Agri -Business Cluster Development

SERVICE CONTRACT: CED/SFA 2004 BG: AGBIP Agri-Business Cluster Development and Implementation Plan

Agri-Business Cluster Development

- pioneering initiative in the OECS1WINFAsConsultancy Implementation Strategy

2A mentor-mentee regime designed to facilitate capacity development and the mapping of a realistic plan of action for the development of the mentees enterprise. Mentor firms with the capacity to provide best practices learning and hand-on experience for developing (less developed) members of the cluster.

3A platform for the establishment of a services-based mechanism that can provide administrative, financial, technical and institutional support to the respective members of the cluster.

4A management information system, for collecting, processing, storing and disseminating information relevant to the production and marketing needs of enterprises within the cluster; as well as the demand/supply responses of the consumers.5Prerequisites for SuccessMember-participation CommitmentTrust Co-operation6Building a Strategy for CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT7Reality ?

the majority of the targeted firms are home-based and managed by women8Sustainability of Strategic DirectionNeed to Focus on:

Household DynamicsGender Imperatives

9Key ELEMENTSActions Diagnose / Analyse the SituationCollaborative strategyWhat needs to be done to develop and promote the ClusterMobilise ResourcesImplement /Manage ChangeChange Process

Build interest and participationIdentify and define clusterBuild commitment and mechanisms to establish the ClusterIdentify and prioritise challenges and actions with stakeholders

10Need to adopt a participatory approach, to ensure that firms and institutionsinvolved in the cluster OWN the process. 11Through dialogue and joint decision-making with those involved,internal strengths and weaknesses canbe identified and external threats andopportunities highlighted. 12The cluster strategy will identify:

where interventions are appropriate,how these should be targeted,when these should be carried out what is needed to make the change happen? the likely cost / resource requirements.13

14This initiative takes account of the full range of activities which are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production (involving a combination of physical transformation and the input of various producer services), delivery to final customers, and final disposal after use.The Vincyklus Inc VALUE CHAIN CLUSTER15Agro-Processing FirmsRegional and InternationalNiche MarketsExport AgenciesCustoms and Excise

Port Authority

CoconutsTechnical & Administrative Support Agencies

Input Suppliers

SupermarketsHotels&Restaurants

Wholesalers

Sea FoodsMeat & DairyPlantainEddoesTanniaDasheen

Fruits VegetablesSpicesCassavaPoultry16VINCYKLUS INC.VALUE CHAINThe chain actors who actually transact inputs, services and products as the process transitions from seed / crop to the table for consumption

the ultimate goal is a product or service that is competitive

i.e. at a cost that exceed the cost of production / marketing production of = PROFIT17With improved networking and stakeholder participationRESULTS !!!Improved information flow Better advice and supportCo-ordinated Actions Increased EfficiencyReduced CostBecome CompetitiveIncrease EarningsSustainable LivelihoodImproved socio-economic well-beingConstraints & OpportunitiesConstraintsUneconomical Production UnitsFarmFirmInconsistent Supply of InputsCropsProduction not agro-industry drivenNon-committal agro-processing supplyPackaging

Non-competitive Products/ Lack of Comparative AdvantageHigh Cost of Production Inefficient system layoutLow productivity of labourHigh cost of technology / capitalCheaper Imported Substitutes Poor Consumer AppealPoor Branding / packaging / lack of identity in the marketNot up to International StandardsMarkets not guaranteed

Inadequate Support ServicesInput SupplyProduction SchedulingQuality AssuranceProduct CertificationMarketingDistribution / shipping

OpportunitiesVincyklus Inc.Consolidation of Efforts along the Value ChainImproved Information FlowBetter Decision MakingCost ReductionInputsLabourCapital / technologyTimely Supply of InputsStandards for CertificationProduct differentiationIncreased Market penetration Joint marketingDiversified / New / Secure MarketIncreased Sales / Income

19The success of this cluster initiative hinges on the intensity of interaction among potential members and the intrinsic capacity for collective decision-making in terms of how to alter the mix of inputs and enhance the marketability of outputs in order to guarantee the competitiveness of firms within the cluster.

20Analysis of the Relations of Production provides insights into the nature of the relationship between the persons engaged in particular activities and the means used to accomplish such tasks. 21Gender Analysis of 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture 21Analysis of the Relations of Production provides insights into the nature of the relationship between the persons engaged in particular activities and the means used to accomplish such tasks. 22Gender Analysis of 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture 2223NEED for Focus on :

TIME USEAccess to /Control over Resources such as Infrastructure Inputs e.g. packagingTransportation / shippingSales / INCOMETECHNOLOGY

RELATIONSHIPS

Gender Analysis of 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture 23QUESTIONS???How do social relations of production / marketing / consumption influence the structure and character of demand / supply responses as this relates to agro processing?

Is there the domestic capacity to adequately respond to the dictates of the increasingly competitive international trading environment ?

Do we understand the dynamics of the people involved in the production (and marketing) of agro-processed commodities.

24Gender Analysis of 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture 24CLUSTER MISSION:

To improve agricultural (rural household) livelihoods by strengthening linkages within the agri-business value chain and increasing return to agro-processing ventures.

25CLUSTER OBJECTIVE:

To sustain the production and marketing of agro-products /services that are compliant with international competitiveness standards

2627Preferential TradingLiberalized TradeUncompetitive CompetitiveMarginalMainstreamResource poorResource endowedInternal / Domestic focusGlobal / Export orientedInformal / un-recordedFormal / recordedCare / Reproductive economyMarket (Monetary) EconomySubsistence Mode of ProductionCapitalist Mode of ProductionUse valueExchange valueUn-paid / non economic workPaid / economic workF E M A L E gender workM A L E gender workGENDER RELATED AsymmetriesGender Analysis of 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture 27