies and distortions
Nutrition-sensitive value chains
Farmers' organization
Farming inputs (seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals)
Delivery of technical, business and financial services
Poverty reduction through VCD
SME development
Enabling environment (policies, norms, regulations)
Innovative finance
Post-harvest management and processing
Inclusion and equity in VC
Climate resilience in VC
No relevance
Little relevance
Some relevance
High relevance

37. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Way forward: Bridging research and development
• Issue-attention cycles prominent in both value chain research and development (R & D)
• Each cycle added a piece to the puzzle, but lack of continuity limits impact over time
• Interactions between R & D sporadically but not systematically
• Focus on up- and midstream segments (both R & D)
• Projects as principal engagement mechanism with value chain stakeholders (both R & D)
Opportunities for CGIAR and development practitioners:
• Stronger recognition of each others' work on value chains
• Joint R & D projects: new approaches and tools for VCD, paired with mutual learning
• Broader engagement:
➢ Private sector: large companies, financial institutions, and investors
➢ Policy makers: political-legal, regulatory and overall enabling environment

38. Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees
Thank you!
Emails:
d.stoian@cgiar.org
j.donovan@cgiar.org

39. Q&A
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