Enabling change through transdisciplinary knowledge creation processes:

Multi-actor approaches in food value chain researchin East Africa

TeamPhD students: Maria Restrepo, Guyo Roba

MSc students: Eva Hilt, Joanna Albrecht, Anne EmdenPost-Docs and Senior Scientists: Dr. Margareta Lelea, Dr. Pamela Ngwenya, Dr. Anja Christinck

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann, Dr. Christian HülsebuschGerman Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL),

at the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel

November 18th, 2015 - Berlin, Germany

Open Space – Session III 16th Annual Meeting of the Inter-Agency Donor Group (IADG) on pro-poor livestock research and development

Presented by Margareta Amy Lelea

Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains (Reload)

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Reduction of losses and increase in benefits in livestock value chains in Kenya

Marsabit

Nakuru

d-maps.com

KENYA

Pastoral meat VC

Small-holder dairy VC

Photos: Lelea 2014 and 2015

Method: Multi-actor approach - focus on actors and their activity systems rather than on commodities

Multi-actor approach in the dairy and pastoral meat value chain

Dairy chain Pastoral meat chain Activity system

Primary actors Smallholder farmers Pastoral producers Livestock keeping

Local milk traders Local traders Trading

Milk bar owners Local butchers Processing & marketing

Local brokers Mediating transactions

Commerical dairy managers

Slaugherhouse managers

Processing & marketing

Secondary actors Dairy board officers Meat commission staff Regulating & controlling

County government representatives

County government representatives

Regulating & controlling

NGO officers NGO officers Enacting programms

External actors Scientists Scientists Investigating

Group facilitator Group facilitator Guiding group processes

Collaborative learning to resolve problems and identify improvement possibilities

Dialogue

Discovery

Applying new knowledge

1. Institutionalization of the collaboration with stakeholders

2. Situation analysis with problem identification and structuring

3. Agreement on goals and priorities4. Investigation to identify solutions or improved

activities5. Implementing identified “prototypes“ or

activities 6. Participatory monitoring and evaluation of

activities

Christinck and Kaufmann, forthcoming

Stakeholder analysis

Establish the collaboration

Restrepo et al.2014

Collaborative learning to resolve problems and identify improvement possibilities

Dialogue

Discovery

Applying new knowledge

Stakeholder analysis

Establish the collaboration

Restrepo et al.2014

Restrepo et al.2014

SMALLHOLDER DAIRY CHAIN, NAKURU

Photos: Lelea 2013-5

Establish the collaboration

• Supporting two farmer groups• Mukinduri Dairy Self-Help Group• Lare Livelihoods Improvement CBO

• Self-motivation - Bottom-up initiatives• Training on group formation and

maturation• Collaboration with:

DITSL PhD Student Maria Restrepo,group facilitator Andrew MainaPhD students and faculty members from Egerton University, Nakuru

Dialogue: Joint understanding of the problematic situation

Problem assessment – e.g. through photovoice• Milk quantity – seasonality & work load• Milk quality – cleanliness & composition• Market – rejection & seasonality

Agreement on aims & action plans• Milk quantity – silage & fodder• Milk quality – on-farm testing of milk quality

& development of standards: California Mastitis Test (CMT), Alcohol test, Improvement of milking parlour

• Keeping records on milk production and sale

Apply for funding - Video proposal

1. Farmer-to-Farmer exchange sessions – Silage, Fodder and Milking parlour

2. Learning and mutual teaching sessions – milk quality testing, California Mastitis Test

Discovery: Farmer-driven innovations

Applying new knowledge: Testing of innovations

Silage Sorghum Lucerne Records Test milk

quality

CMT0

20

40

60

80

100

Farmer participation

Lare Mukinduri

Self-defined innovations

% o

f mem

bers

that

test

ed

Silage Sorghum Lucerne Records Test milk

quality

CMT1

2

3

4

5

Benefits from innovation

Lare Mukinduri

Self-defined innovations

Leve

l of s

atisf

actio

n

Source: Restrepo (unpublished)

Applying new knowledge: Change of practice

• Silage and fodder at larger scale “I have done so much silage that during this dry period I was able to share with my father, as he did not have enough to feed his cows” Mbuthia - Lare

• Implementing milk testing “we (with 6 other farmers) implemented a system for testing milk quality every 2nd week to avoid rejection” Mwathi - Mukinduri

• Record keeping of other farming activities “I have also implemented records of my sheep and chicken” Kamau - Mukinduri

• Diffusion“the group is recognized, we are spreading our roots …” Robert Gacheche - Lare

PASTORAL MEAT VALUE CHAIN, MARSABIT

Photos: Lelea and Roba, 2014

Stakeholder analysis for collaborative multi-stakeholder processes

Lelea et al. 2015

• Herding• Watering • Animal treatment• Walking goats to market

Producers• Government officers• Local NGOs

Actors directly involved with the goats and sheep

Activities Interrelated actors

Local Traders, Local butchers &

Individuals (herders & assistants in the

market

Transporters & Lorry brokers

• Identify goats/sheep of interest

• Branding the animal• Trekking to collection

point• Organize transport from

Marsabit

• Animal loading• Trucking to the next

market

• Market committee• County government• Local NGOs (FH Kenya,

ACDI/VOCA)

• County government • Government veterinary

officer• Individual labourers

• Price negotiation & payment

• Getting movement permit • Getting health license• Sand loading

Step 2: Actor identification and initial characterization Actor identification and Activity Analysis

16

• Paying market access fee• Counting goats and

contracting broker to sellNairobi Traders &

Brokers

• Local trader• County government of

Nairobi• Exporters• Institutions • Individual households• Transporters

Activities Interrelated actors

Butchers

• Cooling • Pricing & selling

• Nairobi traders• Consumers• Tanneries• Meat distributors• Public health officers

• Slaughtering• Meat distribution • Selling meat and skins

Domestic & export market

Wholesalers

• Price negotiations & selling

• Distribution• Urban consumers

• Households• Hotels, bar &

restaurants• Meat exporters (Middle East)

Actors directly involved with the goats and sheep

Actor identification and Activity Analysis

Initialisation of multi-stakeholder platform meetings in the pastoral meat value chain

Photo: Lelea, 2015

Topics: 1. How to avoid multiple taxation on goats and

sheep?2. How to attract camel and cattle traders to a

market in a producer area?3. How to improve communication from

demand-side to the producer?4. How to coordinate transportation for

alternative markets such as Nakuru?

First outcomes:• Tax holiday for the Korr market to avoid

multiple taxation• Motivation to continue collaboration

Stakeholders present: • Pastoralists (small and large herds)• Traders (local area and region)• Brokers• Government officials

CONCLUSIONMulti-actor approaches in food value chain research

• Actor orientation takes into account the perspectives, constraints and room of manouever of the different actors in the value chain

• Activity orientation takes into account that change in value chains requires change in actions and practices

• Change in practices resulted from exchange and integration of diverse knowledge, learning and capacity development

• Social relations matter and develop in the course of the interactions– Between actors

– Between primary and secondary actors

– Between scientists and value chain actors

Multi-actor approaches are in themselves social innovations in R&D

THANK YOU!

More information and contact:m.a.lelea@ditsl.org a.christinck@distl.org b.kaufmann@ditsl.org

ResourcesChristinck, A., Kaufmann, B. Forthcoming. Facilitating change: Methodologies for collaborative learning with stakeholders, In: M. Padmanabhan (ed.) Transdisciplinarity for Sustainability. Routledge

Lelea, M.A., Roba, G., Christinck, A., Kaufmann, B. 2015. Methodologies for stakeholder analysis for application in transdisciplinary research projects focusing on actors in food supply chains. DITSL ISBN 978-3-945266-00-7

Restrepo, M.J., Lelea, M.A., Christinck, A., Hülsebusch, C., Kaufmann, B. 2014. Collaborative learning for fostering change in complex social-ecological systems: a transdisciplinary perspective on food and farming systems. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 10(3): 38-59

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