ON-FARM SPECIALTY CROPS & NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTSPartnerships grow from mutual need and mutualbenefit. Conventional agricultural and private sectorprograms have good production and marketing skills butoften ignore biodiversity, water, and other aspects of theecosystem. Conservation groups often lack businesssavvy and ignore market forces. Smallholders desperatelyneed support and skills, and end buyers would benefitfrom greater knowledge of the people and conditions atthe raw material sources on which they depend.
What connects them all is the market chain. Alandscape approach leverages their valuable inputs;develops effective partnerships; and uses technology,tools, and expertise to create win-win solutions. Byapplying the right tools and approach, agribusiness andrural enterprise development can further environmentaland social goals.
Conduct adequate baseline research.Step 1: Use Community-based Tree and Forest ProductEnterprises: Market Analysis and Development, and otherrapid research and business-planning tools to identifythe range of products, issues, opportunities, and players.Step 2: Choose one to two priorityproducts/enterprises using market, environmental,social, and technical/logistical selection criteria.Step 3: For each, conduct an in-depth supply chainanalysis to identify bottlenecks, potential interventions,and market development opportunities. Fosterpartnerships with key players.Tailor an approach to theunique needs and potentials for each product, industry,and country—boilerplate strategies will not achievesatisfactory results.
Focus on traditional products first. Draw on the highdegree of local knowledge, familiarity, and existingproduction and marketing infrastructure. New orunfamiliar products require more start-up resources/timeand carry more risk, especially for a short project timeframe.Accompany business and market developmentwith environmentally sound production andprocessing. Carefully consider the environment duringdesign so that development does not exacerbateenvironmental pressures.Consult with reputable environmental groupsduring project design to maximize environmentalbenefits and achieve real sustainability. Use theirexpertise in the product and site-selection process and,potentially, for meeting resource management needs.Simply locating projects in strategic areas—degradedwatersheds, protected-area buffer zones, wildlifecorridors, and areas of rapid deforestation andmigration—can have great environmental benefits.
Winrock International received a grant under the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) MOBIS contract (M-OAA-OO4) “Environmental Support toRaise Rural Incomes in Asia.” The purpose of this award is to provide analysis andconcrete examples of how to more widely raise rural incomes while conservingnatural resources in Asia, specifically Vietnam and Cambodia.
USAID contact:U.S.Agency for International
DevelopmentAsia and the Near East
Bureau/Office of Technical SupportWashington, DC USA
Contact: Mary Melnyk, SeniorAdvisor, PhD
Natural Resources [email protected]
Submitted by Winrock International
1621 North Kent StreetSuite 1200
Arlington,Virginia 22209 USAContact: Devona Bell, Forestry andNatural Resources Management
RAISING RURAL INCOMES
AND PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
IN VIETNAM ANDCAMBODIA
PUBLIC-PRIVATEPARTNERSHIPS
QA
Narrow focus on typical farm products, poor market andopportunity assessments, insufficient emphasis on small-holders/women, and segmented technical interventionsthat do not address the whole market chain
Few strategic alliances with industry and buyers, resultingin product-driven, rather than market-driven, projects
Failure to address policy and business climate issues;typically, agricultural enterprise development targetslarger businesses and neglects small rural enterprises
Cluster Theory-based approaches proven unrealistic—toomany products with widely varied needs, too short a timeframe, environmental management issues ignored
Failure to integrate agriculture, private sectordevelopment, and environmental goals
Why does conventional agribusiness fail at povertyreduction and environmentalprotection?
It lacks an integrated, landscape-levelapproach that links smallholders tomarkets. Symptoms include:
QA
What is an integratedlandscape-level approach, andwhy is it better?
This approach targets the wholemarket chain and takes intoaccount its myriad influences. Bydeveloping effective partnerships,everyone benefits—even small ruralenterprises.
PROJECTDEVELOPMENT
TIPS Target smallholder farmers, raw-material collectors,and women in the development of the whole supplychain. To enhance project success and ensure maximumsocial benefit, work to create strategic market linkages andsecure land and product tenure and access rights.Be market driven. Choose products and industries onthe basis of market demand and customer needs.Use private sector expertise for technical assistance.Conventional assistance is often too generic and “behind thecurve” in terms of market demands and specifications.Orient initial project activities toward improving rawmaterial quality, price, and delivery to establish acredible prior reputation. Import restrictions on novelor finished products make it difficult to sell them directly toNorth American and European markets.This requires atrusted buyer-supplier relationship, which evolves over time.Choose target markets carefully. Domestic/regionalmarkets often offer the least risk and best potential. Smallproducers can have difficulty achieving export quality forglobal markets such as the dietary supplement,pharmaceutical, health, and beauty industries. Organicmarkets are booming and may be easier to access.Establish a realistic time frame and relevantindicators of success. Most NTFP and agricultureenterprises take from five to ten years to mature into viableentities.Mainstream product development into nationalpolicy frameworks. Foster the development andenforcement of pro-poor policies that keep benefits in thehands of smallholders and protect the environment.Biology is the bottom line. Market development mustnot occur without ensuring the sustainability of theresource base. Production and processing must beenvironmentally sound.
VIETNAMA SOLID FOUNDATION—BAMBOO FLOORING
The international home-furnishings industry ismaking use of the knowledge and skills ofVietnamese smallholders to procure sustainably
produced bamboo. Local factories are overcoming a lack ofmarket linkages and outdated infrastructure to meet highdomestic and export demands. Such efforts draw on thethousands of rural families traditionally engaged ascollectors, processors, craftspeople, and traders whilehelping protect a threatened resource and source of incomein impoverished rural areas.
Cornerstones of SuccessProduct choice: bamboo iseasily harvested in asustainable manner; a highdegree of local technicalknowledge and infrastructureexists
Project targets the wholemarket chain and smallholderfarmers/collectors
The right partners involved from the beginning
Enabling government policies and business climate
Bottlenecks identified and resolved: better marketlinkages, updated technology, and environmentallysustainable production methods using quick-growingnative species, managed and restored natural stands,sustainable harvesting practices, resolution of tenureconflicts
More information: www.mpfd.org
PROMISING PARTNERSHIPS FROM FIELD AND FOREST
CAMBODIASWEET “SUCCESS”
SUSTAINABLE COCOA EXTENSION SERVICES
FOR SMALLHOLDERS
The SUCCESS Alliance grew out of mutual needand mutual benefit. To address pest problems thatthreatened the global supply of cacao, industry
worked with USDA and USAID to reach thousands ofsmallholder farmers in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam,innovations in cocoa production now allow the crop tohelp reclaim environmentally degraded areas and ensure thesustainability of the industry as a whole. As smallholdersmigrate to forest areas, cocoa production offers excitingnew opportunities, but not at the expense of theenvironment.
Cornerstones of SuccessIndustry-driven: USDA/USAID support acceleratedprevious industry activityand fostered environmentallyand socially soundproduction
Product choice: Cocoa iswell-suited to smallholdersand easy on theenvironment—grows well insmall agroforests thatenhance biodiversity andwatershed protection
The right partners, trust, and communication
Long-term regional scope involves Vietnam, Indonesia,and The Philippines
Targets the whole market chain: environmentally soundgrowing and processing; local “cocoa clubs” formed andempowered; state research and extension servicesstrengthened; domestic, regional, and global linkagesfortified; policies mainstreamed and institutions developedfor long-term production and marketing assistance
More information: [email protected]
UNTAPPED POTENTIAL—TREE RESINS
Industrial harvesting of Cambodian dipterocarps wasinitiated under the French and all but destroyed underthe Khmer Rouge. It is slowly rebounding today, and
provides income and employment for 100,000 forest-dependent people. The resins are used for a variety ofpurposes including caulk, candles, paint, varnish andaromatic oils. Both domestic and regional demand is high;annual export income is an estimated US $6 million.
With a strong tradition of customary ownership ofindividual trees, extraction is done on a sustainable basis.Laws protect resin trees andcustomary rights but are notenforced. The main constraints todevelopment are the high informalfees paid to officials and the lack ofenforcement of existing laws.
Project CornerstonesDue diligence: conduct background research on marketchains, export markets, processing requirement,competition, prices, key players, policy and regulatoryissues, resource management practices and needs (seeWildlife Conservation Society www.wcs.org andCambodian Development Research Councilwww.cdri.org.kh for more information)
Good governance: enforce laws that protect resin treesfrom logging, provide a legal basis for customaryownership, and protect harvesters and small enterprisesfrom the numerous and exorbitant informal fees thatimpede development
The right partners: involve conservation groups, reputablelocal businesses and harvester associations, regional andinternational buyers and end-users
Transboundary approach: foster legitimate transboundaryrelations between businesses and communities to increasemarket share/volume, develop a regional brand identity,and foster sustainable harvest and processing practices atthe landscape level
RESURRECTING KAMPOT PEPPER
Black pepper from the district of Kampot was aprized specialty crop under the French, andcontinues to be recognized there as gourmet spice.
While production is still low, the industry is slowlyrebounding in nearby districts through the efforts ofoutside investors and small growers and traders close to theVietnamese border, many of whom are women.
Project CornerstonesDue diligence: conduct adequate background research onsupply chains, markets and demand issues includinginternational buyers, prices, grades, qualities, standards,and competition
Build capacity of the CambodiaHerb and Spice Trade Associationto improve quality, increasequantity, and develop soundgovernment and industrial development policy andpractices
Focus on direct exports into niche and specialty markets,not commodity markets in Vietnam
Encourage organic/integrated production methods inagroforestry systems—they may actually be moreeconomical in addition to the environmental benefits
Increase yields by improving growing and harvestingpractices
Partners
Masterfoods, Inc.USAID USDA World Cocoa Foundation ACDI–VOCA Government of Vietnam/Ministryof Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nam Long University EDF Mann and Cargill
Partners
IKEA
Mekong Private SectorDevelopmentFacility/International FinanceCorporation
The Bamboo Factory
Governments of Vietnam,Luxemburg, Netherlands
National processing companies
Local communities
Partners: none atpresentStatus:environmentalorganizationsconducting baselineresearch
Partners: none atpresentStatus: growersorganizing a tradeassociation
Women, NTFPs, and On-farm Specialty Crops—What's the Connection?
Women in Vietnam, Cambodia, and around the world playa central role in rural agriculture and trade. In SouthVietnam, women are the commodity traders and
oversee local commerce in coffee, cacao, and pepper. As farmersand craftspeople, they grow cocoa and make products out of awide variety of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) includingbamboo, medicinal and dye plants, silk, and other botanicalresources. In Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia, womentraders and farmers of Muslim heritage dominate the pepper trade.Around the globe, developing sustainable rural industries based onNTFP and specialty products and emphasizingthe involvement of women can have adirect, immediate effect on the familywhile protecting forest cover,biodiversity, watershed function andother environmental services.
Tools and Resources
Trade Shows: Natural Products Expo (USA,Asia, Europe); Supply Side (USA),Biofach (USA, Germany) Health Ingredients Europe (Paris), Fancy Foods
Trade Associations:American Herbal Products Association (www.ahpa.org);American Spice Trade Association (www.asta.org)
Community-Based Tree and Forest Product Enterprises: Market Analysis andDevelopment. Field Facilitator Guidelines www.fao.org/forestry/site/25491/en
The Ecology and Management of Non-Timber Forest Resources,World BankTechnical Paper #322
Making Markets Work Better for the Poor Program,Asian Development Bankhttp://www.markets4poor.org
Non-Wood Forest Product Digest-L www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en
Global Development Research Center: http://www.gdrc.org/sustbiz/index.html
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies: http://www.ceres.org
