Learning and earning How a value chain learning alliance strengthens farmer entrepreneurship in Ethiopia John Belt and Wim Goris with Sorsa Debela, Firew Kefyalew, Eva Smulders and Piet Visser

As smallholder farmers switch to producing for the commercial market, they face a steep learning curve. To select a product and to market it effectively, they must understand both their immediate market situation and how the whole value chain works. Individual smallholders probably cannot grow enough on their own, so they have to get organized and sell their produce as a group. That takes leadership, organization, mutual trust and a common vision. They need to access a range of business services: inputs, financial services, training, market information, transport, government support, and so on. And they need to plan their businesses: analyse their potential markets, identify customers, negotiate with buyers and suppliers, work out their costs and expected income, look at their longer term position in the value chain, develop a business plan, and put the plan into operation.

How best to help groups of smallholders to gain these skills? This book describes a “learning alliance” approach that combines training, practical assignments to develop an enterprise, on-the-job coaching, and the sharing of experiences among several groups of farmers. The approach was piloted in Ethiopia from 2007 to 2010 with 18 groups of farmers in Amhara, Oromia, and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNPR) regional states. It covered a wide range of commodities, from staple grains to dairy, coffee, legumes, honey and incense.

Where normal training courses impart skills that farmers find hard to apply to their own situation and soon forget, the learning alliance enables them to apply new skills to their own situations, reinforces their new knowledge, and gives them hands-on, guided experience with building their own businesses. That makes a learning alliance a highly effective way of enabling farmers to build their businesses in a sustainable way.

Contents

• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Contributors

1 From production to marketing to chains

• “How can we grow enough to feed our family?”
• “How can we earn enough to feed our family?”
• “How can we improve our position in the value chain?”
• New skills needed
• Empowering farmers in the chain
• Agriculture in Ethiopia
• The Agri-ProFocus Ethiopia Learning Alliance
• Set-up of this bulletin

Teff

• Linking with research: The Edero Cooperative
• A clear focus: Ifabari Farmers’ Marketing Organization
• Growing confidence to raise productivity: Abdi Boru Farmers’ Marketing Association
• A new business orientation: Gole Roge Farmers’ Marketing Service Cooperative Society

2 The Learning Alliance approach

• Four types of activities
• Initial workshop
• Assignment
• Coaching
• Exchange workshop
• Taking the next step

Wheat and maize

• Bulking maize: Lalisa Walgayi Karro Gayib Cooperative
• Market mapping as a key to growth: Alabedas Farmers’ Marketing Organization 38
• Chain partnership invigorates the Meja Gero Farmers’ Organization
• A growing source of pride: Dedie Farmers’ Cooperative

3 Steps in the Learning Alliance cycle

• Step 1 Inception
• Step 2 Mapping the chain
• Step 3 Strengthening chain actors
• Step 4 Finance and business services
• Step 5 Business planning
• Step 6 Business contest

Dairy and coffee

• Finding new clients, negotiating better deals: Biruh Tesfa Dairy Producers’ Cooperative
• Including women in the dairy business: Gelgel Area Dairy Producers’ Cooperative
• Improving coffee quality: Dimbira Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative

4 Results

• Farmers and their organizations
• Chain empowerment strategies
• Support NGOs
• Development organizations

Haricot beans, soybeans and linseed

• Improving market arrangements: The Burka Gudina Cooperative
• From soybeans to milk: Tulu Ifa Farmers’ Marketing Organization
• Bringing the market to the village: Tullu Farmers’ Marketing Organization

5 Lessons

• Context (Chapter 1)
• The Learning Alliance approach (Chapter 2)
• Steps in the Learning Alliance cycle (Chapter 3)
• Results of the Learning Alliance (Chapter 4)
• How much did the Learning Alliance cost?
• Comparing the Learning Alliance with a standard series of training workshops

Honey and incense

• Incense and gum no longer a taboo: Goro Roba Marketing Cooperative
• Women gain confidence: Sochi Gudina Marketing Cooperative
• As sweet as honey: Wollela Multipurpose Cooperative
• Partnering with a private company: Agama Forest User Group

Resources

• Annex 1. The Learning Alliance partners
• Annex 2. Development organizations in the Learning Alliance
• Annex 3. Prize winners of the business plan contest

Published 2011 by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT). 104 pp.

ISBN 9789460221798

Download full text 4871 kb

Available from KIT

Role of Paul Mundy: Editing