Contributing to Linking small –farmers to local and
regional markets in vegetable marketing and trade
Presenter
Author
Ronia Tanyongana
Contributors
Chris Ojiewo
Takemore Chagomoka
Victor Afari –Sefa
\
For
CTA – East Africa
Briefing
Entebbe 12-13
November 2010
About AVRDC
About AVRDC
• AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is an
international non-profit research and development
institution committed to alleviating poverty and
malnutrition in the developing world through the
increased production and consumption of nutritious
and health-promoting vegetables.
Our
mission
“Alleviate poverty and malnutrition
in the developing world
through increased production
and consumption
of nutritious, health-promoting
vegetables”
Our Locations
Regional and project offices
Uzbekistan
Dubai
Korea
Taiwan
Mali
India
Niger
Thailand
Cameroon
Tanzania
Madagascar
South Africa
Indonesia
Solomon
Islands
Research and Development: Four
global themes
Germplasm
Germplasm conservation,
evaluation and gene discovery
Breeding
Genetic enhancement, varietal
development, selection of indigenous
lines, seed production
Production
Safe and sustainable vegetable
production systems
Consumption
Postharvest management and market
opportunities; nutritional security, diet
diversification and human health
Strategy: Vegetable Value Chain
Breeding, testing
and release
Seed
Breeding
Seed
testing
RBUs &
Regulator
Basic/foundation
seed production
Seed
production
Vegetable
production
Private sector
&
Regulator
Seed Commercialization,
improving production &
consumption systems
Post
harvest
Markets
Public & Private
sector &
Civic Society
Consumption &
nutrition
EMPHASIS
Our Focus
• Vegetables Based/Integrated
Approaches for Improved Food
and Nutrition Security in Africa
Why Vegetables?
• Vegetables are companions to all staple
foods during consumption.
• Vegetables are key sources of nutrients
and health-promoting phytocompounds
• Vegetables are excellent sources of
vitamins, iron, protein, minerals and fibre,
as well as micronutrients (Bouis and Hunt,
1999):
8/15
The Double burden in Africa
Perennial Problem
Emerging problem
Why Vegetables?
• Vegetables are high value crops and way for farmers
to increase incomes and escape poverty
•
The vegetable industry is one of the most integrated
which generates more cash income per area unit than
other food crops of the agricultural sector (Weinberger
and Lumpkin 2007).
•
Vegetables are of special importance to resource-poor
women as they are high-value crops which can be
grown on small household plots which are typically a
woman’s responsibility.
Diversity of African Indigenous Vegetables
African eggplant
Jute mallow
Okra
Ethiopian mustard
Roselle
Amaranth
African nightshade
Regional Breeding Units
The RBU Team in Alaotra Region
Madagascar
The RBU Team in Samanko Region
Bamako - Mali
Part of the RBU Team in Arusha
AVRDC-RCA
The RBU Team in
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Regional Breeding Support –
Capacity Building
Building capacity in seed health and
quality
Understanding plant
Pathology
Capacity building in
vegetable breeding
AVRDC Africa Region Training Courses (1994-2010)
Training
Course
Number
Trained
Participants
Vegetable Production and
Research
(4-5 months)
302
NARES (mainly), private sector,
and NGO’s
Special skills Training
(1 wk – 2.5 months)
218
NARES (mainly), private sector,
and NGO’s
In-Country Vegetable production
management
(1 week)
476
NARES (mainly), private sector,
NGO’s, CBO’s, Civil society,
International organizations
Research Internship
(1 – 6 months)
69
Undergraduate Students
Graduate Research Training
(1 month – 2 years)
28
Msc and Ph.D. students
Vegetable production,
processing and preservation
(2-3 days)
2867
Progressive Farmers, CBO’s,
NGO’s, College students
On-Station and On-farm Multi-location
trials
PVS: a fast tract approach to variety release
and demand promotion in Tanzania
Farmers in Dodoma and Iringa region selected
African nightshade lines BG16 due to its late
flowering habit and broad dark green leaves
which they said makes it quite appealing as a
leafy vegetable. Seeds of the line BG18, a
Solanum americanum was also demanded.
Multi-location variety testing:
Private Sector
Innovation Platforms
Innovation Platform members of the
vBSS Tanzania Hub on RCA field
inspection
Innovation Platform members of the vBSS
Madagascar Hub planning vegetable breeding
strategies for their country
Pending Releases in Tanzania Hub
Crop
Lines
Ethiopian mustard
ST3, MLEM1
Tomato
LBR11, LBR6
African nightshade
African eggplant
Spider plant
Cowpea
Sweet Pepper
Hot Pepper
SS49, BG16, TZSMN55-3
DB3, AB2 & Mayire Green
GPS and PS
CP-ML-5
ISPN7-3, 9946-2192
9950-5107
Private Sector Engagement in
Commercialisation of Vegetables
Alpha Seeds - Tanzania
LAGROTECH SEEDS - Kenya
Seed Commercialization
East Africa Seeds
GRN Sarl
Cameroon
Kibo Seeds
East Africa
SEMANA
Madagascar
African eggplant is now a popular cash crop in Tanzania
Farmers get on average $1,200/ha/season
From Farms to Markets;
Adoption of improved variety
●
Sweeter than traditional var.
●
Higher income (2-3 times)
Major constraints
- No formal seed supply
- Limited access to seeds
Linking Farmers to Markets
Bvumbwe Market - Malawi
Shoprite Madagascar
High value marketing of improved variety
Line DB3
Linkage to high
value markets
Demand Creation
ACTIVITIES
• Field Days
• Agricultural Shows
• Seed fairs
Private Sector Engagement in
Commercialisation of Vegetables
Demand Creation of
Vegetables - Dharsh
Demand Creation of
Vegetable seeds – Cains
Challenges






To define the value chain pathways in terms of income
enhancement and nutrition improvement;
To coordinate stakeholder efforts along the value chain;
To address the issue of availability of good quality seeds,
both at the national and regional level;
To ensure adequate foundation seed;
To improve business planning and forecasting by public
and private partners;
To maintain variety quality through capacity building and
strengthening the regulatory system;
Opportunities to support
vegetable value chains
 Accelerate the process of demand creation through
education and capacity building for both exotic but
more so indigenous vegetable varieties;
 Uplift, where required, the regulatory environment and
promote quality of operations, avoiding falling into a
trap of over-regulation;
 Instill and maintain an Innovative Systems (Network)
Approach and create / strengthen a platform for private
– public dialogue and planning for vegetable value
chain management;
 Encourage innovative processes of adoption both in
producing improved varieties, post harvest
technologies and marketing strategies