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Agriculture value chain consists of four parts namely
- Upstream-This includes large scale farmers, small scale farmers and agricultural inputs dealers
- Supply chain- supply chains consists of primary agro-processors, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers
- Mid stream- secondary processors e.g. making the product which takes less time to prepare for consumption
- Downstream-An example of players in this category are private label manufacturers
Value chain approach in agriculture is unique as it uses a participatory, stakeholder-driven approach to take advantage of opportunities for investment and growth in agriculture industry which has high levels of micro and small enterprise involvement particularly in Africa. Commercial agriculture and agribusiness projects should seriously focus on value chain development, which calls for mobilization of all players to work as partners from the beginning of promoting or strengthening an agricultural commodity, to ensure a common agreement on how to sustain the commodity.
A comprehensive government policy support is mandatory for a successful agriculture value chain. African farmers for a long time have been denied this kind of support resulting in stagnation of the agriculture sector and increased rural poverty. These policies of neglect stand in sharp contrast to those of developed nations, which provide farmers with a strong foundation of government policy support. The competitiveness of agribusiness not only depends on the functioning of players within a cluster, but most importantly, on the entire chain at the national and global level. This means agribusiness in developing countries needs to take globalization into account in order to improve competitiveness.For more information: Read
