Tropentag, September 20 - 22, 2017 in Bonn "Future Agriculture: Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts"

Participatory Development of Sector Strategies for Double-Purpose Cattle Value Chains in Caquetá and Guaviare, Colombia

International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia

Abstract

The rapid globalisation of agricultural commodity markets, especially for livestock products, implies compliance with new requirements in terms of health, food safety, traceability and sustainability. In order to increase livestock sector competitiveness and to achieve access to such markets, coordinated efforts among all actors of a value chain are essential, especially when it comes to the development of joint strategies and initiatives. However, in Colombia's livestock sector, the efforts towards a market vision are often hampered by ineffective policies, disarticulation, low associativity, lack of enforcement of existing regulations and laws, and inequality in the distribution of profits among actors, resulting in limited market access and high degrees of informality.
The objective of this study is to develop sustainable sector strategies for the double-purpose cattle value chains in the Caquetá and Guaviare Departments of Colombia – in a participatory way with all involved direct and indirect value chain actors, following a two-step process. Step one comprised a basic value chain analysis through consulting primary (e.g. expert interviews) and secondary sources. Step two consists of multi-actor workshops (two per department) with the relevant value chain actors (LINK 2.0 methodology), where results from step one were shared, discussed and validated (workshop one) and a joint vision and sector strategy developed (workshop two). The value chain analysis took place early 2017, the first round of multi-actor workshops was finished April 2017 and the second round will be finished by June 2017.
As results we expect to obtain a) a profound value chain analysis, where all relevant bottlenecks for a sustainable development have been identified and later on prioritised by the actors, b) a joint vision for the value chain based on currently unmet market opportunities, and c) strategies and actions agreed among the actors for reaching sustainable value chain development. The results will be of high importance for the involved actors, as they serve as guidance on how to improve the value chains. For national and regional decision makers, the results might serve as valuable input for setting priorities (e.g., where to invest or where to prioritise for further research).

Keywords: Double-purpose cattle, multi-stakeholder platforms, sustainability, value chain

Contact Address: Stefan Burkart, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Trop. Forages Program, Km 17 Recta Cali-Palmira, Cali, Colombia, e-mail: s.burkartcgiar.org