LOCAL

FOOD 

SECURITY,

GLOBAL 

MARKETS

Market Evolution and the Transition to High-Value Agriculture

Reducing Poverty for Small-Scale Artisanal Fishermen

Trade in Devil’s Claw and Indigenous Natural Products

Linking Rural Land Tenure and Food Supply

Creating Agribusiness for Investors and Small-Holder Farmers

Strengthening Land Rights and Food Security

www.mcc.gov

THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 | WINTER/SPRING 2012-13

KINknowledge&innovation network
THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA 

TECHNICAL STAFF

VOL. 2, NO. 1 WINTER/SPRING 2012–13

Managing Editors

Jonathan Randall

Yohannes Abebe

Technical Editors

Kristin Penn

Katherine Farley

Contributors

Damiana Astudillo

Cynthia Berning

Dave Cole

Charlotte de Fontaubert

Elizabeth Feleke

Gary Kilmer

Jennifer Lappin

Alfoussenyi Niono

Karen Nott

Leonard Rolfes

William Valletta

Peter Zara

Copy Editor

Linda Smiroldo Herda

Art Direction and Design 

Andrew S. Ladson

Production Management

MCC Department 

of Congressional 

and Public Affairs

© 2013, Millennium Challenge 

Corporation. All rights reserved. 

No portion of this journal may 

be reproduced without the 

formal consent of the Millennium 

Challenge Corporation, 875 

15th Street NW, Washington DC 

20005-2211. The content reflects 

the views and opinions of the 

authors and does not constitute a 

formal endorsement by MCC.

KIN&

knowledge and innovation network

KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

CONTENTS

features

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Reducing Poverty for 

Artisanal Fishermen in Morocco

Trade in Indigenous Products 

Contributes to Food Security in Namibia

Evolving Markets and Moldova’s 

Transition To High-Value Agriculture

Strengthening Land Rights 

and Food Security in Mali

Rural Land Tenure Security and 

Food Supply in Southern Benin

Creating Sustainable Companies: 

Lessons from Ghana’s Agribusiness Centers

4

14

24

32

40

50

departments

From the CEO................................................1

Articles at a Glance........................................ 2

Resources...................................................60

Next Issue.................................................... 61

ON THE COVER: 

Strengthening food security creates new 

opportunities for families and communities to prosper.

Photo by Jake Lyell for MCC
WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 1

FROM THE CEO

Advancing Food Security, Strengthening Economies

Growth in the agriculture sector is widely recognized as one of the most powerful drivers of poverty reduction. I am pleased to introduce this second issue of the Knowledge 

and Innovation Network (KIN) Journal on the theme Local Food Security, Global Markets.

Since 2005, the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) portfolio has included over 

$4.3 billion in investments across 21 countries to address food insecurity and to strengthen 

agricultural and rural economies. Though MCC’s portfolio spans the globe, this KIN issue 

critically examines MCC food security investments in Morocco, Namibia, Mali, Benin, 

Ghana, and Moldova. As you will discover, investments in these countries are designed to 

sustain expanded market access for agricultural and rural stakeholders to reduce poverty and 

hunger. MCC’s multi-pronged approach to addressing food security includes a number of 

innovations and generates a wealth of experience and learning in agricultural development.

MCC investments in food security cover a wide range of activities and target the weak links in agricultural value 

chains, such as farm-to-market infrastructure, irrigation, productivity, rural finance, and land and property 

rights. I am proud that MCC’s portfolio represents a significant contribution to Feed the Future, President 

Obama’s Global Food Security Initiative, which aligns U.S. Government resources around a common strategy to 

sustainably reduce global poverty and hunger.

As we are seeing in many of our partner countries, dynamic changes in domestic and global markets are 

creating both opportunities and challenges for farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs. The demand for 

high-value agricultural goods is steadily increasing, driven by rising incomes, urbanization, liberalized trade, 

foreign investment, and technological advances. While expanding market demand drives faster agricultural 

growth, which increases rural employment and incomes, small-holder farmers are required to deliver higher 

quality, consistency, timeliness, and efficiency. Through MCC’s agricultural portfolio, we are providing 

technical assistance, infrastructure and an enabling environment for small-holder farmers to take advantage of 

opportunities and to address challenges.

I want to thank the dedicated MCC staff who contributed to this issue. In particular, I want to recognize the work 

of the agriculture and land team members who provide technical oversight to MCC partner countries as they 

invest in food security, learn and understand effective approaches to increase food security, and ultimately share 

their learning with the wider development community to make a sustainable difference in the lives of many. KIN

Daniel W. Yohannes

Chief Executive Officer
ARTICLES AT A GLANCE

2 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

MCC actively supports President Obama’s Global Food Security Initiative, Feed the Future, through investments in food security in 21 countries. The Feed the Future strategy 

addresses the determining factors of food insecurity (defined as the availability and access to food) 

through investments in agricultural productivity, agribusiness, market development, equitable 

distribution of and control over productive resources, food utilization, and ensuring that effective 

mechanisms are in place to address chronic food insecurity. 

MCC’s contribution to the U.S. Government’s food security priority is significant. When given 

the opportunity to set their priorities for sustainable development, most MCC eligible countries 

have selected varying types and levels of agricultural sector investments as the principal means to 

reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. 

In addition to a large portfolio that aligns with Feed the Future’s high-level agriculture sector 

growth and nutrition objectives, MCC is committed to rigorous monitoring and evaluation and has 

contributed extensively to how Feed the Future tracks progress, evaluates impacts, and learns how 

to improve the effectiveness of food security investments. As part of Feed the Future’s whole-ofgovernment approach, MCC reports progress against a common set of government-wide indicators 

and shares experience and learning related to effective project and evaluation implementation. 

MCC’s agriculture and land teams have been busy working in partnership with compact countries 

to maximize the impact of our food security investments on reducing poverty and hunger. The 

Fall of 2012 was especially busy with the release of the findings of MCC’s first set of impact 

evaluations on farmer training and a week-long MCC “Agriculture College” that involved teams 

from both current and closed compacts in an intense self-assessment of how well we are investing 

in agriculture. Both of these processes provided valuable insights and evidence to improve the 

effectiveness of agricultural investments and evaluations. 

This issue of the KIN journal intends to continue down this critical learning path as we strive to do 

our business better and build on the commitment under Feed the Future. The six articles selected 

for this issue examine the constraints farmers and agribusinesses faced in six MCC partner 

countries and how innovative approaches were used to support an environment for sustainable 

market access. 

As the following articles note, small-holder farmers, fisherfolk and natural product harvesters 

often face the challenge of an uncertain resource base, scarce support services, inadequate 

access to markets, insecure land tenure, impacts on private investments, and limited finance 

opportunities. MCC project investments tackle these market development concerns and boost 

sector growth by reducing transaction costs and linking farmers more closely with consumers. 

However, outstanding questions remain as to how to most effectively and sustainably create 

market access that leads to inclusive sector growth and improves local food security. The authors 

included in this edition of the KIN journal share their implementation experiences and lessons 

from MCC’s investments in six partner countries that advance learning in food security for us all.

With access to both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco is blessed with over 3,500 kilometers of coastline, giving it access to some of the world’s most productive 

fishing grounds. Helping small-scale fisheries take advantage of the wealth of marine resources to 

further their economic and social development is one of Morocco’s key development objectives. 

“Reducing Poverty for Artisanal Fishermen in Morocco,” written by Charlotte de Fontaubert

Jonathan Randall (l)

Senior Program Officer, DCO

Kristin Penn (l)

Senior Policy Advisor and 

Agriculture Practice Lead, DCO

Yohannes Abebe (r)

Director of Infrastructure, DCO

Katherine Farley (r)

Senior Director, 

Agriculture and Land, DCO

Local Food Security, Global Markets
WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 3

ARTICLES AT A GLANCE

and Peter Zara, emphasizes two complementary implementation considerations: (1) removing 

intermediaries between targeted beneficiaries and the final market and (2) ensuring sustainability 

of fish stocks upon which they depend for their livelihood. A number of critical lessons have 

emerged from the project, including the importance of strong engagement with local stakeholders 

and the need to communicate project benefits in light of competing development demands.

“Trade in Indigenous Products Contributes to Food Security in Namibia” by Dave Cole, 

Karen Nott and Liz Feleke illustrates the relationships between resource conservation, poverty 

alleviation and the emerging trade in INPs in global markets. Typically, the poorest of the poor 

in rural areas depend on indigenous natural products to improve their food security and are 

increasingly engaged in commercialization of these products. The main challenges discussed in 

this article for this growing market are, on the one hand, forging appropriate linkages between 

producer organizations and international global markets and, on the other, gaining widespread 

adoption of sustainable harvesting practices. 

“Evolving Markets and Moldova’s Transition to High-Value Agriculture” by Jennifer Lappin, 

Cynthia Berning and Gary Kilmer explores the importance of making “space”—valuable time 

and resources—early in project implementation to conduct deep, end-market studies as an 

effective step to focus and prioritize value chain projects where success hinges on market capture. 

This article reviews the complexities of identifying market opportunities and facilitating entry by 

Moldovan exporters.

From 2007 to 2012, MCC supported a major effort to address the causes of food insecurity in 

Mali, where over 50 percent of the people live on less than $1.25 per day and 27 percent of the 

children under age five are underweight. The Government of Mali, with MCC financial support 

and technical assistance, implemented the Alatona Irrigation Project in a remote area of the Ségou 

region of central Mali. “Strengthening Land Rights and Food Security in Mali” is an article by 

Leonard Rolfes Jr. and Alfousseyni Niono describing how key design issues influenced food 

security among beneficiaries of the project’s land allocation activity.

As part of the national strategy to remedy food insecurity and promote modern agriculture, Benin 

has undertaken a series of donor-assisted projects to strengthen the rights of rural landholders 

using the rural landholding plan (plan foncier rural or PFR). The PFR is expected to increase the 

volume and variety of locally-produced food coming to market in conjunction with programs to 

expand cultivation, diversify crop production, improve yields, and upgrade storage, transport and 

handling facilities. The article, “Rural Land Tenure Security and Food Supply in Southern Benin” 

by William Valletta, looks at PFR results from the commune of Klouekanme, where early findings 

show positive trends and provide valuable lessons.

A common challenge to the development community is ensuring the long-term financial 

sustainability of investments. The return on investment of post-harvest interventions, such 

as storage and processing facilities, is at risk if farmers and agribusinesses are not properly 

incentivized to use and maintain the infrastructure over the long term. Damiana Astudillo, 

author of “Creating Sustainable Companies: Lessons from Ghana’s Agribusiness Centers,” 

highlights how international best practices and lessons from previous post-harvest investments 

were integrated as key design features to create a financially sustainable and unique post-harvest 

business model based on partnerships between established and successful local agribusinesses 

and farmer-based organizations. 

We hope you enjoy this KIN issue and learn from it as much as we did in its development. KIN
4 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

ABSTRACT

The small-scale Artisanal Fisheries Project, a significant 

part of the $697.5 million MCC compact signed between 

the governments of the United States and Morocco, is 

a $120 million effort to reduce poverty among some of 

the poorest Moroccans: small-scale artisanal fishermen. 

This investment aims to increase profitability for these 

fishermen and improve food safety through concerted 

actions along the fish value chain from landing sites on 

undeveloped beach fronts to mobile vendors who sell 

door-to-door to modern market platforms that maintain 

a variety of quality fish to consumers’ plates. The 

Artisanal Fisheries Project emphasizes two important 

and complementary considerations: (1) removing 

intermediaries between targeted beneficiaries and 

the final market and (2) ensuring sustainability of fish 

stocks upon which they depend for their livelihood. 

A number of critical lessons have emerged from the 

project, including the importance of leveraging the 

Moroccan government’s existing expertise, strong and 

consistent engagement with local stakeholders to avoid 

land disputes, the need to communicate project benefits 

in light of competing development demands (e.g., 

fishing versus tourism), and the added time and costs of 

enforcing international standards for construction that 

are outside the typical norm and standards. 

REDUCING POVERTY 

FOR ARTISANAL 

FISHERMEN IN MOROCCO

4 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

By Charlotte de Fontaubert, Ph.D. and Peter Zara
Opposite:

Construction of 

a landing site for 

small-scale artisanal 

fishermen in Salé, 

outside Rabat.

WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 5

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Context of the Project: Fisheries in Morocco

With access to both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco is blessed 

with over 3,500 kilometers of coastline, giving it access to some of the world’s most 

productive fishing grounds, including the rich waters off the Canary Current upwelling. 

Helping small-scale fisheries take advantage of the wealth of marine living resources to 

further their economic and social development is one of Morocco’s key development 

objectives, as set forth in a new and ambitious fisheries strategy enacted in 2009, the socalled “Halieutis” strategy.1

Today, the fishing sector in Morocco employs around 500,000 people, and fish exports earn 

close to $1 billion in foreign exchange annually, which represents an essential component of 

Morocco’s monetary stability (FAO 2013).

Broadly speaking, Moroccan fisheries are divided into three separate sets of operators: 

artisanal near-shore fisheries, coastal fisheries (e.g., sardine vessels and trawlers) and 

“industrialized” fisheries that operate much further off-shore. Unlike most of its neighbors 

and competitors, Morocco has historically taken a proactive approach to fisheries 

management as highlighted by the establishment of a comprehensive and well-respected 

National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH). The Halieutis strategy restricts access to its 

waters through the granting of international access agreements, and Morocco has developed 

a coastal fishing fleet of its own, mostly targeting sardines, anchovies and small pelagics 

through joint ventures with European boat owners and operators. 

Direct monetary benefits from the fisheries sector are concentrated mainly in urban zones 

equipped with ports. The majority of profits derive from the well-organized industrial and 

coastal fishing industries that receive strong state supervision and guidance. The artisanal 

fishing community, on the other hand, is a minority economic activity in port cities and is 

dwarfed by the number and size of much larger coastal vessels, such as trawlers. Even when 

small-scale fishermen have access to basic infrastructure, their production remains marginal 

due to inadequate infrastructure, training and organization. Most fishermen are not welleducated and simply follow in their father’s footsteps without the ability to achieve more 

lucrative livelihood options. 

Outside of high-density urban zones and a handful of larger ports, fishing remains a 

traditional industry along the coastline, relying on beaches and natural ports for loading 

and unloading. These sites lack basic infrastructure, making fishing from them difficult and 

often dangerous. Every year several artisanal fishermen perish at sea because they are not 

supported by rescue-at-sea vessels from the Moroccan Royal Navy. The equipment they use 

is very basic: a simple wooden boat with an outboard engine and manual gearshift. The heavy, 

wooden boats from which the fishermen operate are hauled up the beach by hand and all gear 

and engines are carried by them over long distances and uneven terrain. 

The lack of basic facilities, including water and often electricity, means that fishermen are 

completely dependent on intermediaries to supply essential services, such as petrol, at prices 

much greater than in the regulated marketplace. These same intermediaries also act as the 

buyers, setting the price of catches artificially low. Fishermen are so dependent on these 

1 In 2009, the Government of Morocco adopted a new, comprehensive strategy for fisheries management, also known as the Halieutis 

strategy, with the specific goal of investing in and developing the sustainability of the sector. The Halieutis strategy combines a broad objective 

of increasing production to more than 2.3 billion dirham by 2020 with a specific goal of ensuring that 95 percent of the species are managed 

sustainably. The three main axes of the strategy are sustainability, performance (increased catch quality) and competitiveness (exports of fish 

products are expected to almost double to $3.1 billion). The development of sustainable aquaculture is also a major pillar of Halieutis.

Photo: © C. de Fontaubert
intermediaries that they have no alternative but to accept conditions that place them among 

Morocco’s bottom earners (Gouvernment du Maroc 1999, World Bank 2004).

Traditional fishing employs close to 100,000 Moroccans; however, due to the lack of sorely 

needed infrastructure, it still provides a strictly seasonal and subsistence-focused livelihood 

(FAO 2013). The marginalized coastal populations who depend on fishing remain in a 

precarious economic situation despite their proximity to the coastline’s abundant resources. 

Even though most of the stocks are exploited at or near full capacity, the revenue generated 

by fishing is far below what it could be with better access to an organized market (FAO 2013). 

Despite these limitations, the small-scale fisheries sector in Morocco meets a large share of 

domestic market demand and provides a source of national exports but is nowhere near as 

efficient or profitable as it could be.2

The Artisanal Fisheries Project

The Artisanal Fisheries Project aims to break the current cycle of poverty entrapping 

traditional Moroccan fishermen by creating an industry marked by sustainable growth and 

rational exploitation of Morocco’s marine living resources. The goal of this investment is to 

transform the small-scale fisheries sector by modernizing the means of catching, storing and 

marketing fish. This will improve the quality of the catch, develop the value chain, increase 

fishers’ access to both local and export markets, and improve incomes. 

The three main components of the project include:

1. Improved infrastructure: This involves constructing ports, landing sites and wholesale 

markets—constructing 11 new landing sites for isolated fishing communities (commonly 

referred to as PDAs, the French acronym for Points de Débarquement Aménagés); 

developing and upgrading access for small-scale fishermen in 11 ports; and constructing 

five, brand new state-of-the-art wholesale markets in urban areas. 4,368 boats are expected 

to benefit from the creation of ports and PDAs (MCA-M 2013).3

2. Innovations in the cold chain: This involves providing technical assistance, training and 

partially funding the acquisition of fresh-fish transportation equipment by mobile fish 

vendors.4 (Note: these are typically mopeds equipped with oversized, insulated ice chests.) 

3. Maintaining the sustainability of the resource. This involves establishing a network of 

Marine Protected Areas and increasing monitoring efforts to ensure the sustainable catch 

of fish resources.

For all three of these components, a very strong and sustained training program was developed 

and adapted to the targeted beneficiaries, designed to ensure that all beneficiaries become stewards 

of the new infrastructure and equipment after the end of the compact. The training modules 

ranged from practical safety training for the fishermen to road safety for the mobile vendors. 

2 The share of the small-scale fisheries catches that are landed “officially” in government-sanctioned sites (PDAs and ports) amounts to 

37,000 tons annually, valued at approximately $100 million a year. In addition, 20,000 tons are landed at unofficial sites, for which the total 

value is not available (ONP 2007).

3 To date, 437 boats are already benefiting from this infrastructure.

4 A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain. Strengthening the cold chain increases the value of fish products by establishing 

a chain of regulated temperature storage from the artisanal and coastal fisheries to the final point of sale. The chain begins on-board smallscale vessels, continues to PDAs and reaches consumers through properly-managed, hygienic wholesale fish markets and modern mobile fish 

vendors.

6 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Most of the targeted trainees had not received education beyond the primary school level. 

The Agency of Partnership for Progress (Agence de Partenariat pour le Progrès or APP), the 

local Moroccan entity responsible for implementing Morocco’s MCC compact, is responding 

to this issue more broadly in the sector by providing over 16,000 artisanal fishers in 16 port 

towns with Arabic literacy, numeracy, job-specific, and entrepreneurial skills to build their 

business. Over 400 of the fishermen participated in both the artisanal fisheries training and 

APP’s functional literacy program. 

A Social and Creative Approach to Reducing 

Poverty: Construction of the Landing Sites

The construction of landing sites and the development of infrastructure in ports aim squarely 

to end the precarious nature of the Moroccan artisanal fisheries sector and place it on a 

path toward sustainable growth. As such, one of the aims of the project is to “formalize” the 

activities of these fishermen, who operate mostly through an informal circuit, do not report 

their catches and do not benefit from any of Morocco’s social safety nets.

A cornerstone of the project is the transformation and development of 11 informal landing 

sites already in use by the traditional fishing sector, but where the lack of infrastructure 

severely impedes their potential for revenue generation. These new landing sites will serve 

as micro-centers for development through improved infrastructure, access to marketing and 

technical services and training in a wide range of skills and activities. To date, 6,862 artisan 

fisherman have received training certificates out of a planned target of 15,000 (MCA-M 2013). 

These focal points will link the entire coastal population by creating a network of fishing 

communities and breaking the isolation in which fishermen have operated. Experience in 

past landing sites, funded by the Government of Morocco, has shown that once the necessary 

infrastructure is built, and water and electricity are provided, economic activity develops 

beyond the fishing activity, with the construction of restaurants, stores and homes.

Moreover, the project aims to increase access to the domestic market by integrating modes of 

distribution and professionalizing the industry’s management capacity (see box following page). 

The project is advancing transparency in the marketplace, and the National Fisheries Office will 

continue to handle marketing within an open and free framework. The program also aims to 

make fishing a year-round activity for small-scale fishermen to stabilize and increase revenues.

The old fish market 

in Meknés, where 

hygiene was far 

below standards, 

will be replaced by 

a new, state-of-thePhoto: © C. de Fontaubert

art facility.
The development of PDAs includes the landing site and off-site infrastructure (access roads, 

drinking water supply, sanitation, electricity, and telephone) as well as the development of 

major infrastructure related to marketing (open and controlled auction room, ice factory, 

storage areas, infirmary, meeting room) and local administrative training and resource 

monitoring. Upon completion of construction, the ownership of each PDA is transferred to a 

cooperative of fishermen, who then become fully responsible for its management and upkeep. 

The National Fisheries Office remains involved through management of the first sale of the 

catches just as they are landed, collects a small tax on these landings and pays the wages of 

the personnel who manage the sales and collect all relevant data. 

Completing the infrastructure will facilitate better utilization of landing sites by establishing 

a continuous cold value chain and participation in open and transparent fish markets. 

Indeed, the professional management of fish markets by the National Fisheries Office 

enhances market transparency and leads to improved prices at auctions. In the past, catches 

were landed in a haphazard manner and collected by intermediaries who arbitrarily set 

the prices and took no specific measures to ensure food safety and product quality. Now, 

much stricter standards are set up in the PDAs, and the National Fisheries Office inspectors 

monitor daily catches.

This project will also create fishing cooperatives, allowing them to reduce the costs of inputs 

and transport. By simply gaining access to water and electricity, and thus ice, artisanal 

fishermen can increase revenues as the price per kilo of fish improves due to its increased 

8 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

FROM BEACH LANDINGS TO CONSUMERS’ PLATE, STRENGTHENING THE COLD CHAIN

While the project focuses first and foremost on small-scale artisanal fishermen, it also follows the catch throughout its journey to 

final consumers. During due diligence, the Government of Morocco presented two pilot projects in Casablanca and Oujda, where 

experience showed that a well-designed market, strategically located and drawing on the latest in cold technology, can boost the 

distribution of fish products throughout Morocco. With MCC funding, these activities where scaled up to include markets close to 

dense urban areas in Rabat, Marrakech, Meknes, Taza, and Beni Mellal, where demand for fish has gone largely unmet. 

Bringing fish products closer and faster to consumers is furthered through the help of mobile fish vendors, who are spread out 

throughout Morocco. Before the project, mobile fish vendors operated on bicycles or mopeds and stored fish in old, wooden 

and extremely unsanitary chests. 1,300 beneficiaries are 

receiving brand new equipment, including insulated plastic 

chests, and training in a variety of modules, including 

road safety, basic hygiene and the importance of saving 

to amortize and eventually replace the equipment. With 

a view to sustainability, very strict criteria were adopted 

to select these beneficiaries, which were reduced from 

2,000 to 1,300. Among the criteria were how long they had 

operated as vendors and an estimation of their ability to 

save to amortize the equipment through time. Another very 

important requirement, which was imposed by MCC in spite 

of early reluctance by Moroccan counterparts, was that the 

beneficiaries themselves had to contribute to the cost of 

the equipment, thus ensuring that they had an interest in 

keeping, operating and maintaining the mopeds. 
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

quality. A comprehensive study commissioned through the MCC compact on the value chain 

showed that the greatest benefit for the fishermen is to break the relationship of dependency 

that has bound them to intermediaries. As far as the increase in value per species, its 

measuring has also just begun in the only PDA site that is now operational in the town of 

Tifnit. An independent evaluation will be conducted in 2014 after compact completion in 

2013 that will measure the increase in values over at least one full year (reflecting the reality 

of biological cycles for most species).51

In addition, by becoming part of the PDA system, the fishermen are grouped in a critical mass 

that allows economies of scale, particularly as related stores and businesses are set up in the 

periphery of the PDA. Perhaps most significantly, the fishermen benefit from an open market 

system where the price of their catches is no longer set arbitrarily by an intermediary but 

rather as the result of supply and demand in the marketplace.

Keeping Moroccan Fisheries on a Sustainable Path: 

Resource Monitoring and Marine Protected Areas 

The environmental sustainability of the Artisanal Fisheries Project is reflected in the fact 

that MCC investments are targeted to increase the value of fish moving through marketing 

channels, as opposed to increasing the quantity of catches.

While increased value may stimulate demand, the fisheries sector is comparatively wellmanaged in Morocco and the government exercises a remarkably high degree of control over 

fishing and landing activities. The National Fisheries Office, in partnership with INRH, is 

responsible for monitoring fishing activities and strictly controls access to fisheries. 

The MCC program is designed to help ensure environmental and social sustainability by 

strengthening fish stock assessments and monitoring systems at the landing sites. In fact, 

one of the significant side benefits of the project is the “formalization” of fishing activities 

by 12,000 or so targeted artisanal fishermen, whose catch will be recorded and documented 

when they land their catches in the new landing sites.62

Not only will fishermen switch from the informal sector to a recognized, monitored and 

state-sanctioned activity, all their catches, which previously were sold at unfair prices to 

off-the-book intermediaries will henceforth be registered, and to a small degree, taxed by the 

National Fisheries Office as it operates the auction halls in the PDAs. Catch reporting is at the 

heart of stock assessments, which are key to setting precautionary levels of catch, quota and 

thus the control of fishing efforts. 

Marine Protected Areas

The sustainability of the project is also greatly strengthened by the development of a network 

of marine protected areas (MPAs) along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. Here, the 

rationale is that when local fishing communities benefit from the new PDAs, their revenues 

will increase and, as a quid pro quo, they will be expected to participate in the establishment 

of the MPAs and comply with their management measures. As a result, overfishing will be 

reduced and the sustainability of fish resources will be improved even if other collapses can 

5 M. Naji, Analyse des chaines de valeur dans le secteur de la pêche artisanale au Maroc, Report prepared for the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation

6 Office National des Pêches, Strategic document prepared for the Millennium Challenge Corporation during due diligence.
10 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

occur for other, mainly environmental reasons (e.g., an El Nino event, changes in seawater 

temperature or salinity, ocean acidification). Setting up a network of MPAs along the coast 

of Morocco represents a form of insurance against such phenomena, where even if a stock 

is affected by other factors, its fundamental integrity is ensured by protecting the critical 

ecosystems upon which it depends. 

Furthermore, the project’s approach to the establishment of MPAs is unique for a number 

of very important considerations. First and foremost, the project does not merely set-up 

pilot projects but fundamentally changes fisheries management by introducing MPAs as 

a tool, which can be used along more traditional measures (total allowable catch, quotas, 

licenses, size limits, etc.). To that end, the first year of the project was devoted solely to 

political outreach and education, to explain how MPAs function, in a genuine attempt to 

introduce them and have them accepted in the Moroccan landscape. This effort will continue 

throughout the duration of the project and will include study trips where fishermen and MPA 

managers visit other successful MPAs in the Mediterranean context. 

Second, the MPAs set up by the project target relatively healthy fisheries, where each MPA 

is designed to support sustainable fishing practices rather than put an end to overfishing or 

destructive fishing practices. The wide body of literature on the subject shows that MPAs 

work best when they are adopted preventively and after exhaustive consultations with 

stakeholders and political buy-in (Roberts et al. 2001; Halpem and Wagner 2002). This is in 

contrast to the vast majority of MPAs, many of which are mere “paper parks,” enacted but 

never enforced.

MPAs can extend over large areas (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia 

is larger than the State of Texas) and in practice enforcement is almost impossible. It is 

very difficult to monitor a large number of small boats over a huge expense of sea. Instead, 

voluntary compliance is the preferred approach where stakeholders voluntarily agree to 

abide by the conservation measures set up inside the MPA because they understand that 

such measures will provide the targeted stocks with a chance to recover from previous 

fishing efforts. Thus, the best MPA is one that has been set up at the request of fishermen 

themselves. Accordingly, the Artisanal Fisheries Project included a series of extensive 

outreach meetings with beneficiaries to discuss the rationale and location of future MPAs to 

create strong ownership from the fishing community. The location of the MPAs was based 

on exhaustive data collected over the years by INRH and was verified through underwater 

surveys. At the end of this process, fishermen buy-in was such that the demand for MPAs 

was greater than what the pilot projects could cover and the National Fisheries Office is 

well aware of the request by fishermen for more MPAs. Therefore, the MPA component 

is consistent with two fundamental pillars of a successful MPA: (1) acceptance by the 

stakeholders/beneficiaries and (2) using the best scientific information available to locate and 

delimit the MPA.73

Lessons Learned and Recommendations

Building on the Government’s Historical Strengths

An important element that favored MCC’s selection of a fisheries component in Morocco 

was the fact that the Moroccan government had already accrued a wealth of knowledge and 

7 Two of the most respected and followed guiding documents on how to establish MPAs are published by IUCN: (1) Marine Protected 

Areas, A guide for Planners and Managers (IUCN, 2000), and (2) World Commission on Protected Areas, Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas

(IUCN, 1999). Both contain detailed recommendations on using best scientific information available and consulting impacted stakeholders 

exhaustively.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

experience in starting PDA sites and building a major wholesale market in Casablanca. The 

MCC project was thus conceived as a way of doing more of what was already working with 

the addition of some targeted improvements. This approach was beneficial from two different 

standpoints. On the one hand, the project built on approaches that had been field-tested by the 

government in its own time, incorporating some of the lessons that had been learned through 

trial and error. For instance, the project decided to focus on PDAs rather than so-called Villages 

de Pêcheurs, which had previously been funded by another donor and proved exceedingly 

difficult to implement because they required the construction of marine infrastructure, namely 

jetties and other devices, which proved to be too technically difficult to implement. On the 

other hand, building on the past experiences of the Government of Morocco was an excellent 

way to build trust with our partners and to show the extent to which their existing knowledge 

and “know-how” were appreciated and valued. The first lesson, then, is to try to identify and 

recognize past successes by the partner country and build on existing strengths.

Close and Continual Engagement with the Local Authorities

In retrospect, one can note that the number of sites to be built, both ports and PDAs, was cut 

drastically from the original target of 39 to 22. The 17 sites that were discarded mostly failed 

because the Government of Morocco and local authorities failed to secure the land on which they 

were to be built. From the early days of compact negotiations, it had been agreed that the land 

would represent the contribution of the receiving government. However, in spite of considerable 

support from project stakeholders, some local authorities simply chose not to welcome the project 

and prevented the construction of a landing site because they wanted to keep land available for 

hypothetical tourism development. One lesson learned is the need to maintain close and continual 

communication with local authorities, especially with respect to land issues, and to be able to 

demonstrate that large tourism development is not necessarily preferable to a smaller, lower 

impact landing site. Where the potential for tourism exists, it will more often than not supersede 

any other priorities in the eyes of local authorities. This is probably true for most, if not all, marine 

fisheries projects in countries with beach tourism potential and should be actively addressed as 

part of the planning process for a fisheries project. In many cases, an integrated fisheries-ecotourism approach is possible, where smaller tourism infrastructures are planned and integrated 

with existing fishing activities. This option is currently the subject of a World Bank/Global 

Environment Facility project along the Mediterranean coast, hopefully paving the way for a more 

integrated approach to the development of the coastal zone. 

New wholesale fish 

markets were based 

on the success of 

the Casablanca 

market (pictured).

Photo: © C. de Fontaubert
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Finally, another important lesson is drawn from the tremendous delays that resulted from 

a slow start and lengthy feasibility studies before construction could begin. The original 

work plan called for the completion of the first tranche of sites (almost 10 sites) at least 

two years before the end of the compact in September 2013. Yet, at the time of this article’s 

writing, only two sites have been completed and become operational. As a result, 25 sites 

need to be completed or become operational between now and September 2013, which 

is sure to put inordinate pressure on all parties involved.84Without a doubt, the delays in 

the feasibility studies were in great part the result of differences in norms and standards, 

including environmental and social standards, between MCC and the beneficiary country. 

8 The 25 remaining sites include 10 ports, 10 PDAs and five wholesale markets.

GENDER INTEGRATION AND WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE FISHING SECTOR

By Patricia Thomas

Ask what women do in the fishing sector in Morocco, and the most common response will be: “They are not present.” They do not go 

out in boats, do not fish, are not members of cooperatives, and do not engage in income-generating activities related to fishing. You 

will also most likely hear that it is impossible to integrate women into the fishing sector: (1) because they are not present in the sector 

and (2) because culture and traditions dictate that fishing is the domain of men, not women. 

However, a gender analysis conducted in the context of the MCC-Morocco compact showed that though not present in large numbers, 

women do play a role in certain activities included in the value chain. For example, they collect, dry and commercialize marine algae 

and other products, such as mussels and sea urchins. They also work in great numbers as laborers in factories that process sea 

products. The gender analysis also showed that though traditions and customs often prohibit women’s access to participation in the 

fishing sector, that this is not always the case. 

The project’s gender strategy thus focuses on innovative pilot actions that aim to open doors 

to a larger role for women in the fishing sector and to dispel myths about what women can and 

cannot do. Concretely, this means two things: identifying specific project services and benefits 

that can be made accessible to women (gender mainstreaming); and supporting specific 

projects for women that build on existing skills while increasing knowledge in areas where skills 

are lacking. Two women-specific projects are currently being envisioned: an algae drying facility 

for a women’s cooperative in Sidi Abed and a processing plant for transforming sea products for 

women in Sidi Ifni.

• Sidi Abed: In Morocco, women are not often seen around docks or landing sites. This is the 

domain of men, who assume most activities related to the fishing sector. In fact, women are 

not allowed in some areas. In Sidi Abed, however, the newly-formed women’s cooperative 

received permission to build inside the confines of the site. Up to 300 women engaged 

in the activity of collecting, drying and selling marine algae will pay their share of expenses in order to receive equipment and 

infrastructure adapted to their needs, as well as training in hygiene, improved techniques, cooperative enterprises, and marketing. 

• Sidi Ifni: In the industrial zone of Sidi Ifni, construction will soon begin on a processing plant for marine products. The beneficiaries 

are 100 women members of a newly-formed cooperative who received a grant from Morocco’s MCC compact. In addition to 

receiving appropriate infrastructure, the women will learn new ways to conserve their products (i.e., sardines and anchovies), 

allowing them to tap into local as well as export markets and increased profits. Interestingly, some of the women of the cooperative 

previously worked as paid laborers in fish processing plants. The difference now is that instead of working for others, they will 

become owners of the means of production. 

Patrica Thomas is a consultant with Roche Consulting Group.

Photo: © Agence du Partemariat pour le Progrés
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The original work plan was adopted based on a number of assumptions as to the capacity of 

the consultants and building firms to adopt MCC standards and criteria, which proved to be 

overly optimistic. These standards obviously cannot be lowered to respond to the abilities 

of local partners, so the most salient lesson here is the importance of focusing on outreach, 

training and support to these partners at the onset. The principle of country ownership is 

one of the fundamental pillars of the MCC approach, but it should also include an honest 

assessment of existing local capacities and a focus on investing heavily in training of the 

national drivers of the project as to MCC’s methods, ways and standards. KIN

Dr. Charlotte de Fontaubert has worked on the fisheries project in Morocco’s compact since its 

inception in 2006. She has worked on fisheries and marine conservation for close to 20 years, 

concentrating on Africa and the Caribbean. She has a special interest in the establishment and 

management of marine protected areas and has written extensively on the subject. In addition to her 

work for MCC, she is also a Research Fellow at the School for Field Studies at the Center for Marine 

Resource Studies in the Turks and Caicos.

Peter Zara is a senior program officer in MCC’s West Africa division, where he manages the 

integration of environmental and social performance throughout compact project design and 

implementation. Previously, Peter worked at the World Bank on rural development and land 

tenure projects in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

References

Food and Agriculture Organization. Morocco Country Fisheries Profile. www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/FI-CP_MA/fr. Accessed on 

February 28, 2013.

Gouvernement du Maroc, Direction de la Statistique, 1999. Rapport des premiers résultats de l’enquête nationale sur les niveaux des 

ménages, 1998-99.

Halpern and Wagner. 2002. Marine Reserves have rapid and lasting effects. Ecology Letters. 5:361-366.

IUCN. 2000. Marine Protected Areas, A guide for Planners and Managers.

IUCN 1999. World Commission on Protected Areas: Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas.

Millennium Challenge Account Morocco (MCA-M). 2013. Indicator Tracking Table, Quarter 17.

Office National des Peches (ONP). 2007 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

Roberts, C. et al. 2001. Effects of Marine Reserves on Adjacent Fisheries, Science. vol. 294, 20 November.

World Bank, “Kingdom of Morocco Poverty Report: Strengthening Policy by Identifying the Geographic Dimension of Poverty,” 2004.

Project beneficiaries 

target high-value 

fish species, as 

shown, which 

require prompt 

access to markets.
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TRADE IN INDIGENOUS 

PRODUCTS CONTRIBUTES 

TO FOOD SECURITY IN 

NAMIBIA

By Dave Cole, Karen Nott and Liz Feleke

TRADE IN INDIGENOUS 

PRODUCTS CONTRIBUTES 

TO FOOD SECURITY IN 

NAMIBIA

By Dave Cole, Karen Nott and Liz Feleke

 ABSTRACT

Sustainable wild harvesting and trading of indigenous natural plant products (INP) have the 

potential to contribute to the alleviation of rural poverty, conservation of natural resources 

and encourage trade with developed markets internationally. In Namibia, 20 percent of the 

population living in rural areas is considered severely poor. Typically, it is the poorest of 

the poor living in rural areas who depend on indigenous natural products to improve their 

food security and are increasingly engaged in the commercialization of these products 

to improve their livelihoods. Given Namibia’s limited traditional agrarian (crop farming) 

potential, the diversification of livelihoods provides critical supplementary income to 

rural communities. Income from INPs is used to buy food during periods when subsistence 

agriculture is not able to provide sufficiently for rural households. Supporting harvesters in 

organizing producer groups, which are able to negotiate contracts directly with exporters 

and manage the resource and its utilization, contributes thus to food security in rural 

areas. The challenge, on the one hand, is to forge appropriate linkages between producer 

organizations and international global markets and, on the other, to gain widespread 

adoption of sustainable harvesting practices. The case of the sustainably harvested devil’s 

claw approach in Namibia, now supported through the Millennium Challenge AccountNamibia (MCA-Namibia) INP Activity illustrates the relationships between resource 

conservation, poverty alleviation and the emerging trade of INPs in global markets.
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Introduction

Namibia is the driest country south of the Sahara Desert. It covers an area of more than 

824,000 square kilometers and has an estimated population of about 2.2 million people. At 

the same time, Namibia is also endowed with a rich biodiversity, including about 690 rare 

and endemic or near-endemic plant species. A considerable number are also drought-adapted 

plants with actual and potential agricultural significance. 

Despite its rich biodiversity, Namibia is faced with chronic poverty in rural areas. About 

20 percent of the population living in rural areas is considered severely poor with more 

women than men considered poor (Namibia Statistics Agency 2012). Limited sustainable 

livelihood options contribute to land degradation, which leads to losses in the natural 

resources and biodiversity upon which rural communities depend, further entrapping them 

in the poverty cycle. 

INP Commercialization in Namibia 

Within this context, the Government of Namibia embarked on an ambitious program to 

commercialize INPs as a means of expanding rural livelihood opportunities. The objective 

of the commercialization initiative is to provide supplementary income to many rural 

inhabitants whose only cash-income, in many instances, is derived from harvesting and 

selling INPs. From a food security perspective, the INP commercialization supports 

harvesters in developing local institutional structures to access better market opportunities. 

Since many rural households depend on the income from INPs to buy food, having a 

secured buyer and a fair price for their produce will guarantee sales and calm volatile market 

fluctuations, improving livelihoods and food security.

The Indigenous Plant Task Team (IPTT), a multi-stakeholder forum created by the 

Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF), has made a significant contribution 

to the development of the INP industry in Namibia.1 The IPTT is chaired by MAWF and 

includes a broad membership of line ministries and other stakeholders involved with INP 

commercialization charged with developing a coordinated strategy for the economically 

sustainable promotion of indigenous fruit in Namibia.

Based on the early successes of the commercialization of INPs in Namibia, support for the 

INP sector was included in the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact, which 

entered into force in September 2009. The INP Activity is a component of the compact’s 

Agriculture Project and has three sub-activities: support to producer and processor 

organizations (PPOs), an innovation fund, and capacity support to the INP industry through 

the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and the IPTT.

The overall goal of the INP Activity is to increase incomes through economic opportunities 

for INP stakeholders through improved organizational, business and technical capacities 

along the value chain. The INP Activity is expected to increase incomes for up to 7,000 

primary producers and their households, benefiting approximately 35,000 individuals in total. 

Over 6,600 producers are already members of compact-supported producer groups and have 

received training under the INP Activity (MCA-Namibia 2013).

1 In 2000, the Indigenous Fruit Task Team (IFTT) was formed and changed to the IPTT to reflect its widened mandate to include all 

indigenous plants and associated products.

Opposite: 

A San woman 

slices harvested 

devil’s claw.
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Devil’s Claw Plant and its Medicinal Uses

Harpagophytum, more commonly known as devil’s claw, comprises two species: 

H. procumbens and H. zeyheri. The plant is a geophyte with a main taproot off which 

secondary or storage tubers extend. These secondary storage tubers contain the highest 

concentrations of active ingredients, including harpagoside, which are harvested for their 

analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Devil’s claw grows in many parts of southern 

Africa, mainly in the deep Kalahari sands that cover much of the region. Populations of devil’s 

claw have been recorded in Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, 

and Mozambique.

The indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa, mainly the San, have used the plant’s tubers 

for medicinal purposes for centuries. Ethno-medicinal uses have been recorded mostly for 

digestive disorders, fever, sores, ulcers, boils, and as an analgesic. The medicinal value of 

devil’s claw for the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and other similar ailments has been 

recognized by Western medicine only in the past 50 years.

Devil’s Claw Contributes to Food Security

Devil’s claw harvesters are generally subsistence farmers living in communal areas where 

resources are shared and limited. Their agricultural activities include rain-fed crop farming, 

which does not provide a secure source of food. Many households do not own livestock or have 

only small numbers of animals. San communities are most vulnerable during the dry months, 

especially if they have been unable to store sufficient quantities of grain during the rainy 

season to provide staple foods for the rest of the year. During these dry periods, households 

need to buy food to supplement the limited amounts they have been able to produce through 

agricultural activities and, in some cases, what they can harvest from wild foods.

Devil’s claw harvesting and sales by harvesters to traders take place after the end of the rainy 

season. The national devil’s claw policy states that devil’s claw can be harvested from March 

to October, but generally harvesting starts in June, once the crops have been harvested from 

the fields. In many areas, the earnings from devil’s claw are the only reliable source of cash 

income. This income is primarily used to purchase food. The contribution of INP earnings to 

household income and food security is documented for devil’s claw as well as for other INPs 

(Taylor 2007; den Adel 2002; Nott 2009).

Pictured left to 

right are samples 

of devil’s claw flowers, fruiting body 

and taproot with 

secondary tubers.
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Prior to the MCA-Namibia intervention, there were nine organized producer groups 

representing 830 producers who supplied approximately 46 metric tons of sustainably 

harvested devil’s claw2 during 2009. This generated almost $67,0003 or about $80 per 

producer. In 2011, there were 18 producer groups supported by the MCA-Namibia INP 

Activity. They produced more than 100 metric tons of devil’s claw, and producers earned 

more than $225,000; with 1,321 producers, this equates to $170 per harvester. In 2012, there 

were 23 producer groups comprising 2,254 producers who produced and sold 215 metric 

tons. The contribution to producer’s income from INPs amounted to a total of approximately 

$482,000 which translates to about $214 per producer. Germany, Poland and France are 

currently the largest importers of devil’s claw4.

PPOs that received support through the MCC compact supplied almost 20 percent of 

Namibia’s devil’s claw exports in 2011 and close to 43 percent in 2012, a significant increase.

2 Sustainable harvesting methods will be described later in this paper. 

3 An exchange rate of 8.8 Namibian dollars to the U.S. dollar has been used on all years although it was probably less in 2009. 

4 Namibia is the world’s largest supplier of devil’s claw and has exported a total of more than 9,000 metric tons to European markets 

between 1992 and 2012. The value of foreign export earnings from devil’s claw in 2011 is estimated to be in the range of $2.9 million to $3.4 

million and $2.3 to $2.8 million in 2012.

THE SAN IN NAMIBIA

Devil’s claw harvesters, mainly San, are among the most marginalized and powerless people in Namibia. 

They number between 32,000 and 38,000, comprising six groups each with a distinct language, custom and 

history. They are an indigenous community who historically hunted and gathered food throughout Namibia. 

During the colonial era in Namibia, the former South African administration forcibly evicted most of their 

population from land they had occupied for millennia. It is estimated that 80 percent of the San have been 

dispossessed of their ancestral land. Because of this displacement and a long history of marginalization, 

the San are considered one of the most vulnerable minority groups in the country (Dieckmann 2011). Most 

San today have little access to employment or consistent income, with up to 68 percent of the Khoisanspeaking people of Namibia (largely comprising the San) considered poor (Namibia Statistics Agency 2012). 

For the San, the prevailing conditions of landlessness and a lack of education mean that the extent of their 

dependency and economic vulnerability is greater than that of any other language group in the country. 

Dried devil’s 

claw slices (l) are 

processed into 

tablets (r).
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Protected Status and MCA-Namibia Policy Interventions

In Namibia, devil’s claw was listed in 1977 as a protected species by the Ministry of 

Environment and Tourism under the Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975. The law was 

enacted due to increased trade and the subsequent concerns regarding its conservation status. 

Devil’s claw is protected through similar legislation in both Botswana and South Africa, but 

not in Zambia and Angola. Because of its protected status, the harvesting of devil’s claw 

requires specific strategies to ensure its sustainability. 

The government drafted a policy in 1999 concerning the use of devil’s claw resources but 

never ratified it. With the support of the MCA-Namibia INP Activity in 2010, the Namibian 

government revised and ratified the policy (Namibia 2010). The Ministry of Environment and 

Tourism enforces the policy and uses traceability as a tool where permits are required for all 

stages of production and sale of devil’s claw.

Benefit-Sharing and Sustainability in the Devil’s Claw Model 

Although for decades devil’s claw has been an established product in the world market, the 

industry was not focused on sustainability or benefit-sharing with harvesters. Prior to the 

introduction of the sustainably harvested devil’s claw (SHDC) model, the industry’s growth 

was based on extremely exploitative relations between production and trade (Cole and du 

Plessis 2005). The SHDC model was first piloted with one harvester group in 1997 and since 

then has expanded steadily. Support for PPOs in the MCA-Namibia INP Activity has enabled 

significant up-scaling to occur. The SHDC concept introduced a simple benefit-sharing 

model based on the insight that there is a growing congruence of interests linking ethical 

consumerism in the Northern Hemisphere to sustainable resource use and socio-economic 

equity in the Southern Hemisphere. 

An important new practice introduced by the SHDC model is to limit harvesting to only 

mature plants, and taking only secondary tubers. The taproot is not disturbed, and the hole 

is refilled with soil after harvesting to enable re-growth in two to three years (Strohbach and 

Cole 2007).

San women harvest 

and slice devil’s claw 

tubers.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

The innovative SHDC model is more than a sustainable harvesting technique. It also includes 

mechanisms to maximize benefits for harvesters. Organizing harvesters into producer groups 

so that they can collectively sell directly to an exporter, rather than to an informal trader, is an 

important aspect of this strategy. The SHDC model includes the following key features:

•	 Training and registration of harvesters who apply for a group permit,

•	 A management system for quality control and record keeping that guarantees product 

traceability,

•	 Sustainable harvesting methods, compliance with which is ensured through harvest 

monitoring and post-harvest impact assessments,

•	 A reliable partnership with a local exporter that secures a market as well as access to 

market information, and 

•	 A premium price paid directly to harvesters.

Support for Devil’s Claw Harvesters

The MCA-Namibia INP Activity aims to adopt the SHDC approach and increase the income 

earned by each harvester. One of the requirements of the project is for harvesters to form 

PPOs. The Namibian legislative framework provides several options for community-based 

organizations to obtain legal recognition. These include registering as community forests, 

conservancies, associations, and cooperatives. Since devil’s claw is a shared resource on 

communal land, it is essential that a robust institutional arrangement exist for the collective 

management of the resource (Millennium Challenge Corporation 2008). The government 

expects PPOs to accept the responsibilities linked to the benefits generated by natural 

resources within their purview. 

PPOs are provided with training relating to resource management, including legislative 

compliance, sustainable harvesting and processing methods as well as general institutional 

development. To ensure that resource sustainability and the maintenance of biodiversity are 

incorporated into PPO management activities, PPO Resource Management and Monitoring 

Plans are developed and implemented (Natural Resources Institute 2011). The plans outline 

how the producer organization intends to enforce the harvesting rules, monitor harvesting 

activities and use this information to make important management decisions. 

Newly-created PPOs are also eligible for production improvement grants that can be used 

to purchase essential materials such as bags, stainless steel knives, scales for harvesters, 

and storage facilities. Training is followed up with technical support to PPO staff as they 

implement management actions to ensure consolidation of training and effective integration 

of processes into PPO management systems. 

In addition, PPOs receive support to ensure that contractual arrangements with a buyer are 

in place before the start of the harvest season. This process involves negotiating the annual 

price per kilogram that is paid directly to the harvesters by the buyer as well as a management 

fee paid separately to the PPO for managing and monitoring activities, organizing the buying 

points and checking quality. 
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Registered devil's 

claw harvesters 

receive training. 
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

To date, 78 PPOs have developed Resource Management and Monitoring Plans for 

environmentally fragile INPs, and over 4,000 INP producers have been trained in sustainable 

harvesting techniques (MCA-Namibia 2013). Monitoring of the INP Activity by MCC and 

MCA-Namibia is ongoing and an independent evaluation is planned in 2014. 

Conclusion

The Indigenous Natural Products Activity provides a good illustration of the relationships 

between resource conservation, poverty alleviation, food security, and the emerging trade in 

indigenous natural plant products in global markets. The project is addressing critical needs 

to improve industry growth by providing incentives for harvesters to organize themselves 

into groups, building reliable supply chains and mobilizing additional working capital for 

rural, small-scale producers of indigenous plant products. These producers are generally 

subsistence farmers. In the majority of cases, poor rural women are the primary harvesters 

and processors of devil’s claw. 

MCA-Namibia’s experience offers the development community some key lessons for future 

investments to spur economic growth and food security through investments in indigenous 

natural products.

Having an enabling policy and legislative framework to guide all stakeholders is essential for 

the successful commercialization of any INP. Establishing an enabling policy environment at 

an early stage is fundamental. This provides clear guidelines for interventions and support at 

all the stages along the supply chain.

INCREASING REVENUES FOR HARVESTERS 

AT THE KYARAMACAN ASSOCIATION

A good example of the successful implementation of the sustainably harvested devil’s claw approach is found 

among members of the Kyaramacan Association. The association is located in Bwabwata National Park, a 

relatively small park of some 6,100 square kilometers situated in the Caprivi region of Namibia. It is unique 

in that it is the only national park in Namibia where people, the majority of whom are San, still reside and 

have user rights over the resources, both wildlife and plants, found in the park. The area was characterized by 

large-scale, unsustainable and illegal harvesting of H. zeyheri, poor prices paid to harvesters and poor quality 

of harvested material due to unskilled harvesting methods. It was estimated that more than 10 metric tons a 

year were illegally harvested and sold from Bwabwata National Park. Traders usually entered the area at night 

and bought material from residents for extremely low prices (about US $0.45 to $0.57 per kilogram). 

Since the introduction of the new approach, the association has about 500 registered harvesters who have 

received training in sustainable harvesting methods. These registered harvesters are recognized by the 

government and can legally access the resources, such as devil’s claw, in the park. In addition, harvesting 

activities are closely monitored by the association’s staff members. The association has an agreement with 

a reputable exporter who purchases all of their produce at a price that is agreed upon at the start of the 

harvesting season. Buying events take place throughout the harvest season, which allows harvesters to access 

their earnings at regular intervals. Devil’s claw supplied by the association is certified organic and in 2012, 

harvesters sold their devil’s claw at a price of $2.38 per kilogram paid directly to the harvester, with a $0.34 per 

kilogram management fee paid to the PPO. This represents an approximately 19 percent increase in revenue. 
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It is important to understand that any investment in the development of INP enterprises 

should be seen as a long-term undertaking, since a viable INP sector is not built overnight. 

One of the fundamental approaches used by MCA-Namibia in the design of the INP Activity 

was to build on already successful approaches by implementing partners and embrace existing 

stakeholder institutional structures rather than setting up completely new frameworks. 

For example, wherever possible, existing community-based organizations were used to 

facilitate INP activities. Conservancies exist to capture benefits from tourism and wildlifebased enterprises and distribute these benefits to their members. These community-based 

organizations provided an ideal platform from which INP activities could be implemented 

effectively and efficiently.

The industry is projecting strong and growing global demand in the future for natural 

ingredients, including those currently harvested in Namibia, used in medicinal products 

and cosmetics. Thus, it is critical to address issues relating to improving quality while 

simultaneously increasing volume to enable producer groups to meet market opportunities 

in the process of commercializing INPs. The establishment of private sector partnerships is 

crucial from an early stage. 

By creating and working with organized producer and processor groups, the MCA-Namibia 

INP Activity is ensuring that the benefits of current and future growth in the global market 

reach individual harvesters. The crucial element is in developing the supply chain to the 

extent that “producer groups” are able to negotiate contractual arrangements with buyers on a 

level playing field.

The socio-economic issues influencing and impacting devil’s claw resource management, 

harvesting, trade, and benefits cannot be isolated from broader realities facing people in rural 

areas or from overall socio-economic conditions in Namibia. When harvested in a sustainable 

manner, INPs offer opportunities for the rural poor to diversify household income streams 

and contribute significantly to food security. There is, however, an urgent need to create other 

income-generating opportunities to supplement the benefits obtained from devil’s claw if 

there is to be any substantial improvement in the livelihoods of the rural poor. The harvesting 

of and trade in devil’s claw offers only one small opportunity for rural inhabitants to generate 

much needed cash income, and the benefits are available only for a limited season and depend 

on environmental conditions. Poverty and sustainability are inextricably linked. Unless the 

issues of poverty are addressed, and tangible benefits or options for primary producers are 

realized, sustainability will always remain problematic. KIN

Dave Cole is currently working for MCA-Namibia as the manager of the Indigenous Natural 

Products Activity. He has lived in Namibia for the past 25 years and has worked in the field of INP 

commercialization for the last 15 years.

Karen Nott is a Namibian who has worked with conservancies and community forests for years. 

She is currently working on the MCA-Namibia indigenous natural products program as the institutional development specialist and is providing training and technical support to producer and 

processor organizations in Namibia’s northern communal areas .

Elisabeth Feleke is MCC’s deputy resident country director in Namibia. As part of her resident 

country mission portfolio, she oversees the agricultural project which includes indigenous natural 

products activities.
WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 23

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

References 

David Cole and Pierre du Plessis. 2005. Namibian Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum spp.): A Case Study on Benefit-Sharing Arrangements. 

Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Namibian National Biodiversity Programme, 

Windhoek.

IWGIA 2012. The Indigenous World 2012, Copenhagen 2012.

Julie J. Taylor. 2007. Developing the Sustainable use of plant resources in CBNRM: a preliminary assessment of Devil’s Claw harvesting 

in West Caprivi. IRDNC, Namibia.

Karen Nott. 2009. Report on the second commercial harvest of Commiphora wildii resin in Marienfluss, Sanitatas, Okondjombo, Puros 

and Orupembe conservancies. IRDNC, Namibia.

Marianne Strohbach and David Cole. 2007. Population Dynamics and Sustainable Harvesting of the Medicinal Plant Harpagophytum 

procumbens in Namibia. Results of the R+D Project 800 86 005; Germany: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. 

Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-Namibia). 2013. Indicator Tracking Table, Quarter 13.

Millennium Challenge Corporation. 2008. Millennium Challenge Account Namibia Compact: Volume 4: Thematic Analysis Report – 

Indigenous Natural Products. MCC Washington and MCA Namibia. 

Namibia (Republic). 2010. National Policy on the Utilization of Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum) Products. Ministry of Environment and 

Tourism. 

Namibia Statistics Agency. 2012. Poverty Dynamics in Namibia: A comparative study using the 1993/94, 2003/04 and the 2009/10 

NHIES surveys. Windhoek, Namibia.

Natural Resources Institute. 2011. Quarterly Progress Report 5, MCA-Namibia Indigenous Natural Products Producer and Processor 

Organizations Sub-activity Report Number 14, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK.

Saskia den Adel. 2002. Use of marula products for domestic and commercial purposes by households in North-Central Namibia. 

CRIAA SA-DC, Namibia.

Ute Dieckmann. 2011. Update 2011 – Namibia. Yearbook article, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. www.iwgia.org/

regions/agrica/namibia/881-update-2011-namibia.
EVOLVING MARKETS 

AND MOLDOVA’S 

TRANSITION TO HIGHVALUE AGRICULTURE

By Jennifer Lappin and Cynthia Berning

with substantial contributions from Gary Kilmer

EVOLVING MARKETS 

AND MOLDOVA’S 

TRANSITION TO HIGHVALUE AGRICULTURE

By Jennifer Lappin and Cynthia Berning

with substantial contributions from Gary Kilmer

ABSTRACT

Moldova has been rapidly losing market share in its traditional Russian fresh fruit export 

market since independence in 1992. European countries with more sophisticated production 

and post-harvest capabilities are out-competing Moldova in the low- to medium-value 

markets for apples and table grapes. Increasingly, Russia’s consumers are demanding 

premium quality produce where Moldova has a negligible market share. In order to gain 

Russian market share and diversify into other European markets, Moldova must quickly 

improve its production and handling practices to match European competitors and meet the 

rising quality demands of Russian consumers. The United States Agency for International 

Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) have taken on 

this ambitious task through the Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise Development 

(ACED) project. The five-year project works with fruit and vegetable producers to improve 

the quality of their produce and focuses on other weaknesses in the high-value agriculture 

value chains, including phytosanitary certification, post-harvest infrastructure and market 

linkages with potential buyers of Moldovan produce. ACED’s strategy to strengthen these 

value chains is based on more than one year of extensive value chain analysis and endmarket study research that examined market entry opportunities for Moldovan produce in 

targeted export markets. The studies identified the investments necessary for producers and 

exporters to compete in those markets. The program is in its second year of implementation; 

thus, it is too early to present findings of ACED’s success in positioning Moldova as a 

competitive, prominent produce exporter to Russia and in new European markets. However, 

the experience thus far suggests that making “space” – valuable time and resources – early 

in project implementation to conduct deep, end-market studies is an effective step to focus 

and prioritze value chain projects where success hinges on market capture. In Moldova, 

these end-market studies were used to test and adjust ex ante operating assumptions and 

guide the tailoring of growth strategies for Moldovan fruit and vegetable exporters. This 

article reviews the complexities of identifying market opportunities and facilitating entry by 

Moldovan exporters as well as key lessons-learned thus far in ACED implementation. 

24 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

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WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 25

The Orchard of the Former Soviet Union Struggles to Compete 

Moldova’s economy has been on a roller coaster ride over the past 20 years: GDP plunged in 

the 1990s to bottom out at 40 percent of its pre-independence level and then rebounded with 

steady growth averaging 5 percent per year over the last decade (World Bank 2012a). This 

struggle to transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy has been particularly 

painful for the agriculture sector, which is economically-dependent on a well-functioning, 

market-driven value chain. 

Two decades ago, the agriculture sector made up 35 percent of Moldova’s GDP, and the country 

was a major supplier of agricultural products to the Russian and Eastern European markets 

(World Bank 2012a). While the sector remains important today, accounting for over 50 percent 

of the country’s exports, its share of GDP has slipped to 15 percent in recent years (World Bank 

2012a). The agriculture sector employs approximately 30 percent of Moldovan citizens, yet 

poverty has been a persistent problem among agricultural stakeholders with high poverty rates 

for farmers at 36 percent and agricultural workers at 45 percent (World Bank 2012b). 

Moldova’s fruit and vegetable sector is struggling to maintain a position in markets they once 

dominated. This decline stems from several deficiencies along the value chain including: 

•	 deteriorating road and irrigation infrastructure;

•	 low-level technologies in production, post-harvest handling and processing;

•	 incomplete economic and institutional reforms; and

•	 inadequate financial services to invest at key points of the value chain.

Today, Moldovan fruit and vegetable exporters rely almost exclusively on Russia’s low-value, 

open-truck market. Moldova’s current market share, already in decline, will continue to 

shrink without a strict market-oriented, across-the-board modernization strategy to guide 

Moldovan agribusiness expansion in competitive international markets. 

The Strategy for Strengthening Links in Moldova’s Value Chains

In 2010, as part of MCC’s $102 million Transition to High-Value Agriculture (THVA) 

Project in Moldova, MCC teamed up with USAID to create an expansive five-year 

technical assistance and training project, the Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise 

Development Project (ACED), that seeks to modernize Moldova’s high-value agriculture 

(HVA) sub-sector through four main activities: 1) market linkage development, 2) training 

and technical assistance to upgrade product quality and meet buyer requirements, 3) 

upgrades to the capacity of HVA agribusinesses and associations, and 4) improved inspection 

and testing capacities at border stations and within phytosanitary laboratory facilities.i A 

successful project will result in agribusinesses profitably exporting high quality produce 

from the black soils of Moldova’s fields to Russia, the former Soviet republics of the 

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and ultimately to the European Union (EU), in 

addition to serving Moldova’s own higher-end markets. 

ACED structures its technical assistance and training based on requests from interested 

agribusinesses and producers to increase the likelihood that the beneficiaries are committed 

to improving their operations. ACED provides clear examples of what business growth 

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Opposite:

Farmers harvest 

apples in the Stefan 

Vodă district. The 

farm participates in 

MCC’s post-harvest 

investment facility.
26 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

opportunities are available to Moldovan agribusiness drawing from its detailed end-market 

studies. ACED conducted this research to assess Moldova’s historical markets (Russia, 

Romania and the Baltics) and “reach” markets (Germany) as well as comprehensive value 

chain analyses of high-value crops with the most market potential: apples, table grapes, stone 

fruits, greenhouse tomatoes, and dried fruits and nuts (ACED 2013).

Produced by ACED implementer Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), these studies 

present research on current end-market dynamics as well as the structure and inner-workings 

of priority fruit and vegetable value chains. The studies are based on direct consultations 

with current and prospective buyers of Moldovan produce, including importers, wholesalers 

and retailers as well as farmers, agribusiness operators, government officials, and other 

participants throughout the value chains. This qualitative assessment was coupled with 

secondary research of both private and public market data such as UN Comtrade database, 

Global Trade Atlas, Eurostat, and Euromonitor and used to analyze trends in buyers’ price, 

quality and packaging requirements. The studies examined strengths and weaknesses 

in Moldovan production, harvest, storage, processing, transportation, finance, and the 

supporting export infrastructure and regulatory environment. 

While market analysis as part of a value chain project and approach to agriculture investment is 

not new, the time and resources allocated to “digging deep”—rigorous and extensive end-market 

studies—as a critical step to guide project design and implementation are raising the bar on best 

practices for market-driven approaches to improving access to markets and increasing beneficiary 

incomes. ACED concurrently conducted initial producer trainings and other project start-up 

activities to build program awareness and relationships during market and value chain analyses.

Russia: A Testing Ground for Transitioning to High-Value Agriculture

Given its proximity, historical and linguistic ties and growing economic prosperity over the 

last decade, Russia remains Moldova’s top export market. The majority of fruit in Russia is 

imported, and consumer demand for fruit has been increasing at 15 percent per year in recent 

years (USAID 2011). ACED’s apple and table grape value chain studies report that 90 percent 

MCC AND USAID

The ACED project in Moldova is the first time that USAID and MCC jointly designed, funded and are implementing a project together. 

Compact goals and targets related to farmer training, adoption, improved market access, increased productivity, sales, and farmer 

incomes are shared jointly with USAID under ACED. USAID and MCC have similar goals and work in many of the same countries, but 

different time horizons and funding cycles make joint implementation of projects difficult. Moldova has been the first opportunity 

for USAID and MCC to comprehensively partner and share learning in both implementation and evaluation. Measuring the results of 

agriculture value chain projects is challenging, but MCC and USAID are committed to strong program-wide monitoring and evaluation 

of the producer training component of ACED. The rigorous impact evaluation planned for the farmer training component of the ACED 

project will contribute to improved future programming at both agencies, will increase MCC’s capacity to evaluate value chain projects 

and will help USAID to further implement their new evaluation policy that calls for these types of randomized evaluations. After two 

years of implementation, MCC and USAID are using information gleaned from project monitoring to assess the original evaluation 

plan. This mid-term assessment of the evaluation was spurred by the lessons learned from MCC’s first five agriculture evaluations 

released in the Fall of 2012. Adjustments are currently being made to ensure that they are cost-effective and useful. MCC and MCA’s 

investment in the USAID ACED project is funded by the $4 million Growing High-Value Agriculture Sales (GHS) Activity of the THVA 

Project in the MCC compact with Moldova.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

of Moldova’s apple exports and approximately 75 percent of its fresh grape exports were sold 

in Russia in 2010 (USAID 2011). Most Moldovan produce is field-sorted and packed, then 

transported in open trucks to Russian wholesale and open-air markets. Moldovan apples are 

primarily competing in the low- to medium-value market segment against other southern and 

eastern European countries and China. European and Latin American exporters dominate the 

high-value market (USAID 2011). Moldovan agribusinesses can continue servicing the low- to 

medium-value segment but this market is shrinking as Russian consumers increasingly prefer 

to buy their fresh products along with other groceries in modern supermarkets. In 2012, 

Poland eclipsed Moldova as the largest apple exporter to Russia servicing low-, medium- and 

high-end markets, particularly Russia’s emerging new high-value agriculture market format—

modern supermarkets (Economie Moldova 2013). 

Changes in consumer purchasing locales and demand for HVA are accelerated by 

urbanization. Russians increasingly purchase fresh produce in modern supermarkets rather 

than from open-air markets, where Moldovan fruit is traditionally traded. ACED’s endmarket research relayed that for larger Russian cities, approximately 50 percent of fruit 

produce is now being sold through supermarkets (by comparison, only 10 to 20 percent of 

produce in Moldova is sold in supermarkets) (USAID 2011). Russian supermarket chains are 

now seeking long-term supply contracts with a few reliable suppliers that deliver high-quality, 

attractive, uniformly-sized fruit. Russian buyers are increasingly demanding a level of quality 

comparable to the retail market format prevalent in the west.

Changes in international tariffs are also making the Russian market more challenging for 

Moldovan agribusinesses to enter. Five years after its World Trade Organization accession, Russia 

is now required to change its tax regime, removing provisions that have favored apple imports 

from regional, non-European Union (EU) countries like Moldova. The effect of reduced or 

eliminated tariffs on Polish apples is already being felt among Moldovan exporters.

While these market transformations are not happening overnight, Moldovan agribusinesses 

will need to catch up to the standards of producing, sorting and packaging of more developed 

suppliers or risk losing market share completely to countries meeting Russian consumers’ 

demands. Catering to the preferences of Russian retailers will be excellent practice for one day 

meeting the standards imposed by the EU. At the time of this writing, the EU is in the process of 

negotiating a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with Moldova, an agreement that 

would open the EU to Moldovan produce and bring increased prosperity to Europe’s poorest 

country, achievable if Moldova modernizes its business practices and capacities.

Developing a Competitive Edge in 

Production and Post-Harvest Operations

ACED’s extensive market research informed specific short-, medium- and long-term strategies for 

re-positioning Moldova’s agribusinesses to more successfully compete in existing and new markets 

and new market formats such as supermarket retail. 

A few Moldovan producers have ventured into planting super-intensive orchards, which can 

produce yields up to 400 percent higher than traditional orchards. These orchard investments 

are so recent to Moldova that the MCC-financed 2008 Moldovan farm operator survey did not 

capture these types of farms in the sample (1,243 respondents nationwide). The ability of Moldova 

to provide cost-competitive apples with good cosmetic appeal demanded by Russian supermarkets 

and European markets very much depends on the success and spread of highly-intensive orchards 

DEFINITION OF HIGHVALUE AGRICULTURE

High-value agriculture 

includes all fruit, 

vegetable and nut crops that 

command higher market 

prices and generate higher 

levels of income for farmers 

than traditional cereal crops. 
28 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

in Moldova. ACED has developed 

and delivered training modules 

reviewing new rootstocks, cultivars, 

mechanical and chemical thinning, 

integrated pest management, tree 

support, and anti-hail systems as 

well as on-farm weather station 

investments and improved harvest 

practices to capitalize on this 

substantial investment. Intensive 

HVA producers can also benefit 

from making investments into postharvest infrastructure, including 

cold storage, sorting and packing 

lines. The size of these investments 

(and of the loans required to finance 

them of up to $24,000/hectare for 

an intensive orchard and up to $1 

million for a modern cold storage 

facility) require professionallyproduced business plans. The ACED 

program provides business and investment guidance for creating bankable business plans and 

refers potential investors to available credit lines, including one financed through MCC’s Access to 

Agricultural Finance Activity.ii In the first two years of implementation, ACED has facilitated $2.3 

million in cold storage and packing line investments to begin to close the gap in access to these 

important post-harvest facilities.

Value Chain Improvement Example: Cold Storage 

Competing in the HVA market and servicing the retail market format requires access to cold storage, 

a persistent challenge to Moldovan producers and exporters. Approximately 15 percent of Moldovan 

produce passes through cold storage (with much of this cold storage falling far short of current best 

practices in other parts of the world) (Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry Moldova 2012). 

The remaining 85 percent has a significantly shorter shelf-life and cannot command higher “off 

season” prices or meet the terms in contracts requested by Russian supermarkets. By comparison, 

in the United States and most Western European countries nearly all produce passes through the 

cold chain. Access to cold storage is one of the most significant determinants of profit in fruit and 

vegetable production. To cite one example of forgone profits in the medium-value market segment, 

Moldovan agribusinesses missed out on the opportunity to export their table grapes at a 50 percent 

price premium because they were unable to extend their marketing and delivery season through 

Russia’s Christmas holiday seasons in 2009 and 2010 (USAID 2011). Moldova’s lack of cold storage 

also precludes accessing the neighboring European market of Romania where Moldovan produce 

once thrived. In Romania, the only window for Moldova’s HVA to effectively compete is during the 

off-seasons when EU minimum import pricing policies are removed (USAID 2011). This timing 

and pricing are impossible to achieve without modern packing and cold storage facilities, two of the 

current gaps that are being aggressively addressed by Moldovan agribusinesses and exporters with 

direct assistance from USAID and MCC.

Value Chain Improvement Example: Apple Packaging

Each market opportunity has a customized value chain action plan, which identifies specific 

investments producers will need to make to meet the standards and demand in those markets. 

Farmers harvest 

apples from a super 

intensive orchard 

in Briceno District. 

Super intensive 

orchards have more 

than 3,000 trees 

per hectare, yielding 

about 30 to 60 tons 

of apples per hectare. In comparison, 

traditional apple 

orchards have 700 

to 1,250 trees per 

hectare, typically 

yielding 8 to 15 

tons of apples per 

hectare. 
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

To cite one example, the apple end-market studies identified the low quality of packaging in 

Moldova as one serious impediment to exporting Moldovan apples to higher-end markets. 

To improve Moldovan packaging methods, ACED’s action plan includes working with 

two local cardboard box manufacturers to develop self-locking and machine-glued box 

designs, implement new cardboard and fresh produce package tests at these local cardboard 

manufacturers and carry out feasibility studies for box-forming operations in key apple 

producing regions, sharing the results of these studies with local producers and providing 

business plan assistance to interested investors. One early success in this area is ACED’s 

work with KKKI, the main local manufacturer of corrugated cardboard. ACED has worked 

with KKKI since September 2011 to determine the minimum technical specifications needed 

and to launch production of a type of cardboard that meets the quality requirements of two 

“Moldova-Fruct” Association members that have procured and installed the first open tray 

box-forming equipment. During 2012, KKKI made a series of investments in its corrugating line 

and successfully passed the tests conducted by the operators of this tray-forming equipment. 

Moldovan apple exporters now have access to modern packaging at a competitive cost. 

Value Chain Improvement Example: Phytosanitary Inspection

One well-documented critical gap is the inability of the Government of Moldova to carry out 

comprehensive sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) analysis for export products, thus reducing the 

acceptability and access of Moldovan products in key international markets. While SPS inspection 

had long been known to be a weakness in Moldova, the end-market studies identified the precise 

certificates needed for produce to enter each market, the specific information required in the 

certificate and who needs to issue each one. This identification led to the development of an action 

plan for equipping an SPS laboratory, implementing a training plan for inspectors and taking the 

necessary steps to certify the Central Phytosanitary Laboratory to international standards. Once 

the lab is certified, Moldovan agricultural exports will be able to be tested for compliance with 

international SPS standards, granting Moldovan produce increased acceptability and access to key 

international markets, particularly in light of the deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement 

that the Government of Moldova is negotiating with the EU. 

Businesses have been particularly 

receptive to the program’s insights 

on production and post-harvest 

handling techniques. As of January 

2013, ACED reports that 2,294 

business representatives have received 

guidance and training, of which a third 

are women. Moldova is a country 

of approximately 1.5 million farmers 

and agricultural employees, so the 

success of ACED’s nationwide efforts 

depends on targeting those farmers 

and agribusiness operators most eager 

to be competitive and meet consumer 

demand across borders (World Bank 

2009). If the program logic is correct, 

they will become the “motivators” for 

others who may be more reluctant to 

change until they witness the success 

of others.

MCC and USAID 

provided new equipment and training 

for the State PhytoSanitary Laboratory 

to improve pest, 

virus and disease 

detection. The 

investment helps 

Moldova meet export 

requirements.
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Results to Date

With only two years of implementation behind them, the ACED team has already made 

impressive progress toward its end-of-project targets. As of the time of this writing, ACED has 

facilitated nearly $1.87 million in increased high-value sales for agribusinesses, has trained more 

than 2,000 farmers in improved production, harvesting and handling techniques (almost half of 

the end-of-project target) and has assisted 89 businesses with creating high-value agricultural 

business plans (MCA Moldova 2013). In addition, the program has procured equipment for the 

SPS laboratory, has published a road map for investors in Moldovan HVA and has created and 

publicized a national branding slogan for Moldovan produce. The program is on track to meet 

and likely exceed most of its targets. 

Confirming Development Lessons Learned

Market research and analysis should be an ongoing, iterative process throughout the life of the 

project. The ACED project illustrates the benefits of conducting in-depth, specific market studies 

to ground-truth the assumptions that influence program development. The proposal for the 

ACED project to spend over 12 months conducting market studies was met with skepticism by 

some in the Government of Moldova as these were perceived as redundant, given that previous 

value chain programming by MCC and MCA Moldova during compact development had 

undertaken several studies and value chain analyses. However, the end-market studies and value 

chain studies completed in 2012 by ACED brought to light different opportunities and obstacles 

then presented earlier. For example, a previous market study for apples showed supermarkets and 

other retail comprising only 10 percent of apple sales in Russia, which is very similar to Moldova 

today where consumers purchase the vast majority of produce in open air markets (CNFA and 

USAID 2005). However, Russia’s economy and markets are rapidly evolving. ACED’s end-market 

fresh and dried fruits in Russia study (2011) shows that urban consumers are purchasing more 

than 50 percent of their produce in supermarkets these days (ACED 2012). Supermarkets are a 

new market format for Moldovan agribusinesses and require a different market capture strategy 

from one that targets open-air markets and produce kiosks. A value chain study completed in 

2009 by Chemonics examined three value chains: prunes, tomatoes and table grapes, and another 

study by Dalberg (2009) served as the basis for the development of the ACED project concept. The 

ACED end-market studies expanded on these findings by diving more deeply into the specifics 

of each market, updating the information on the current political and economic situation and 

transforming the identified gaps into a clear and measurable set of activities and targets. 

Regional producer groups are critical to fostering trust needed among players to grow markets.

This lesson has been reinforced throughout the first two years of the ACED project. Fostering 

cooperation and trust among value chain actors leads to economies of scale that result from 

frequent interactions. Deeper cooperation among small-scale fruit operators is critical if 

Moldovan producers are to meet end-market requirements and emerging opportunities as buyers 

are increasingly seeking larger volumes for longer time horizons. ACED focuses on catalyzing 

small farmer cooperation in marketing, input supply and joint ownership of post-harvest facilities 

through associations or cooperatives. As an example of ACED’s early success in this area, table 

grape producers in six different regions organized regional producer groups under the banner of 

the National Table Grape Association. This initiative was launched as a result of the nine regional 

ACED-led roundtables, which communicated the critical need for table grape exporters to 

combine their efforts to store and market their produce effectively.

The five-year timeframe supports an effective implementation of value chain projects. The ACED 

project has a five-year implementation “clock.” Many donors use shorter timeframe projects and 
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

funding cycles which often make allocation of a 12 to 18 month comprehensive market analysis 

period not feasible. One of the strengths of the ACED program that could serve as a reminder for 

the development community is the longer time horizon of the project (five years), determined at the 

onset, allowed for a solid and deliberate project customization and design adjustment phase of more 

than a full year. While trainings were conducted during this time, the longer timeframe allowed for 

an iterative process of continually adding information, refining assumptions and developing new 

activities that are specifically targeted at weaknesses identified in the value chain. This flexibility in 

light of changing market conditions is only possible within the context of a multi-year project. KIN

Jennifer Lappin is the former MCC deputy resident country director in both Moldova and Georgia. 

She currently provides implementation support for MCC’s Transition to High-Value Agriculture 

Project in Moldova.

Gary Kilmer is the former chief of party for the USAID-MCC Agricultural Competitiveness and 

Enterprise Development (ACED) Project implemented by Development Alternatives International. 

He has over 30 years of agricultural development field experience and currently serves as a senior 

consultant to the program.

Cynthia Berning is the program officer for agriculture and land at MCC. She currently works on 

the Moldova and Senegal irrigation projects in addition to supporting the agriculture and land 

practice groups in results reporting and events coordinating.

References

L. Creevey, Dunn E., Farmer E. Outreach, (2012) “Outcomes and Sustainability in Value Chain Projects” MicroReport#171 for the 

United States Agency for International Development. 

K. Farley, S. Lucas, J. Molyneaux, K Penn, (2012) Millennium Challenge Corporation report “Impact Evaluations of Agriculture Project.” 

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry Moldova (2008). “A Program to Revitalize the Post-Harvest Handling System for Fresh 

Fruits, Table Grapes and Vegetables (2008-2015).”

W. Sutton, P. Whitford, E. M. Stephens, S. P. Galinato, B. Nevel, B. Plonka, E. Karamete, (2007) World Bank report “Integrating 

environment into agriculture and forestry progress and prospects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,”

World Bank (2012). World Development Indicators 2012. © Washington, DC. Available from http://databank.worldbank.org.

World Bank (2012). World Bank Moldova Partnership Country Program Snapshot October 2012. Available from http://www.worldbank.

org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Moldova-Snapshot.pdf.

 United Nations Moldova, World Food Program, and United Nations Development Programme (2012) Rapid Food Security and 

Vulnerability Assessment Moldova.

USAID (2012) End Market Study for Fresh and Dried Fruits in Baltic Countries.

USAID (2011) End Market Study for Fresh and Dried Fruits in Moldova.

USAID (2011) End Market Study for Fresh and Dried Fruits in Romania.

USAID (2011) End Market Study for Fresh and Dried Fruits in Russia.

USAID (2011) Apple Value Chain Study and Action Plan.

USAID (2011) Table Grape Value Chain Study and Action Plan.

Endnotes

i In the Moldova Compact, MCC’s investment in ACED is called “Growing High-Value Agriculture Sales Activity,” which is tasked with 

identifying and supporting entities across the HVA value chain that can drive upgrades to it. ACED provides investment service provider 

support to businesses, including potential clients of the Access to Agricultural Finance Activity.

ii For more information on MCC’s Access to Agricultural Finance Activity post-harvest infrastructure investment facility ($12.5 million), 

see http://mca.gov.md/en/activities_Tr.html.
32 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

STRENGTHENING 

LAND RIGHTS AND 

FOOD SECURITY 

IN MALI

By Leonard Rolfes Jr. and Alfousseyni Niono

STRENGTHENING 

LAND RIGHTS AND 

FOOD SECURITY 

IN MALI

By Leonard Rolfes Jr. and Alfousseyni Niono

ABSTRACT

The people of Mali are among the roughly 1 billion worldwide who suffer from food insecurity. 

In 2010, just over 50 percent of the country’s population lived on less than $1.25 per day, and 27 

percent of the children under five years of age were underweight. The causes of food security in 

Mali are intertwined, and include poverty, inadequate supply and political instability. Poverty is 

especially severe in rural areas, where 80 percent of the population is not earning enough money, 

or growing enough food, to meet their basic caloric needs on a consistent basis (USAID 2010). 

The country also suffers from a food supply deficit in terms of national production and trade, 

inadequate storage to reduce losses and insufficient transport to make food available where 

needed. Food security problems are compounded in Mali by political instability, which disrupts 

food distribution channels and cuts off access. The Malian military overthrew the democraticallyelected government in March of 2012. Separatist and Islamic fundamentalist groups controlled 

the entire northern half of the country and continued their advance until the French military 

intervened in early 2013. From 2007 to 2012, the Millennium Challenge Corporation supported a 

major effort to address these causes of food security. The Government of Mali, with MCC financial 

and technical assistance, implemented the Alatona Irrigation Project in a remote area of the 

Ségou region of central Mali. The integrated agricultural development project prepared almost 

5,000 hectares of irrigated land, allocated the land to farmers and provided them with startup 

inputs as well as agricultural and financial training. This article describes how key questions about 

the project’s land allocation activity that relate to food security were addressed and implemented. 

Section I provides a short description of the project. Section II examines the land activity. Section 

III discusses the results and what was learned vis-à-vis food security.
WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 33

I. The Alatona Irrigation Project

The fundamental idea behind the Alatona Irrigation Project was as follows: By providing poor 

farmers with high-value irrigated land, proper incentives, key inputs, and training, they can 

produce substantially more food and income than had been possible before and thus escape 

the cycle of poverty. The project would also catalyze general economic development in the 

region around the project zone. Moreover, the project would help the region’s people increase 

their food self-sufficiency, which in turn would reduce their risk of suffering from food 

shortages associated with instability, and would make more food available to Mali’s people as 

a whole.

The project required effort in a variety of disciplines in order to achieve its objectives and was 

organized into six activities:

•	 Irrigation infrastructure development: Under this activity, 4,940 hectares of irrigated land 

were developed. This was a heavy-construction exercise consisting of canal dredging, 

land clearing and laying out new irrigated land parcels;

•	 Road upgrade: The project planned to upgrade the road between the towns of Niono and 

Goma Coura to improve farm-to-market access and general transportation. The project 

area is along this road. The upgrade was not completed as originally planned, but access 

from the project area to Niono was improved;

•	 Resettlement: Each household displaced or affected by the irrigation infrastructure development received new housing, a full range of social benefits, and two hectares of irrigated 

land as compensation for their loss of access to land1;

•	 Agricultural services: This activity helped farmers improve their farming and business 

skills and work together in farmers’ associations. In addition, farmers received seeds and 

other supplies to help them begin cultivating the land they received through the project;

•	 Financial services: This activity improved the capacity of local financial institutions and 

farmers to make loans, repay loans and manage their financial resources; and

•	 Land allocation: Through this activity (i) new irrigated land parcels were surveyed, (ii) 

five-hectare farms were allocated in ownership to 954 beneficiary households, (iii) land 

recipients were educated about their rights and obligations, (iv) the local land registration 

system was upgraded, and (v) revenue from the sale of land was collected for future community needs (66 percent of the land was sold to project beneficiaries).

II. Key Land Activity Design Features 

and their Relationship to Food Security

During development of the land activity, a number of key design decisions had to be made, 

such as farm size, type of land rights to award, payment for land, who would receive land 

rights, and regulations on use of the irrigated land. This section presents three land activity 

design features with a bearing on the food security issue.

1 The project divided the irrigated land it developed into five-hectare farms. The resettled households received two hectares free of charge 

as compensation for resettlement, and purchased the remaining three hectares on an installment basis.

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Opposite: 

Farmers harvest 

rice in Alatona.
34 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

What type of right should farmers receive to land?

Farmers who have more secure rights to land tend to be more productive because they 

capture more of the benefits of their hard work and investment. Secure tenure tends to 

enhance food security. By improving farmer productivity, more food becomes available and 

more growth-causing economic activity takes place. Moreover, secure tenure helps farmers 

reduce the risk of a loss of land rights in a politically unstable setting.

Generally speaking, ownership represents the highest form of land rights security, though 

leasing, usufruct and customary rights can provide security as well. The relative importance 

of various types of land rights depends on the country context. In the case of the Alatona 

Irrigation Project, the choice was between leasing and owning.

The Alatona Irrigation Project area is located adjacent to a large administrative zone of 

villages, irrigation canals and roughly 90,000 hectares of irrigated land (Office du Niger 2013). 

This zone is called the Office du Niger (ON) and is controlled by a para-statal agency of the 

same name. The ON went through a period of reform in the 1980s and 1990s that improved 

the land tenure environment by granting usufruct rights and one-year renewable leases to 

farmers (Aw and Diemer 2005). Despite these improvements, during project development 

farmers continued to complain about the heavy-handed manner in which their land rights 

were managed by the ON. For example, the ON frequently cancelled farmers’ leases even for 

short delays in making the required payments. In addition, selling of land was not permitted, 

and a black market in land had developed.

Given the continuing concerns about ON interference with farmers’ rights, plus the potential 

for boosting productivity and general economic growth by allowing land to be sold, MCC and 

the Government of Mali decided that the irrigated land developed under the project would 

be transferred in ownership to the beneficiary farmers. Private ownership reduced the risk 

of ON interference.2 Mali’s former president, Amadou Toumani Touré, personally supported 

the ownership approach, and its groundbreaking and innovative nature was consistent with 

MCC’s search for far-reaching, potentially game-changing investments.

The project successfully issued land titles for the 954 farms, plus additional land titles for 

women’s market gardens. Since each farm consisted of either two or three parcels, the project 

processed and issued 2,900 titles in total. These titles represent the first significant formal 

ownership of rural land in the country.

An important complement to allocating land in ownership was revising the cahier des 

charges. This was a land use regulatory document that set out the rights and responsibilities 

of land users. Historically, the cahier des charges used in the ON imposed tight constraints 

on how farmers could use their irrigated land. The project’s revised cahier des charges, by 

contrast, was a strong affirmative statement on the rights of a landowner. Most notably, the 

cahier specifically gave farmers the right to sell or lease their land and gave them increased 

freedom to plant different crops rather than being obligated to grow only rice.

2 In 2008, the project land area was transferred from the administrative control of the ON to the control of the prime minister’s office, 

making it more difficult for the ON to assert control over the land. The ON controls the main canals supplying water to the project area, thus 

good relations between the project farmers and the ON remain essential.
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How could the project make land available to women?

In general, women do not have strong rights in the traditional rural society of the Alatona 

area. The head of a household, who is almost always the husband, typically exercises 

predominant control over most of the household’s assets. However, given the growing body 

of evidence that significant development benefits flow to women, and to the family unit, 

when women have increased control over assets, MCC was keenly interested in ensuring both 

women and men would receive rights to the irrigated land developed by the project.

One of the ways that the project tried to make land available to women was through joint 

titling, that is, by registering ownership of the allocated land to the husband as well as his 

wife. Joint titling was presented to the family members, who then made the decision whether 

to jointly title the land or not. Joint titling was voluntary; it was not required.

The project implementers presented the joint titling option in the following manner in order 

to assure informed decision-making.

•	 The model land transfer contracts and the cahier des charges were translated into the 

local languages.

•	 Separate educational meetings were held with the women and men of a village simultaneously. This separation was deemed essential for the women to actively participate. At the 

meetings, identical information was presented about benefits of joint titling, so that the 

women and men were hearing the same thing. The contracts and cahier des charges were 

also presented line by line.

Beneficiaries of the 

Alatona Irrigation 

Project gather in the 

village of Feto.
36 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

•	 The information was presented over a four to six day period, with two to three hours of 

instruction per day. This schedule gave the women time to care for their children, thus 

making their participation possible.

Implementation of joint titling was a great success. About 34 percent of the beneficiaries 

decided to title their farmland in the names of the husband and wife, a figure that far 

exceeded project expectations of 10 to 20 percent.3 Both parties signed the land transfer 

contract, and both parties were registered as owners at the local property registration office.

How should the land be allocated?

The Alatona Irrigation Project developed 954 farms. Out of this number, 801 farms had to 

be provided to project-affected households through the resettlement process. The remaining 

153 farms were available for distribution to others. What criteria should be used to select 

the recipients of these 153 farms? This was a major project design question, and a number of 

factors were considered in developing a solution:

•	 The project wanted qualified farmers to receive the 153 farms to maximize the chances of 

agricultural success;

•	 The project wanted farmers with limited or no direct access to land to have a good 

chance to receive a farm; and

•	 The project wanted the farm allocation process to be fair to all applicants and to minimize the possibility of people gaining control over farms through corrupt action.

After considering these factors, the project designers developed a two-stage process for 

picking the recipients of the 153 farms: a minimum qualifications test and a public lottery.

The minimum qualifications test required applicants for land to complete a form with the 

following information:

•	 Access to land: Applicants with little or no access to land could receive up to 20 points on 

their applications;

•	 Farming experience: Applicants with experience in irrigated agriculture could receive up 

to 30 points on their applications, depending upon the number of years of experience;

•	 Farming education: Applicants with some farming education could receive 5 points on 

their applications;

•	 Proof of water fee payment: Applicants who could prove they had paid water fees in the 

past could receive 5 points on their applications. Since farmers would be required to pay 

for land and water under the project, past evidence of making payments was important;

3 Forty percent of the households who received land through the resettlement process selected joint titling for the husband and wife. 

By contrast, almost none of the farmers who received land through the minimum qualifications and lottery process selected joint titling. The 

poor results for the latter farmers were due to the fact that they had applied for land as individuals, thus felt entitled to take sole possession of 

the land, and because the project’s outreach effort on joint titling was derailed by the Malian military’s overthrow of the country’s democratic 

government in March of 2012.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

•	 Collaboration: Applicants who had participated in an association or cooperative in the 

past could receive 10 points on their applications. This was important because the farmers would have to work together to manage the irrigation infrastructure;

•	 Resources: Applicants who had basic farming equipment and draft animals, equivalent 

cash or proof of access to credit could receive 20 points on their applications; and

•	 Women and youth: Applicants who were women or men under 40 years of age could 

receive 10 points on their applications as a way to increase their participation while still 

respecting the other qualifications.

These attributes were graded on a 100-point scale, and 60 points were needed for an 

applicant to pass the minimum qualifications test and be eligible to participate in the lottery. 

The grades were not used to pick the farm recipients directly because there was a limit to 

the accuracy of these criteria as predictors of performance. Does a farmer with five years of 

experience always perform better than a farmer with four?

The second step in the process was a public lottery through which the farm recipients would 

be selected. A lottery was used for two reasons. First, a lottery is very transparent: It is 

conducted in a public forum where tampering with the results is difficult, which makes the 

outcome more likely to be accepted by the population. Second, due to the random selection 

that a lottery provides, control and treatment groups can be established, and they can be used 

to carry out valid evaluations of the project’s impact.

The president of the 

women’s association 

of the village of 

Beldenadji holds the 

association’s market 

garden land title. 
38 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

The project advertised the opportunity to participate in the lottery throughout the Office 

du Niger, and established “depots” in five different towns where 7,561 people submitted 

applications. From this total, the project rejected 3,114 applications before technical 

evaluation for a number of reasons, such as failure to supply required information or the 

applicant was not a Malian citizen. The project then reviewed and scored the remaining 4,447 

applications, and 3,391 people had the minimum attributes required to participate in the 

lottery.

Lottery day was March 6, 2012, in the town of Niono. At a public ceremony the recipients of 

the 154 farms were selected through a random drawing. Women received 24 of these farms. 

By all accounts the lottery was properly conducted, was free from fraud and its results were 

accepted by both government officials and the general population.

III. Conclusion

The land activity met most of its targets. All of the land was distributed to the targeted 

beneficiaries, all of the beneficiaries received their land titles and the large amount of public 

outreach work contributed to public acceptance of the project and its accomplishments. The 

farmers have been making their land payments thus far, have begun to express a sense of 

ownership over their land and have dramatically increased their income compared to their 

previous work as dry land farmers and animal herders.

Rice is traditionally 

processed close to 

farmers’ fields 

in Alatona.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

On the question of food security, though, the land activity’s impact cannot yet be determined 

conclusively. While near-term food access issues have been resolved for project beneficiaries 

and those nearby, the theories about stronger land rights – that they will lead to higher 

productivity, more investment and general economic growth – are not yet proven one way or 

the other. Ultimate proof of success will come several years in the future when agricultural 

yields and household incomes in the Alatona project area can be compared to those 

elsewhere.

Finally, on a more practical level, the process of implementing the land activity offers several 

lessons that should be considered in future project design and execution. These include:

•	 Since land issues often trigger strong emotions and can lead to conflict, land-related activities need to be carried out in a way that will lead to their acceptance by those affected. 

Fairness and transparency can go a long way in delivering this acceptance. In the Alatona 

project, the combined use of minimum qualifications and the public lottery to award 

farms met this test.

•	 Outreach work with affected parties is crucial to project success and sustainability. Joint 

titling was successful primarily because of the extensive outreach work, as was the allocation of ownership rights to land.

•	 Rights of women can be improved in traditional societies if approached in the correct 

manner. Again, the outreach work with women and men during the process of signing 

land transfer contracts led to the very strong joint titling results. KIN

Leonard Rolfes Jr. is a senior property rights advisor. From 2005 to 2012, he developed and 

oversaw the land allocation component of MCC’s Alatona Irrigation Project in Mali, the Property 

Rights Project in Mongolia and the Rural Land Governance Project in Burkina Faso. Previously, he 

served as a senior attorney at the Rural Development Institute (since renamed Landesa), working on land 

law and policy on behalf of the poor worldwide.

Alfousseyni Niono was the coordinator of land issues and financial services for MCA-Mali, 

responsible for managing the implementation of the land allocation program including creating, 

registering and delivering land titles to beneficiaries and managing land outreach programs so 

farmers understood their rights and responsibilities. Previously, he worked at the National Bank of Canada 

in Montreal as a financial analyst, assistant trader and senior analyst responsible for capital and balance 

sheet analysis. 

References

Aw, Djibril and Geert Diemer. 2005. Making a Large Irrigation Scheme Work: A Case Study from Mali. Washington, DC: World Bank. 

openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/7320. 

Office du Niger. www.office-du-niger.org. Accessed February 19, 2013. 

Rolfes, Leonard. 2005. Mali: Land Tenure Due Diligence Final Report. Unpublished document.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 20120. “Mali’s Food Security Challenges: An Overview.”

World Bank. “PovcalNet: the on-line tool for poverty measurement developed by the Development Research Group of the World Bank,” 

iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm. Accessed on February 27, 2013.
40 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

RURAL LAND 

TENURE SECURITY 

AND FOOD SUPPLY 

IN SOUTHERN BENIN

By William Valletta

RURAL LAND 

TENURE SECURITY 

AND FOOD SUPPLY 

IN SOUTHERN BENIN

By William Valletta

ABSTRACT

As part of the national strategy to remedy food insecurity and promote modern 

agriculture, Benin undertook a series of donor-assisted projects to strengthen the rights 

of rural landholders, using the instrument of the rural landholding plan (plan foncier 

rural or PFR). Selected villages have surveyed and mapped their agricultural land 

parcels, defined and registered the customary rights of landholders and set up a system 

to draft, witness and register documents of land transfer, tenancy and use. By creating 

these documentary proofs of rights, it is expected that landholders will gain protection 

from conflicting claims and feel secure in their long-term possession of the land. This 

will enable them to change certain customary practices that have limited investment in 

land improvement, hindered intensive production and restrained the transfer of rights 

in tenancy or cooperative agreements to allow extensive and modern farm methods. 

In conjunction with other programs to expand cultivation, diversify crop production, 

improve yields, and upgrade storage, transport and handling facilities, the PFR is 

expected to help increase the volume and variety of locally-produced food coming to 

market. At the end of 2012, almost 400 villages have completed a PFR and a record of 

their early results and impacts is being compiled. This article looks at PFR results from 

the rural commune of Klouekanme, where early findings show some positive trends. 
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Introduction

In the West African nation of Benin, more than 47 percent of the population of 8.6 million 

falls below the poverty level of $1.25 per day, and 40 percent of the children under the age of 

five are deficient in height and weight. These indicators of food insecurity have motivated 

the Government of Benin and its regional and communal leadership to search for ways to 

increase agricultural productivity, expand cultivation and bring more diverse food supplies to 

markets. They have identified several factors that seem to constrain agriculture output and 

productivity, including the limited availability of crop land for farm producers in many areas, 

traditional methods of cultivation that deplete fertility and lead to soil erosion and insecure 

land tenure that causes many rural landholders to withhold land from production or limit its 

use (Benin PSRSA 2010). 

In response to these problems, the national, regional and local administrations, with 

international assistance, have undertaken a number of programs and projects to expand food 

production to previously unused or fallow lands. This increases perennial planting, allows 

farm producers to consolidate small fields and encourages the use of fertilizers, irrigation 

and other modern techniques (PADMOC 2011, Benin PSRSA 2010). In addition, government 

authorities have sought to strengthen landholding rights and rural land administration, based 

on the theory that tenure security will enable and encourage the other initiatives of farming 

expansion and improvement (Edja and LeMeur 2004). 

As the instrument of tenure security, the Government of Benin introduced the rural 

landholding plan (plan foncier rural or PFR). This method provides for the survey and 

mapping of agricultural fields, the defining and recording of customary rights of possession 

and the creation and archiving of written documents of land transactions on a village-byvillage basis. The PFR has been developed and applied experimentally over a period of 20 

years in Benin, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire (Ouedraogo 2005). More recently, Benin has 

expanded its coverage to almost 400 villages in projects assisted by the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation and several European donors. 

The early results of the PFR projects are now being collected and analyzed. The researchers 

hope to find that the landholders, with newly secured land rights, are now increasing their 

investments in land and farm operations, entering more cooperative and tenancy agreements 

and bringing into cultivation fallow and previously unused areas. They expect these actions 

to reinforce other efforts of agricultural support and technology improvements with the final 

goals of increased rural household incomes, increased and diversified food products in the 

markets and more stable food prices (MCA-Benin 2009). 

In order to review the early results of the PFR and explore their link to food security, this 

article looks at the commune of Klouekanme in Couffo Department. Klouekanme is an 

important supply source of fresh fruits and vegetables, tubers, grains, and legumes for the 

markets of southern Benin, and it has been an eager participant in the PFR projects and 

the initiatives to improve fruit, vegetable, tuber, and rice production (Klouekanme PCD 

2011, Klouekanme PCC 2006). Short-term evidence from Klouekanme shows some positive 

indicators of expanding cultivation, diversification of crops, investment by producers, 

and improving methods of cultivation and production. The commune experience also 

illustrates use of the PFR to complement and reinforce other activities of agricultural reform 

and investment. While there is, as yet, no robust data that shows the PFR as a direct cause 

of food production gains, the commune provides a growing body of data that is being 

closely watched. 

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Opposite:

The Fulani people, 

a traditionally 

nomadic tribe, 

are gradually 

transitioning 

to settlements 

Photo: MCCin Benin.
42 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Agriculture and Landholding in Klouekanme 

The commune of Klouekanme is located in the region of Couffo, in south-central Benin, 128 

kilometers away from the commercial capital of Cotonou and within 50 kilometers of three urban 

market centers: Lokossa, Abomey and Bohicon. Its relatively fertile soils, adequate rainfall and the 

possibility of two growing seasons have allowed the cultivation of a variety of vegetables, fruits 

and root crops. Its full agricultural potential has, however, yet to be realized. It is estimated that 

there are 29,500 hectares of land suitable for cultivation in Klouekanme, but active cultivation has 

occupied about 70 percent of this land in recent years as shown in Table 1 below. 

Table 1. Hectares under Cultivation in Klouekanme

Source: INSAE (2010)

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Corn 4,174 5,205 6,350 5,950 5,850 5,900 7,725 7,813 8,600

Improved 

Corn

290 350 295 215 210 185 310 407 1,910 

Tomato 1,240 1,556 1,480 1,572 1,650 1,691 1,457 1,189 1,091

Peanuts 1,365 1,190 2,025 2,270 2,200 1,855 1,160 1,664 1,590

Manioc 794 680 1,150 1,480 1,475 1,475 1,105 972 1,020

Beans 3,860 3,906 4,450 3,650 3,650 5,786 2,475 6,597 6,400

Peppers 190 225 105 163 193 165 140 215 226

Sweet potato 30 55 35 31 33 19 25 29 34

Gumbo 175 152 115 116 160 -- 112 212 122

Cotton 3,119 3,895 2,692 2,780 1,964 619 -- -- --

TOTAL 15,237 17,219 18,702 18,227 17,385 17,697 14,649 19,313 21,125

Crop yield has been hindered by several factors: high population density and fragmented 

landholdings with only 1.3 hectares of arable land per farmer available; low level of farm technology; 

poor infrastructure, especially roads to markets; illiteracy and limited training for farmers; and 

scarce credit and few finance institutions (GRAiB 2008). In addition, poor management of water 

resources has blocked farmers from realizing a second crop in the dry season. Insecure land 

tenure has aggravated these problems by limiting the ability of farmers to engage in cooperative 

investments to improve and intensify their cultivation and by using tenancy and other contractual 

agreements to allow more efficient producers to access additional land (Tossounon 2012, 

Klouekanme PDC 2006). 

Landholding in Klouekanme continues to reflect the influence of customary rules and traditional 

practice. People recognize agricultural fields as parts of traditional family or tribal lands with rights 

to possess and control the use and allocation of the fields among family members to be inherited in 

mostly male lineage. Outsiders with the skills to produce and willingness to live peaceably within 

the community are given subordinate rights to occupy and use certain fields, taking part in the 

systems of field rotation and social/family obligations. In recent years, because of the influences of 

population growth, the money economy and social mobility, most traditional family holdings in 

Klouekanme have been subdivided into household plots. Parcels are now bought and sold, leased or 

used under share-crop arrangements, and landholders more frequently engage in land dealings by 

written and recorded legal instruments or administrative acts (GRAiB 2008).
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

Food insecurity in Klouekanme, Couffo and Southern Benin

Klouekanme has a population of more than 110,000 (2010 estimate) and an agricultural labor 

force of 26,000 (2002 census). Its region of Couffo has a population of 524,000 and is densely 

settled. On average, each farmer in Klouekanme works only 1.32 hectares (GRAiB 2008). 

Each household, consisting of more than six persons on average, controls two or three parcels 

of 0.77 hectares each. Generally, these smallholdings provide food for the household and a 

limited cash crop for market. 

Based on the international standard of $1.25 per day or less, 47 percent of Benin’s total 

population is in the poverty category (World Food Program 2009). For its own calculations of 

poverty in departments and communes, Benin measures a $1 equivalent per person per day of 

expenditures. Using this standard, Benin finds that, nationally, 40.8 percent of its households 

live in poverty with 68.9 percent of households in Couffo and 60.4 percent in Klouekanme 

(EMICoV 2010). In the nearby urban centers of Abomey, Bohicon and Lokossa, for which 

Klouekanme supplies food products, the below $1 a day poverty level ranges between 31 and 

54 percent of households. Measuring consumption of food by the international standards of 

the Global Analysis of Vulnerability (AGVSAN), Benin reports that 12.2 percent of its total 

population suffers food insecurity and another 13.2 percent are at risk of insecurity (FAO 

2011). In Couffo, 27 percent of the population is insecure and another 14 percent is at risk. 

Benin’s own measurements show somewhat higher numbers than those reported at the 

international level (Table 2).

Table 2: Percent of Households Suffering Food Insecurity by Level of Insecurity 

Source: INSAE (2011)

Region/Commune Insecure (1A) Risk (ARIA) Seasonal Insecure (SA) Income under 

$1 a Day

Cuoffo Region (urban) 15.7% 19.9% 31.0% --

Cuoffo Region (rural) 39.7% 17.0% 43.3% 71.1%

Klouekanme commune 24.2% 24.2% 51.6% 60.4%

Lokossa commune (urban) 14.0% 35.5% 50.5% 48.0%

Abomey commune (urban) 25.6% 21.8% 52.6% 31.0%

Bohicon commune (urban) 34.6% 37.8% 27.6% 54.6%

Benin urban 32.2% 20.9% 46.9% --

Benin rural 34.6% 22.0% 43.4% 40.8%

By measure of the growth of children, Benin as a whole has 40 percent of its children under 

five years old in the deficient growth weight and height category, while in Couffo 42.6 percent 

of children suffer deficiency (FAO 2011, World Food Program 2009). Couffo, however, has 

a lower percentage of children in the severe deficiency category: 3.5 percent compared to 5 

percent of children in all of Benin.

The Rural Landholding Plan as a Part 

of the Agricultural Production Strategy

The purpose of the PFR is to resolve the problem of landholding insecurity that is the result of 

Benin’s dual system of unwritten customary rights running parallel with modern, written and 

recorded land property rights. 
LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

44 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

As custom, people have conducted their land dealings by ceremonial acts and unwritten 

agreements and have defined land relations as family and social—not economic or legal—

transactions. Lacking documents and parcel maps, families have had to protect their land 

rights by ensuring tangible and visible evidence of their control. They hold land fallow 

and vacant when there are too few family members to cultivate and harvest. They prohibit 

their tenants from planting trees, using fertilizer and making improvements. They assert 

the principle that land cannot be sold and that family male lineage must prevail over any 

other right or transaction. They divide the land at inheritance and leave family members 

and neighbors to argue over boundaries. In these conditions, much land is withheld from 

production, efficient farm producers cannot expand or make arrangements to consolidate 

fields, and banks and micro-lenders cannot give mortgage credit. Yet, despite these strategies 

for protecting customary control, rural landholders often have been unable to defend their 

rights against speculators or confiscation by the state (Hilhorst 2011).

Rural Landholding Plan/plan foncier rural. The rural landholding plan or PFR is an 

accurate survey map of the agricultural fields, a landholders’ list with the names of the 

proprietors and an archive of transaction documents (land sale contracts and agreements of 

tenancy and subordinate use). The Government of Benin introduced the PFR in a series of 

“pilot” villages beginning in 1993. After completing 41 villages by 2003, the government used 

the experience to inform the drafting and approval of law no. 2007-03 of October 16, 2007, 

On Rural Landholding. This law authorizes the creation of PFR in all villages. In preparing 

the PFR, the rights and claims of the landholders are made public, allowing the villagers to 

verify or contest them and then settle any conflicting claims. Once the PFR is complete and 

certified, the mayor of the (multi-village) commune can issue to each listed proprietor a rural 

landholding certificate (CFR), which becomes the proof document in adjudication, mediation, 

administration, and subsequent transactions. 

Following the authorization provided by the law, Benin moved forward with its international 

partners to cover more villages. At the end of 2012, there were 386 villages in 45 communes 

in all regions of Benin with completed PFRs. These villages consist of about 11 percent of the 

country’s total of 3,400 villages, and their maps delineate 85,000 land parcels encompassing 

565,000 hectares that represent approximately 10 percent of all land suitable for cultivation.

In Klouekanme, 17 of the total 59 villages have completed PFRs. More than 7,000 

landholders are listed as customary proprietors, and the mayor issued CFRs to more than 

600 landholders. The 17 PFRs cover 11,000 hectares of the total 29,000 hectares suitable for 

cultivation in the commune.
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Table 3: Landholding Rights Reported by Klouekanme Village Residents

Source: GRAiB (2008)

Village

Right of proprietorship Subordinate right of occupancy/use

Inherit Purchase Lease Revocable 

right of use Share-crop Gift 

Adbago 63% 10% 6.7% 13.3% 6.7% --

Aglali 73% 26% 2.0% 2.2% 2.0% --

Akime 16% 16% 13.3% 43.3% 6.7% 3.3%

Aveganme 46% 30% 6.7% 16.6% -- --

Djihami 60% 20% 6.6% 3.3% 10.0% --

Edahoue-Ahouego 30% 10% 60.0% -- -- --

Glolihoue 40% 7% 43.5% 6.6% -- --

Kpevidji 20% 17% 20.0% 36.6% 3.3% 3.3%

Sawame-Hossou 50% 3% 10.0% 30.0% 3.3% 3.3%

Tchokpohoue 33% 26% 26.0% 3.3% -- 9.9%

Klouekanme commune 27% 45% -- 23% -- 5%

Cuoffo region 42% 36% 2% 14% 2% 1%

Note: The numbers exceed 100 percent either because people in one household have multiple parcels with different origins or some 

parcels have both a proprietary right and subordinate rights. 

Linking land tenure and agricultural production. In its communal development plan, 

Klouekanme made clear its goals and strategy, including the PFR projects as part of a multiactivity strategy to improve agriculture (Klouekanme PCD 2011 and Klouemanme PCD 

2006). The plan identified the strong potential for expanded production of tomatoes, other 

vegetables, yams, root crops, fruits, and rice (Klouekanme PCD 2006). With government 

support and some international assistance, the commune administration undertook projects 

to train farmers and improve farming methods; invest in storage, processing and market 

facilities; and bring low, riverside land into rice production. In its 2011 plan, Klouekanme 

continues these programs along with initiatives focused on farm credit and improving rural 

roads (Klouekanme PCD 2011, Benin PSRSA 2010). Complementing these activities, the PFR 

is expected to overcome four obstacles to efficient use of land and expanded production. 

Overcoming Obstacles for Efficient Land Use

Removing physical barriers. The accurate parcel surveys and maps should allow the 

removal of physical barriers—rocks, fences, trees—that landholders install to maintain the 

boundary lines of fields and avoid neighbor disputes. This should result in more cooperative 

combinations of fields for mechanized cultivation, irrigation and harvest (Koumassou 2010). 

Activating unused fields. The written and recorded proofs of customary proprietorship 

should allow unused fields to become occupied and cultivated. It is no longer necessary for 

persons with inherited land rights, who are not resident in their villages or who lack the 

skills to farm, to leave their fields unused in order to show tangible proof of their control. 

Often in the past, they have left the lands unused because of fear that their tenants would 

be misperceived by local witnesses as possessors of the land. Thus, the diagnostic reports, 

prepared for the Klouekanme PFR, have identified several substantial parcels of 25 to 50 

hectares that have been held unused (GRAiB 2008). The written and mapped proof of 
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proprietorship and subordinate rights now provided for the proprietors should remove their 

worry and enable them to lease the land to active farmers or producer groups.

Removing customary restrictions. The recorded rights in the PFR should also enable land 

proprietors to remove from their tenants the customary prohibitions on planting trees or 

perennials, spreading fertilizer and making other long-term improvements, actions which also 

could be misperceived as evidence of proprietary control. 

Improving access to credit. The PFR and CFR should enable landholders to seek credit for 

investment and farm improvement by pledging the land as collateral for a loan. Law 2007-03 

specifically states this rule.

Evidence of results and impacts 

Robust statistical evidence is not yet assembled to measure the expected impacts for 

Klouekanme or its region of Couffo. However, statistics are now being gathered and analyzed 

by the World Bank to measure possible impacts and there is some anecdotal evidence of 

changes in landholder behavior as shown in the box below. 

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF PFR: 

EARLY RESULTS FROM THE WORLD BANK STUDY

In early 2013, the World Bank completed an evaluation to assess the impact of Benin’s PFR program on 

tenure security, land market activity, agricultural investment, intra-household decision-making, and income 

diversification.

The impact evaluation also looked at gender differences and whether the PFR expanded or reduced women’s 

access to and control over land relative to men. 

The impact evaluation included a survey of more than 3,500 households in 291 villages and compared 

households that did and did not participate in the PFR program. Preliminary results from the survey found an:

1. Initial spike in perceived land insecurity;

2. Increase in perennial and tree planting;

3. Initial increase in trust in institutions;

4. More engagement in village land management;

5. Drop in paid wage employment (perhaps due to a return to farm-based livelihoods); and

6. Women increased their relative farm input usage.

While the results are still preliminary, the findings suggest that there is an initial spike in tenure insecurity 

among tenants because they fear that the PFR process will result in landowners having a stronger ability 

to push them off of land, which diminishes over time as trust increases. The increase in perennial and tree 

planting, as well as the increase in the use of farm inputs by women, indicate that the landowners are more 

secure in their land rights and more willing to allow tenants to make investments in their land. There also 

appears to be increased trust in the modern state apparatus with transparency in boundary setting and land 

titling. Women also face less conflict and appear to have a greater say within the household as a result of the 

PFR process.

Source: Goldstein, M, K. Houngbedji, F. Kondylis, M. O’Sullivan, and H. Selod. 2013. Formalizing rural land rights in West Africa: 

Evidence from a randomized impact evaluation in Benin. Presentation at the CSAE Conference 2013: Economic Development 

in Africa, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. March 17-19.
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Expansion of active use of fields. There is a record of expanding production of vegetables 

and tubers in Klouekanme, in particular the re-cultivation of lands for these food crops 

that before 2002 were used for cotton production. The active use of the fields, suitable for 

cultivation, has expanded from an average annual total of 17-18,000 hectares in 2003-2005 

to over 21,000 hectares by 2009. Increasing yields have also been reported for several main 

crops, including tomatoes, manioc and corn as show in Table 4. 

Table 4: Crop Yields (tons) in Klouekanme (2010) and Projected (2015)

Source: Klouename PDC (2011)

Crop 2006 2010 Est. 2015

Corn 10,493 18,901 21,700

Manioc 19,140 21,714 31,000

Cowpeas -- 1,396 1,605

Tomato 11,236 18,355 22,000

The studies do not yet detail the factors that cause the yield gains, but they appear to include 

increased use of fertilizer and improved seeds, provided with the support of the Ministry of 

Agriculture, Herding and Fishing (MAEP) and the programs of farmer training and assistance 

to cooperative organization by the communal administration (Klouekanme PCD 2011).

Increase in written contracts and tenants. There is some evidence of a willingness by land 

proprietors to allow more tenants on fallow lands. The MCA-Benin Access to Land Project 

organized mayoral programs to identify these fallow lands and assist their proprietors to find 

tenants and conclude agreements. The records of these programs showed positive results in a 

few communes, although Klouekanme was not studied (BeCG 2011). A 2010 sociological study 

of the landholding strategies of households in six Klouekanme villages has shown increasing use 

of written contracts of land sale and leases for tenancy and use. At the same time the study found 

that most villagers have not been entering these documents into the communal registries in 

order to avoid the fees (Kousmassou 2012). Recognizing this problem, the mayor and communal 

council of Klouekanme started in 2011 to set fees for witnessing and registering documents and for 

obtaining the CFR at the modest level of $4 to $8 (Klouekanme Mayoral Order of February 2011).

Lifting of restrictions on land use. There has been positive evidence of the lifting of 

prohibitions on tenants’ tree planting and land improvements. The 2006 study of the pilot 

PFR villages described the removal of restrictions on tenants’ land use in several villages 

along with an increase in written tenancy agreements and a decrease in conflicts over land 

boundary lines (GTZ/ProCGRN 2006). In particular, the report noted that women have 

planted mango trees on the fields they hold subordinate to their husbands’ or brothers’ fields. 

Other tenants have planted orange trees and oil palms, and small-holders are making selective 

use of improved seed varieties and fertilizers alongside their cultivation of traditional varieties 

(GRAIN 2008). The 2006 study included three of the PFR villages in Klouekanme, although 

the results were not given specific to them. 

Lack of evidence for mortgage credit. There is so far no evidence that rural landholders in 

Klouekanme or elsewhere in Benin are making applications for mortgage credit. Klouekanme 

recently reported that 9,787 of its citizens have received micro-credit loans during the period 

2006 to 2012. These very small loans, averaging $63, are not specifically categorized by 

agricultural or other purpose (FNMBenin 2012).
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Challenges to Sustainability

There are two limitations of the PFR projects that are likely to hinder its “sustainability” 

and impacts over time. First, the cost of maintenance of the administrative system of the 

PFR, including updating changes in the maps, landholder lists and archives of tenancy and 

land use agreements, must be borne by the communal administrations. They are authorized 

to cover these costs by small fees for issuance of CFRs and other documents of proof, but 

the system is not expected to be self-financing in the initial phases (Decree no. 2010-479, 

Elbow and Zogo 2012). Second, maintenance of the system and expansion to new villages 

will depend on the willingness of landholders and users to employ the PFR tools: contract 

and lease forms, witness by the village committees, communal registry and archives. If 

landholders and users fail to carry out and record their transactions in order to avoid fees or 

conceal their transactions from official oversight, then the database of land information will 

become unreliable and its value as legal proof of rights will diminish. This problem has been 

recognized in the 2011 sociological study of Klouekanme villages (Koumassou 2012) and in 

commentary on the PFR program in total (Simmoneau and Lavigne-Delville 2011).

Conclusions

Although the results and impacts are primarily anecdotal, there does appear to be emerging 

evidence that the PFR is able to complement and reinforce the activities of agricultural 

promotion and reform. During 2012 and 2013, with the assistance of the World Bank, Benin 

is engaged in an evaluation of the impacts of the PFR program based on a detailed census of 

households in a group of 110 PFR villages with 82 corresponding control villages. This study 

expects to discover and clarify the evidence that landholders and farm producers in the PFR 

villages are altering their strategies of land use, undertaking investment and entering more 

agreements of cooperation and tenancy to achieve higher output and improved, long-term 

productivity of the land (Selod and O’Sullivan 2012). On the basis of these expectations, Benin 

has made the commitment to continue to expand PFR activities and has sought to engage 

additional donor assistance. 

For further research, Klouekanme will be one of the major locations for analysis and impact 

evaluation. The Government of Benin and European donors are helping Klouekanme and other 

communes in Couffo and Mono departments to maintain the operations of the PFR, issue 

certificates and documents of proof and expand the PFR villages (Netherlands Embassy 2012). 

Under the new project funding, Klouekanme expects to prepare PFRs in several more villages 

and improve the operation of its databank and issuance of CFRs. If it is successful, it should 

offer the best “model” of applying the PFR in Benin and allow detailed study of the linkage of 

land tenure security to the outcomes of increasing crop yields and expanding cultivation. KIN

William Valletta is a lawyer and urban and regional planner. He served as the MCC due diligence officer 

for the MCA-Benin Access to Land Project from 2006 to 2011.

References

Benin PSRSA 2011-2015, Plan Strategique de Relance du Secteur Agricole, Ministry of Agriculture, Herding and Fishing [MAEP], www.

inter-reseaux.org. Also at http://larepubliquedubenin.nlambassade.org/binaries/content/assets/postenweb/b/benin/ambassadedes-pays-bas-a-cotonou/ppa2012-2015cot-fr.docx.

Edja, H., and P.Y. LeMeur (2004) Le plan foncier rural au Benin, Production de savoir, gouvernance et participation, GRET/IRD Refo, 

working paper no. 9, www.foncier-developpement.org. 
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Elbow, K., A. Zogo et al. (2012), Emerging lessons from MCC/MCA sponsored initiatives to formalize customary land rights and local 

land management practices in Benin, Burkina Faso and Senegal, paper presented at the World Bank Conference on Land and 

Poverty, 23-26 April 2012; www.landandpoverty.com.

FNMBenin (2012), Rapport d’Activities du Fonds National de Micro-Finance Exercice 2011, 

www.fnmbenin.org. 

GIZ (2011); Final Report on the MCA-Benin Access to Land Project, prepared for MCA-Benin and MCC.

GTZ/ProCGRN (2006), Etude des effets/impacts du plan foncier rural dans les zones pilotes, (Rapport provisiore) prepared by GTZ/

ProCGRN and Agence Francais de Developpement (AFD) for Ministry of Agriculture, Herding and Fish (MAEP).

GRAiB (2008), Groupe de Recherche et d’Appui aux Initiatives de Base, ONG; Micro-regional Diagnostic Report for Region of Cuoffo and 

Village Diagnostic Reports for Selected PFR Villages of Klouekanme; prepared for GTZ-IS and MCA-Benin. 

GRAIN (2008), La resistance aux multinationals: l’experience des familles paysannes au Sud-Ouest Benin, Jinukun, Synergie Paysanne, in 

Seedling (October 2008), www.GRAIN.org. 

Hilhorst, Nelen and Traore (2011), Agrarian change below the radar screen. Rising farmland acquisition by domestic investors in West 

Africa. Results from a survey in Benin, Burkina and Niger; paper delivered at Global Land Grabbing Conference, 6-8 April 2011, 

(Land Deal Politics Institute), www.future-agricultures.org. 

INSAE (2011), Benin National Statistical Agency, Enquete Modulaire Integree sur les Conditions de Vie des Menages – EMICoV, (2010 

Census of Households), update of 2006 Census of Households, www.INSAE-BJ.org.

INSAE (2010), Census of Agriculture, www.INSAE-BJ.org. 

INSAE (2003), Census of Agriculture. www.INSAE-BJ.org.

INSAE (2002), Census of Population. www.INSAE-BJ.org.

Klouekanme PCD (2011), Plan Communal du Developpement 2011-2015, prepared by the project of Maison de la Societe Civile with 

assistance of the UN Fund for Democracy (2011).

Klouekanme PCD (2006), Plan Communale du Developpement, 2006-2011, published by National Association of Communes of Benin, 

www.ancb.bj. 

Koumassou, Th. (2010), Strategies des acteurs et gestion de la propriete fonciere par les collectivities locales: Cas de Commune de 

Klouekanme, Masters’ Thesis, Univ. Abomey-Calavi, www.memoireonline.edu. 

Lavigne-Delville, P. (2010), “Competing Conceptions of Customary Land Rights Registration. PFR’s in Benin”; Conference on Land 

Policy and Land Administration, World Bank, 26-27 April 2010; www.siteresources.worldbank.org. 

MCA-Benin (2009) Plan de Suivi et Evaluation [Monitoring and Evaluation Plan], www.mcabenin.bj. 

Netherlands Embassy (2012), Plan Pluriannuel 2012-2015, Ambassade des Pays-Bas a Cotonou, Benin; http://larepubliquedubenin.

nlambassade.org/binaries/content/assets/postenweb/b/benin/ambassade-des-pays-bas-a-cotonou/ppa2012-2015cot-fr.docx. 

Ouedraogo, H.M. (2005), Etude comparative de la mise en oeuvre des Plans fanciers ruraux en Afrique de l’Ouest: Benin, Burkina Faso, 

Cote d’Ivoire, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Legal Papers on Line no. 42; http://www.fao.org. 

PADMOC (2011), Project Completion Report: Benin – Mono and Couffo Rural Development Support Project , World Bank, 2003-2009. 

Selod, H. and M. O’Sullivan (2012), Formalizing Rural Land Rights in West Africa: Results from an impact evaluation in Benin, paper 

presented at the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, 23-26 April 2012; www.landandpoverty.com. 

Simmoneau and Lavigne-Delville (2012); Le rural dans une reforme fonciere globale; opportunities et risqué. Le cas du Benin; Revue Grain 

de Sel, no. 57, April 2012, www.inter-reseaux.org. 

Tossounon, A. (2012), Auto-Evaluation de la Gouvernance Locale au Benin, 2e Edition, census of 46 communes conducted by the 

National Association of Communes of Benin [ANCB], www.podcastjournal.net document no. 12369. 

World Food Program (2009), Analyse Globale de la Vulenerabilite de la Securite Alimentaire et de la Nutrition, published with UNICEF 

and FAO, www.wfp.org/content/republique-du-benin-analyse-globale-de-la-securite-alimentaire-et-de-la-nutrition-2009.html.
CREATING SUSTAINABLE 

COMPANIES: LESSONS 

FROM GHANA’S 

AGRIBUSINESS CENTERS

By Damiana Astudillo

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CREATING SUSTAINABLE 

COMPANIES: LESSONS 

FROM GHANA’S 

AGRIBUSINESS CENTERS

By Damiana Astudillo

ABSTRACT 

A common challenge to donors in the development community is safeguarding their 

investment and ensuring its financial sustainability. The return on investment of postharvest interventions, such as processing facilities, can be significantly reduced if farmers 

and agribusiness are not properly incentivized to use and maintain the infrastructure over 

the long term. With this in mind, MCC and its partner agency in Ghana, the Millennium 

Development Authority (MiDA), set out to design and implement a post-harvest project 

that would benefit private sector investors and provide equitable profits to small-holder 

farmers for lasting results. Using international best practices and lessons learned from 

a history of post-harvest investments in the development community, MCC and MiDA 

integrated some key design features to create a financially sustainable post-harvest 

model. The centerpiece of the post-harvest model was the creation of new agribusiness 

companies with shareholder representatives from the private sector and small-holder 

farmers. With a formalized benefit-sharing system and legally recognized organization, 

the Ghanaian farmers and private sector businesses were in a better position to profit 

from the technical assistance along with increased access to credit, roads and irrigation 

infrastructure that were provided as part of the MCC-funded compact. A number of lessons 

have been learned in the process of establishing the agribusiness centers, including the 

importance of formal shareholder arrangements that build trust and provide equitable 

benefits, the need to carefully select investors based on clear and transparent criteria, 

the advantage of providing business management training to farmers, the need to work 

closely with a legal team, and the importance of strategic agribusiness locations. 
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Background and Context

Ghana is considered an emerging African economic success story with growth rates 

consistently topping 6 percent over the past six years. Since 1990, the Ghanaian government 

has been working closely with the donor community, private sector and civil society to 

reduce poverty and has nearly halved the number of people living in extreme poverty. Still, 

about 30 percent of Ghanaians live on less than US$1.25/day (UNICEF 2003). Some two 

million people in Ghana have limited availability and access to food, with food shortages 

recurring in the three northern regions of the country. Children are especially vulnerable, 

with approximately 14 percent of Ghana’s children under the age of five currently underweight 

(World Bank 2003). Food insecurity and malnutrition represent serious impediments to 

sustainable development and poverty reduction. For the Government of Ghana, national food 

security remains a top concern, particularly given the global price volatility of food prices over 

the past six years. 

Post-harvest losses exacerbate food insecurity, yet sustainable solutions to this problem 

remain rather elusive. In Ghana, the average post-harvest losses for rice and corn, two of the 

main staple crops, range from 30 to 50 percent (USAID 2011). These losses occur throughout 

the value chain as a result of a variety of factors, including handling procedures, drying 

techniques, lack of proper storage, poor business management, inadequate access to market 

information, and unreliable market linkages. For many small-holder farmers, the quality and 

quantity of the stored grain deteriorates even before they are able to bring their grains to 

market. These conditions often leave small-holder farmers in a weak bargaining position and 

lead them to engage in sub-optimal business transactions. 

Success stories in post-harvest investments in sub-Saharan Africa, in general, and in Ghana, 

in particular, remain rare. Until the early 1990s, Ghana’s government ran the Ghana Food 

Distribution Company that provided mechanical drying services and silo storage facilities to 

farmers in order to stabilize grain and pulse prices. Farmers had the option to sell their grain 

at a minimum guaranteed price (to absorb excess production) as well as a maximum price (to 

avoid price hikes). These government-run facilities closed for a number of reasons, including 

lack of funding, suggesting that they were not financially sustainable. At the farmer-level, 

these types of investments are not feasible because the costs of reducing post-harvest losses 

(i.e., investing in and managing post-harvest infrastructure) often exceed short-term benefits 

(World Bank 2011). 

Innovative Post-Harvest Investments: 

Structure, Incentives and Stakeholders

In 2007, MCC signed a $547 million compact with the Government of Ghana to reduce 

poverty and increase food security by assisting farmers in the transition from subsistence 

to commercial agriculture. The program included a number of agricultural interventions, 

including technical assistance to farmers, training, increased access to credit, roads, 

and irrigation infrastructure. In addition to making investments to increase agricultural 

productivity, MCC and its partner agency in Ghana, the Millennium Development Authority 

(MiDA), also made post-harvest infrastructure a critical pillar to ensure sustainable 

agricultural systems. As part of the project design, MCC and MiDA wanted to mitigate 

the risk that any gains in productivity resulting from the project could be offset by postharvest losses. Using international best practices and lessons from a history of post-harvest 

investments in the development community, MCC and MiDA integrated some key design 

features to create a financially sustainable post-harvest model. The centerpiece of the 
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post-harvest model was the development of new companies with a structure of equity shares, 

rights, responsibilities, and a pathway to ownership that provide proper incentives for both 

small-holder farmers and private sector investors to jointly work to establish a profitable, 

sustainable business venture. 

As a result of the Post-Harvest Activity, ten new post-harvest centers were established. 

Each center is jointly owned by a private sector investor and a cooperative of about 20 

farmer-based organizations (FBOs) representing about 1,000 farmers. These companies were 

designed to: 

•	 Actively engage experienced private sector partners with the necessary management 

experience, established value chain expertise and business contacts to render the facilities 

profitable and sustainable; 

•	 Facilitate the marketing of staple crops and allow farmers to produce for reliable and 

consistent market opportunities; 

•	 Introduce weighing and standardization in the marketing of grains and pulses (i.e., dry 

beans and lentils) to create transparency in transactions, build confidence among smallholder farmers and increase profitability of grain marketing; and

•	 Provide integrated services to farmers on a fee-per-service basis that allows centers to 

generate revenue and promote close business relationships with farmers. 

The services to both shareholders and non-shareholders farmers include:

•	 Shelling, cleaning, drying, grading, and storing of staple food crops for small-holder 

farmers and FBOs;

•	 Sale of farm inputs through cash or credit to farmers and FBOs; and

•	 Extension services and technical assistance, land preparation services, soil analysis, 

and recommendations on fertilization programs.

Building Trust and Equity through the Shareholder Structure

In order for the agribusiness companies to sustain operations over the long term, they 

needed to be created in a way that both private sector actors and farmers had a true sense of 

ownership and were incentivized to be actively engaged in their success. Discussions about 

the division of shares, board composition and many other details were facilitated and guided 

by MiDA with the participation of farmer cooperatives and private investors. MiDA spent 

about 18 months in discussions alone with the private investors and farmer cooperatives 

that resulted in the final design of a legal and business structure that provided appropriate 

transparency and checks and balances. There was skepticism from both parties. The private 

investors wanted to make sure that the farmer cooperatives did not see the company as 

some sort of social assistance instrument, but rather as a profitable business. The farmer 

cooperatives wanted safeguards that would protect their interests and not force individual 

farmers to accept prices, fees and conditions that were not better than what they had with 

itinerant buyers. 
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The shares of the newly-created companies therefore were divided among the shareholders 

according to the following proportions:

•	 The private investor was given 70 percent of the shares in the new company, and the 

equity interest (proportion of ownership) was based on the following:

a. A contribution of one (1) acre of land upon which the post-harvest facility is to be built 

served as payment for part of its shares in kind. The land needed to be located near a 

main road and have available power and water sources. The private investor donated this 

land to MiDA with the understanding that MiDA will grant it back to the new company 

along with the built facility and equipment. 

b. A contribution of approximately US$26,000 in minimum working capital for the facility 

was also expected.

c. The value of both a and b above accounted for 50 percent of the equity of the private 

investor in the new company.

d. As an incentive to the investor, MiDA provided a grant to account for the remaining 20 

percent equity in the new company; the grant was equal to 50 percent of the total cost of 

the facility.

Understanding 

producer concerns 

is essential for ensuring they receive 

equitable benefits 

from agribusiness 

agreements.
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•	 The farmer cooperative became the holder of 30 percent of the shares in the new company, and this equity interest (proportion of ownership) was based on the following:

a. Each member of the farmer cooperative contributed one 100 pound bag of grain valued 

at market price. The value of the total amount of grain donated by all members accounted 

for 10 percent of the equity of the cooperative. 

b. As an incentive to the farmer cooperative, MiDA provided a grant to account for the 

remaining 20 percent equity in the new company; the grant was equal to 50 percent of the 

total cost of the facility. 

Both parties are entitled to appoint qualified directors to the board composed of six members 

at all times, including three representatives for the private investor, two representatives for 

the cooperative and one ex officio member from the Ministry of Agriculture. The chairperson 

of the board is to be selected annually from among the five non-ex officio directors, but 

rotated between the representatives of the shareholders.

At the end of the compact, MiDA legally transferred the assets (the facility and equipment) to 

all 10 new companies. The shareholder agreements spelled out in great detail the obligations 

of each party with respect to supporting the sustainability and profitability of the new 

companies. 

The farmer cooperative members understood that their main responsibility toward the 

company was to satisfy annual throughput targets set by the management plan approved 

by the board of directors. The private investor needed to ensure appropriate oversight and 

management of the company, or nominate a general manager for the board’s approval to fulfill 

these responsibilities.

Identifying the Right Private Sector Partners

The success of the newly-established agribusiness centers required that the private sector 

actors not only be able to run a successful post-harvest business but also be viable and 

trusted partners to the small-holder farmers. Prior to designing or building the agribusiness 

centers, MiDA used a competitive and transparent process to select the investors that would 

later partner with the farmer cooperatives to form new companies. Because the private 

sector investors needed to provide land as part of their shareholder contribution to the 

new company, the selection process required the private sector actor to propose a physical 

location for these new facilities. The criteria for selection included the following: 

•	 Previous business experience in the targeted districts and/or communities;

•	 Evidence of past experience dealing in the selected value chain (such as past volumes 

traded for each crop and years of experience);

•	 Demonstrated financial capacity to operate the center;

•	 Credible access to credit documented through letters from the banks with which investors do businesses; 

•	 A management and operational plan for the new company to be established; 
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•	 Demonstrated experience working with FBOs and small-holder farmers and a plan to 

successfully incorporate them into the business; 

•	 Identification of potential problems with the structure of the company and relations with 

farmers and cooperatives along with potential solutions; 

•	 Provision of land (with appropriate legal title or long-term lease) that could be easily 

accessed by a road where the center could be built; and

•	 Provision of working capital to start operations.

This type of approach to developing post-harvest infrastructure by bringing the private sector 

on board, and developing formalized business agreements with farmer cooperatives, is new 

to Ghana and new to MCC, and it is just starting to be explored within the donor community. 

Both the private investor and the farmer cooperative benefit from the arrangement and each 

has a stake in the long-term success of the shared infrastructure. For example, the private 

investors active in the grains value chain see the value of a reliable and good quality supply 

of raw materials for processing and marketing. Often, grain wholesalers and processors 

have difficulty securing raw material to fill their orders, risking the loss of important clients. 

Farmers and their FBOs see the value of having reliable buyers as well as a place to store their 

grains safely and avoid costly losses. Beyond processing and marketing support, farmers were 

Corn is stored 

for processing 

in Tamale.
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enthusiastic about having the support needed during production (inputs, extension services, 

financing), ownership rights and a voice in the company. 

Helping Farmers Become Better Business Partners

While the selection of private sector partners was underway, MiDA was simultaneously 

investing in building the capacity of farmers through business skills and agronomic training. 

In fact, MiDA required FBOs that wanted to take part in this partnership to complete 

training. Local technical service providers that provided the training recommended FBOs that 

were deemed “business ready,” and the private investors had the opportunity to interview and 

select their prospective FBO partners from all eligible FBOs. 

The first selection hurdle for FBOs to become shareholders was that they were within a 

20-kilometer radius of where the post-harvest center was to be built. Through ongoing 

discussions over two years, FBO leaders became sensitized to the potential benefits of 

becoming partners and co-owners of a post-harvest company. Although most FBOs were 

excited and eager to become partners in the new companies, some FBOs decided not to 

participate in the venture; and in some instances, FBOs with poor credit repayment records 

were rejected. Additional meetings and follow-up resulted in the final creation of 10 farmer 

cooperatives, each composed of 20 FBOs with approximately 1,000 farmers. MiDA facilitated 

the legal constitution of these umbrella cooperatives, assisted them with drafting their bylaws 

and with their institutional arrangements, including coordinating initial assemblies and 

selecting leadership. 

Results to Date

To date, 10 new companies have been formed and 

registered under the co-ownership of private investors 

and farmer cooperatives and opened their doors for 

operations early in 2012. In all, 10,000 farmers from 200 

FBOs under the 10 cooperatives will have access to and 

benefit from the operation of the facilities.

With a new organizational structure and increased 

capacity, the farmers and private sector actors are 

able to take advantage of important and lucrative new 

opportunities. For example, some of the new companies 

are taking advantage of the Purchase for Progress (P4P) 

program of the United Nations World Food Programme 

(WFP). This initiative aims to reorient WFP’s 

procurement process toward local and regional sourcing. 

In this regard, P4P encourages local farmer groups and 

agro-industries to supply grains and other agricultural 

products according to WFP specifications. There are 

many technical, logistical and business challenges for 

farmer groups to meet WFP standards. Through the 

agribusiness centers, small-holder farmers are wellpositioned to participate in P4P. Amsig Resources, one 

of the newly established companies, is embracing this 

new opportunity and has already sold about 3,600 metric 
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

tons of grain to the WFP between 2011 and May 2012. The chief executive officer of Amsig 

is excited about doing business with the WFP not only because it is a reliable and consistent 

customer but also because the prices the company gets are higher than they would receive in 

the local markets since the WFP pays a premium for higher-quality products. The new facility 

will allow the business to thrive even further. 

To further enhance the sustainability of the post-harvest agribusiness centers, MCC reached 

out to USAID for additional support post-compact. Through its Advance Project, USAID 

is currently providing technical assistance to three of the new companies located in regions 

where projects are implemented. The goal is to help the three new companies establish a 

warehouse receipt system as part of their operations and services.1 Additionally, USAID is 

supporting these three new companies in gaining membership on the Ghana Grains Council, 

a private sector-led initiative that advocates for and facilitates sustainable improvements and 

increased efficiency in the grain industry. 

Conclusion and Recommendations

The new companies formed with support from MCC’s Post-Harvest Activity have the right 

incentives and the appropriate structure to ensure long-lasting business relations between the 

FBOs and the private sector. These investments incorporated lessons from the past by taking 

into account local knowledge of the grain market and value chain that was brought by the 

private investors, the technical service providers and the FBOs. The new companies address 

the challenges of financial and management capacity and a fair distribution of benefits 

1 Warehouse receipts can offer the following benefits: (1) they allow companies to use inventory as collateral, which in turn can lower 

financing costs; (2) the application of standardized grades reduces transaction costs and safeguards against cheating in quality and weight; and 

(3) they shorten the marketing chain and can potentially increase producer margins. 

Proper storage 

reduces postharverst losses and 

protects the gains 

made in agricultural 

productivity.
58 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

among private sector actors and small-holder farmers. This model of partnership has a real 

potential to increase food availability and food security in Ghana if applied more widely as 

these companies are expected to reduce post-harvest loses between 20 to 30 percent. This 

reduction in post-harvest losses could translate into greater food availability and an increase 

in the stability and safety of the food supply. 

MCC is planning to conduct an evaluation of this activity in 2014 to assess the impact of the 

new companies on beneficiaries. The key indicators that will be used to measure the impact 

of the new companies on the well-being and productivity of FBO members and other farmers 

with access to post-harvest facilities include crop yield, post-harvest losses, annual sales 

volumes, farmer revenue, and household income. In addition to the impact evaluation, data 

on the performance of each new company and post-harvest storage and marketing operation 

will be collected, including the volume of produce passing through the company (for storage 

and processing per crop); services the company is offering to famers (inputs, credit, extension 

services); and payout of dividends. MCC expects to have more information in 2014 on 

performance and impact of the Post-Harvest Activity.

Key Lessons Learned for Designing a Post-Harvest Intervention

Addressing post-harvest losses is a critical element in any food-security intervention. The key 

lessons learned for other donors and private sector players interested in investing in postharvest infrastructure interventions include:

•	 Start early: Any donor or private sector actor that wants to replicate this model needs to 

start the legal and investor partner identification process early in the life of the project. 

The process of selecting private investors, sensitizing and selecting FBOs, creating a cooperative of FBOs (that amalgamates all FBOs so they can enter into a legal agreement as 

one entity), training, consultation and agreement on structures and incentives, procurement, construction and equipment, valuation of assets, and legalization of the business 

entities took approximately three years. 

•	 Create trust and ownership through transparency and communication: The clear 

selection criteria, the transparency of the process and the constant consultations and 

meetings with the stakeholders were fundamental to create a sense of trust and ownership. Separate meetings for FBO leaders and the private sector were held first to listen to 

concerns and clarify requirements and processes and then joint meetings were scheduled 

to accommodate the demands and come to agreements.

•	 Include adequate scope for the legal team: There was a substantial amount of legal 

work related to the creation of the new companies, including drafting bylaws, compiling 

shareholder and grant agreements, registering the companies, issuing shares, as well as 

creating the new cooperatives. The extensive assistance of a legal team was required and 

the time and budget to support this work. 

•	 Take advantage of competitive selection: The competitive nature of the selection 

allowed MCC and MiDA to select the type of private investor who could not only potentially run a post-harvest business successfully but also be a viable and trusted partner for 

small-holder farmers and their FBOs. MiDA had 64 tenders and reviewed 30 proposals 

before identifying the final 10 locations and partners.
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LOCAL FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL MARKETS

•	 Location is critical: If this approach is to be replicated, it is important to keep in mind 

that the location of the post-harvest centers was not random and a critical first step in 

the process. Private investors needed to provide land located in targeted districts by the 

project that was accessible to main roads (markets) and had a reliable source of power 

and water to operate machines and office equipment. Thus, applying this approach can 

only take place where certain pro-business conditions already exist. KIN

Damiana Astudillo has worked in MCC’s agriculture unit since 2007. Prior to joining MCC, she 

worked in Bolivia in a quinoa promotion project and at FINCA Peru improving women’s access to 

credit. She has also worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Housing in Uruguay.

References

African Post Harvest Losses Information System. 2013. Estimated Post-Harvest Losses 2003-2011 Tables. http://www.aphlis.net/index.

php?form=losses_estimates Accessed on February 28, 2013.

Millennium Challenge Account- (MCA) Ghana. 2009. Request for Proposals For the Selection of Beneficiaries for the Proposed Agribusiness 

Centres. RFP: 1401107/RFP/QBS/08/09. August 17, 2009.

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). 2011. MCC CC Success Stories: Women Rice Farmers partner to Capitalize on New 

Opportunities. October 17, 2011. http://www.mcc.gov/documents/press/action-2011002067701-ghana-rice.pdf.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) http://mofafoodsecurity.wordpress.com/.

UNICEF. 2003. Ghana At Glance Statistics. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ghana_statistics.html. Updated Accessed on February 28, 

2003. 

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future. 2011. Ghana Multi-Year Strategy: 2011-2015. Published by U.S. 

Government. February 22.

World Bank. 2003. Nutrition at Glance, Ghana, World Bank. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NUTRITION/

Resources/281846-1271963823772/ghana.pdf . Accessed on February 28, 2013.

World Bank. 2011. Missing Food: The Case of Post -Harvest Grain Losses in Sub-Sahara Africa. The World Bank. FAO. Report No. 60371-

AFR. April. 2011.
60 KIN: THE JOURNAL OF MCC & MCA TECHNICAL STAFF

RESOURCES

U.S. GOVERNMENT GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY LINKS

Presidential Global Food Security Initiative

http://feedthefuture.gov/approach/Inclusive--Agriculture--Sector--Growth

White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/18/president-obama-announces-newpartnership-fight-global-hunger

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/18/fact-sheet-g-8-action-foodsecurity-and-nutrition

U.S. Department of State

http://www.state.gov/s/globalfoodsecurity/index.htm

U.S. Agency for International Development

http://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/agriculture-and-food-security

U.S. Department of Agriculture

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/international-markets-trade/global-food-security.aspx

U.S. Treasury

http://www.gafspfund.org/

Peace Corps

http://www.peacecorps.gov/learn/whatvol/foodsecurity/

U.S. African Development Foundation

http://www.usadf.gov/about.html
IN THE NEXT ISSUE

The next issue of the KIN journal will focus on catalyzing private investment to 

reduce poverty.

MCC was established to provide U.S. foreign aid in a different way. It was founded on 

the premise that creating lasting economic growth is the key to reducing global poverty. 

Toward this goal, MCC was set up as a corporate entity, charged with consulting with the 

business community during compact development. The enabling legislation references 

“market-driven economic growth” and explicitly authorizes MCC to work closely with 

private entities. Given the five-year timeframe to complete projects, the goal was to 

create the conditions for greater private-sector led growth that would break the cycle of 

aid dependency and propel countries toward self-sufficiency. 

These were pioneering concepts when MCC was established in 2004, concepts that 

anticipated many of the changes that have occurred during the last decade. Increased 

globalization, rapid technological development and increasingly constrained government 

resources have changed the world. 

The next issue of KIN will highlight our strategy for pursuing our core mission in today’s 

world. It will focus on our interactions with co-investors—corporate, philanthropic, private, 

and others—during the lifecycle of our projects—from Threshold Programs through 

compact development, implementation, close-out, and beyond. By examining our past 

with an eye toward the future, it will lay out the thinking guiding our new compacts being 

developed today. 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

If you are interested in contributing to the next issue of the journal or receiving more 

information, please email kinjournal@mcc.gov. Proposals are limited to MCC and MCA staff. 

Expected publication is Fall 2013.

Photo by: Jake Lyell for MCC

WINTER/SPRING 2012–13 | WWW.MCC.GOV 61

NEXT ISSUE

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