ntfp sudan - program design and market analysis...b. overview of the business case 1. problem...

EMPOWERING WOMEN IN KORDOFAN, SUDAN THROUGH NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP, COMMERCIALISATION AND MARKET SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Programme Design and Market Analysis

June 2015

Gum Arabic, Adansonia digitata, Balanites aegypitaca, Ziziphus spina-christi, Tamarindus indica and honey

Table of Content

A. Executive Summary 1

B. Overview of the Business Case 2

C. Producers 4

D. Products 6

E. Market and Value Chain Analysis 9

F. Strategy and Impact 18

G. Risks 23

H. Financial Performance and Projections 27

I. Action Plan 31

Acknowledgments This study was conducted by Rabih Yazbeck, Senior Practice Area Lead for Inclusive Economic Development at the Near East Foundation UK, with field research and contributions from Bashir Medoab, Musa Gismalla and other team members of the Near East Foundation in Sudan. Thanks to many members of the Near East Foundation at Syracuse for desk research, editing and support.

June 2015

Near East Foundation 230 Euclid Avenue Syracuse, New York 13210 USA Tel: +1-315-428-8670 Web: www.neareast.org

Near East Foundation UK 32-36 Loman Street London SE1 0EH United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 2079227734 Web: www.neareast.org/uk

Empowering Women In Kordofan, Sudan Through Non-Timber Forest Products

Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation And Market Systems Development

A. Executive Summary

In its effort to increase and sustain income, leadership and inclusion among 2,242 small producers, including 1,912 poor and economically vulnerable women involved in the non-timber forest products (NTFP) sector in 9 villages in North and South Kordofan, Sudan, the Near East Foundation (NEF) conducted in 2015 a business case study and value chain and market analysis aimed at informing the development of new or improved initiatives in support of this group. More generally, the overall aim of the study is to advance the body of knowledge in support of empowering women through non-timber forest products for entrepreneurship, income and food security, particularly in Sudan.

The proposed programme design builds on NEF’s success since 2010 in North and South Kordofan developing producers' associations, improving agriculture product quality, and improving storage and transportation. NEF will build on this successful approach to build women and men producers income by (1) increasing their bargaining and decision-making power, (2) attracting large wholesalers, (3) reducing transaction costs, (4) adding value to or developing new marketable products, (5) increasing profits, (6) establishing a micro-franchising framework, and (6) developing sound business models and value added products. The approach will also sustainably increase output of NTFP by improving adoption of sustainable harvesting techniques, reducing waste and protecting NTFP groves. Local Conventions and Land Use Management Plans will reduce conflicts, decrease land right disputes and facilitate collaboration.

The initiative will (1) establish 9 revolving credit funds that reduce the depletion of local forests and lessen the time demands on working women, (2) facilitate 21

collaborative and inclusive natural resources management projects managed by multi-stakeholders that benefit multiple groups, and (3) reach out to an additional 36 neighbouring villages through women-led practice replication – engaging additional 1,950 beneficiaries. A pillar of our approach is building women-led associations, strengthening their human and institutional capacity, and improving their technical skills and organisation in market inclusion, entrepreneurship and multi-stakeholder natural resource management.

Together these activities will (1) increase women's income from NFWP by 40% and asset accumulation by 10% in 3 years; (2) improve women's decision-making and bargaining power, self-esteem, leadership, economic rights, and role in conflict mitigation; reduce resource-based conflicts (e.g., livestock corridors, land and water access) that disproportionally affect women; (3) reverse the degradation of forest resources in project area by 6% yearly; and (4) increase the effectiveness of civil society organisations (including three partners and 15 women-led associations and committees) to deliver and sustain pro-poor market development programmes that are supportive primarily for women involved in NTFP.

This model has a high potential for replication and presents an added value for joint action.

1


Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation And Market Chains Development

B. Overview of the Business Case

1. Problem Statement. A majority of women in Kordofan depend on NTFP for income and food - particularly during agriculture off-seasons, drought or crop failure. Lack of extension services, unsustainable natural resource management (NRM) techniques, and poor market information, access and linkages constrain NTFP’s potential for poverty alleviation. For women, these factors are exacerbated by a lack of bargaining and decision-making power. Although 72% of the people involved in NTFP activities in 9 villages are women, women earn 80% less than men involved in the sector. Most women occupy lower levels in the value chain as collectors; few are engaged in trading and mediation where profit margins are higher. The proposed project builds on evidence and takes a gender-focused value chain approach to improve the role of NTFP in alleviating poverty through increased income and food security. NEF’s analysis and experience suggest that the NTFP value chain focused on women can increase women’s income by at least 40%, reverse local forest degradation by 6% annually, improve climate-resilient food systems and promote greater gender equity.

NTFP is part of an integrated farming system comprised primarily of small scale farmers, characterised by small production and the use of family labour without modern equipment or agricultural inputs. NTFP primarily serves as a livelihood diversification strategy particularly to mitigate crop failure and a source of on-farm supply of fuel wood and fodder. However, it also has positive environmental impacts, namely tree species, such as the Acacia and Ziziphus spina-christi trees’ long lateral root system reduce soil and wind erosion. They have a regenerating impact on the land.

2. Strategic Context. NEF UK's 2015 participatory value chain and market analysis conducted in 9 villages which have a total population of 15,660, revealed that 1,912 vulnerable women produce 415 tonnes of Balanites aegyptiaca (Desert Date; locally: Laloab), Ziziphus spina-christi (Christ thorn; locally: Sidra), Tamarindus indica (Tamarind; locally: Aradeab) and Adansonia digitata (Baobab; locally: Tabaldi) yearly. Women contribute to processing 202 tonnes of Gum Arabic and about 1 tonne of honey. Two-thirds of women's income is spent on food and the rest on health and education. Higher selling prices increased women's income by 40-100%; with this additional revenue, women invested 13% of their income towards asset accumulation.

Lack of access to markets, knowledge and organisation decreases the income-generating potential associated with NTFP. Most women collectors do not sell at principal markets (89%) where sales yield higher prices (up to 105% more) because of high transaction costs and weak organisation. Sale prices vary and profit margins are high for local intermediaries (40-105%) compared to collectors. Women do not occupy high levels in the value chain and receive less income overall: 80% are collectors, 70% processors and 55% local sale persons. None are local intermediaries or wholesale traders.

Women reported their main challenges as limited access to producer/trader networks and markets, weaker bargaining power, and limited market information, in addition to poor technology and product development, forest degradation and lack of adequate storage.

NEF worked with 425 Gum Arabic producers in North Kordofan from 2010 to 2014 to develop producers' associations, improve product quality, and improve storage and transportation. Through this integrated

2



approach, producers were able to (1) improve bargaining power, (2) attract large wholesalers, (3) reduce transaction costs, and (4) increase their profits by 30-70%. Sustainable harvesting techniques increased output, reduced waste and protected acacia groves. Local Conventions and Land Use Management Plans reduced conflicts between herders and NTFP producers, decreased land right disputes and fostered collaboration.

3. Research methodology. Quantitative and qualitative information was collected from producers distributed in 9 villages using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data collection was done using a number of rapid rural appraisal techniques, including key informant interviews, group discussion, literature review as a secondary data source, and direct observations. Data was analysed to reveal the importance of products and use categories. For market analysis, excluding to a certain degree Gum Arabic, there is a lack of knowledge on how the market works. Market actors at the production end had very little knowledge of how the industry operates and as such many interviewees expressed an interest in seeing the final report of our study. There is a lack of information at all levels of the value chain, particularly on pricing, demand, processing and packaging. Each level lacked information on the requirements of the next level of the value chain. As a result, we used a “proxy” approach to analyse the market, market demand and market potential. The analysis included longitudinal (over five years) and geographic (in four geographic markets) analysis of price, volume (supply and traded volumes) and demand change (amongst local and regional traders and exporters) for each of the six NTFP products and in four market chain positions along the value chain using key informant interviews in each of the four market chain positions, and triangulated with information from secondary resources.

3



C. Producers

4. Economic geography: Producers are located in high poverty areas; distance to state-level principal markets is moderate with access difficult during the rainy season. The average distance to harvest site is 45 minutes walking distance; 98% of producers live locally. The project clusters are associated with low land prices and low opportunity costs of labour. Main livelihood activities found in the area are agro-pastoralism, nomadic pastoralism, horticulture and collection of woody and non-timber forest products. Agro-pastoralism is practiced under different subsystems, depending on the availability of the land and the amount of rainfall (rainfall is higher in the cluster of Abu Jubaiha). Almost all farming types combine small-scale livestock raising with forestry production. About 85% are dependent on gathering and processing NTFPs as a source of income and food security, with most collection done on private land (96%). NTFP resources are often over-exploited for fuel-wood, through damaging and irreversible harvesting techniques particularly in relation to Gum Arabic, and through over grazing and uncontrolled fire lines. Because of weak resource management, the resource base is being depleted.

5. Producers: 72% of the people involved in NTFP activities in the project area are women with the majority between 20 to 40 years old. The average household size of producers is 4.7 and the average number of persons involved in NTFP per household is 1.5. Literacy rate of producers is low, though the majority have primary education. NTFP contributes about 27% in average to the total household income and it is the main or the only source of cash income for about 85% of producers. NTFP is

the sole source for income generating during the dry season, agriculture off-seasons or during crop failure. 84% of producers harvest what they can sell. Since the average per-capita landholding for producers is 98%, the barriers women face are not from limited access to the product but rather (1) their inability to access markets, (2) lack of access to market information on demand and prices, as well as value added techniques to improve product quality (e.g. storage that allow producers to sell when the market prices is high); and (3) lack of organisation into producer groups. Because of cultural norms that discriminate against women, women face barriers on decision-making in the marketplace making it difficult to negotiate fair prices with wholesalers. Given the potential for profit of NTFP, those with higher levels of power may push out or prevent others to benefit from the value chain, such as women. Though value addition exists, many at the producer level of the value chain do not implement these practices either due to lack of knowledge or access. Organisation can facilitate access to value added techniques and thereby drastically improve product sales to urban and international markets. Improved income for women producers has positive intergenerational effects given that women are more likely to invest in education and health of their children.

Furthermore, some of the tree species (e.g., A. Digitata and B. Aegyptiaca) are used not only for fruits but also for livestock fodder, rope-making and firewood. The continuous peeling of bark on trees for rope-making and livestock fodder causes the trees’ death. As demand increases, without natural resource management, resources may be depleted and cause conflict.

4



Table 1. Forest size and number of producers in project area Cluster Village Forest size (ha) Total number of

vulnerable women producers

Total number of producers

Al-Adiat Elgarbia, Um-Rawaba

Umganas 6,112 353 491

Al-Adiat Elshavqia

7,560 91 126

Al-Adiat Elqarbia 5,040 102 142

Tabldia, El-Rashad

Tebldia 12,480 294 409

Indraba El-mdrasa

8,400 234 325

Indraba El-shrqia 1,680 98 136

Debiba Gumaa, Abu-Jabiehha

Umkdada 322 75 104

Melam elcor 14,900 239 331

Debeba guma 4,700 426 592

Total 61,194 1,912 2,656

6. Level of knowledge related to NTFP commercialisation and productivity: Market information and the capacity of small producers to analyse the market and the product quality are limited. The responses of interviewees demonstrated significant inconsistency and lack of information about size, price fluctuations, market demand, market trends, regional and national market actors, distribution channels, souring habits, and other information that are important to develop pricing, sourcing, processing and marketing strategies. It also revealed low-to-moderate level of knowledge in sustainable harvesting techniques, regulatory rules, and improved storage techniques. The majority showed good knowledge about local supply, village-level market actors and local distribution channels.

7. NTFP Management: Producers tend to invest very little effort in NTFP management. The average production area per producer is approximately 23.04 ha. The highest is in Melam elcor (44.97 hectare per producer) and the lowest is in the village of

Umkdada (3.09 hectare per producer). Annual labour and technology investments are very low per unit area. None of the clusters have traditional, informal or formal rules governing access to shared natural resources (e.g., water, pasture areas, livestock corridors). There are no clear mechanisms and extension services to improve quantity through afforestation and/or to improve quality through development of best practices in pre- and post- processing. Products are not adequately treated and there is a lack of processing and storage technologies and facilities; quality standards of products are often poor. They involve low-value products, which make them less attractive to larger forestry market actors. The continued demand for firewood and charcoal as sources of fuel is leading to the depletion of sources of NTFP. Dependence on wood products as an income generating activity often lead to tensions, conflicts and environmental degradation. Thirty percent of forestland has been lost over the past five years in the target area as result of human-induced land degradation (e.g.,

5



unregulated wood collection and livestock grazing). Many pursue activities that lead to environmental degradation especially with weak community-level management mechanisms. Based on NEF’s experience, engaging women in natural resource management can help foster more inclusive decision-making processes in Kordofan, where women pastoralists have been recognised as being particularly influential in managing resource-based conflict.

D. Products

8. Description of the products.

Balanites aegyptiaca (Desert Date; locally: Laloab), Ziziphus spina-christi (Christ thorn; locally: Sidra), Tamarindus indica (Tamarind; locally: Aradeab) and Adansonia digitata (Baobab; locally: Tabaldi) are some of the most important indigenous wild fruit tree species in Central and Southern Sudan. Out of 16 main wild edible fruits bearing trees in the area (see Table 1), Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi, Tamarindus indica and Adansonia digitata fruits are the more preferable and of high marketability and income potential in most of the area; this includes functionality, volume, price, quality, marketability and profit potential. They have multiple food and cultural uses and contribute to income generation, particularly for women. Most of Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi, Tamarindus indica and Adansonia digitata fruits are collected in central and southern Sudan and traded all over the country. In addition to forest fruits, Acacia senegal (locally: Hashab) is one of the most important tree species in Sudan and in the project area as it is the main Gum Arabic producing tree. It contributes considerably to the household income of gum farmers and foreign exchange earnings for the country. The project area produces forest

honey although in smaller quantity in comparison to other commodities. The Adansonia digitata tree is a source of fine quality honey.

a) Balanites aegyptiaca is a multibranched, spiny shrub or tree up to l0 m high. The fruit is ellipsoid, up to 4 cm long, green. Ripe fruit is brown or pale brown with a brittle coat enclosing a brown or brown-green sticky pulp and a hard stone seed. Fruit is produced between November to May.

b) Ziziphus spina-christi produces the majority of their fruit in November and December. It is either a thorny shrub or tree that reaches a height of 20 m and a diameter of 60 cm. Fruits are about 1 cm in diameter. The tree is highly resistant to heat and drought and is highly regenerative due to its deep taproots.

c) Tamarindus indica is a large evergreen tree up to 30 m tall. The fruit is a pod, subcylindrical, 10-18 x 4 cm, velvety, and rusty-brown; the shell of the pod is brittle and the seeds are embedded in a sticky edible pulp. As the dark brown pulp made from the fruit resembles dried dates, it is called locally ‘tamar-ul-hind’, meaning ‘date of India’.

a) Adansonia digitata is a large, round canopied tree with a swollen trunk, about 10-25 m in height. It produces fruit between November and December. The fruit is ovoid, 12 cm or more in length, with a hard and woody shell. The pulp is naturally dry and rich in vitamin C, calcium and other antioxidants.

6



a) Gum arabic is the dried exudate produced from the trunk and branches of the Acacia senegal tree, known as hashab or hard gum, and the Acacia seyal tree, known as talha or flaky gum. Only hard gum is produced in the project area. Gum arabic is a pale white to orange brown solid, which breaks with a glassy fracture. If stored properly, it stays unaltered for decades. Gum is produced between November and January.

b) Forest honey is thick, golden-brown liquid is produced by the honey bee (Apis dorsata) from nectar collected from various plants. Honey is produced in November and December.

9. Characteristics and uses.

Food-related use: Pulps of Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica (both unripe and ripe fruit) are consumed as juices, dried or fresh, turned into powder (to produce juice), and prepared into porridges and sauces. Demand for bottled, processed, powdered, and unprocessed Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica juice and pulp products have seen a significant and steady increase in urban markets over the past eight years. The raw fresh leaves of Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica are consumed as salads with the addition of groundnut butter to improve flavour. Seeds of A. digitata are roasted and pounded to make hot drinks consumed as coffee and tea substitutes. Seeds of Tamarindus indica are roasted to remove the outer cover, fried, dried and lightly ground with salt and sugar added prior to packing. Fruit processed from B. aegyptiaca is a popular soup ingredient; often dried, packaged and sold in local markets. The young leaves and tender shoots of B. aegyptiaca are used as a vegetable, which is boiled, pounded, then fried or with fat added to prepare it. The

seeds of B. aegyptiaca and A. digitata are crushed and the kernels are boiled with water to extract oil for cooking purposes. The boiled B. aegyptiaca is eaten with roasted groundnut. The kernel of Ziziphus spina-christi is popular among children after crushing the hard coat of the seed. Ziziphus Spina-christi is also sometimes made into flour. Dried, fresh or processed fruits, fresh leaves and processed seeds are sold in most vegetable markets in urban, peri-urban and rural centres in Sudan. About 90% of them are collected in Kordofan States and traded all over the country.

Fodder: Young leaves, fruit, pods and seeds provide fodder for domestic animals. During drought, livestock chew both the bark and fibrous wood for sap, particularly for Adansonia digitata. Livestock often destroy young trees. The foliage from Zizyphus spina-christi and Tamarindus indica has a high forage value, though rarely lopped for this purpose because it affects fruit yields. Kernel meal from B. aegyptiaca, the residue remaining after oil extraction, is widely used as a livestock feed.

Apiculture: The Adansonia digitata tree is a source of fine quality honey. Wild bees manage to perforate the soft wood and lodge their honey in the holes. The hollow trunks are often used for beekeeping. Flowers from Tamarindus indica are an important source for honey production.

Other uses: Fuel wood, construction materials, agricultural tools, medicinal uses, furniture and fodder were found to have an important use amongst producers. Other uses such as fences, ornamentals, agroforestry, shade, rope and baskets making are considered of minor importance.

10. Production

The average production area per household is approximately 23 ha. Kordofan States

7



produce 90% of the total volume of Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi, Tamarindus indica and Adansonia digitata in Sudan. Producers in the project area produce a total of 415 tonnes annually. Sudan produces 70,000 to 88,000 tonnes per year of gum Arabic (about 50% of the global production). Kordofan is used as a reference in global market trading and grading for hard gum, which is the highest quality reference gum on global markets. Almost more than half of the gum arabic

produced in Sudan comes from the Kordofan region; while the remaining comes from the Blue Nile region. Producers in the project area produce a total of 202 tonnes of Gum Arabic annually. Sudan produced 740 tonnes of honey in 2014 and imported 540 tonnes. Producers in the project area produce a total of 1 tonne of honey annually.

Table 2. Annual production and value of NTFP

Adansonia digitata (Baobab)

Balanites aegypitaca (Desert Date)

Ziziphus spina-christi (Christ thorn)

Tamarindus indica (Tamarind)

Gum Arabic

Honey

Total yearly quantity produced in the area (kg)

47,040 145,351 121,332 101,795 201,688 904

Estimated average increase in production between 2010 and 2015 (%)

20% 20% 20% 20% 100% 15%

Main production months

November - December

November - May

November - December

November - December

November - January

November - December

Total yearly value in GBP in 2014/2015 (lowest)

£28,205 £42,783 £38,359 £35,511 £241,858 £8,574

Total yearly value in GBP in 2014/2015 (highest)

£35,897 £42,783 £43,650 £44,389 £307,820 £9,067

Total yearly value in GBP in 2014/2015 (average)

£32,051 £42,783 £41,004 £39,950 £274,839 £8,820

8



E. Market and Value Chain Analysis

11. Analysis of value chain.

An analysis conducted in early 2015 highlights key market actors in the value chain, main market channels, traded shares across each market channel, and price change in different market positions for each of the six studied non-timber forest products, as illustrated in the figures that follow. Prices were calculated based on average of highest and lowest prices in the

2014/2015 and for the most common traded quality grade for each product. Historical data, volume (supply and traded volumes) and data on demand change (amongst local and regional traders, and exporters) were acquired through key informant interviews in each of the four market chain positions and triangulated with information from secondary resources. Please see section Section 3 for additional information about the methodology. Please see Section 15 for additional information about quality grades.

Balanites aegypitaca

9



Adansonia digitata

Ziziphus spina-christi

10



Tamarindus indica

Gum Arabic

11



Honey

12. Balanites aegyptiaca (Desert Date), Ziziphus spina-christi (Christ thorn), Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) and Adansonia digitata (Baobab). As illustrated in the graphs, most products (56%-66%) are sold to local traders/ intermediaries. 21%-32% of products are sold directly door-to-door, at roadsides, or in local weekly markets. 2%-4% are sold directly to regional or national wholesale traders and 10%-12% are sold directly to regional markets in Um-Ruwaba or Obeid where prices are 82-90% higher. Almost none of the products sold directly to national markets in Khartoum where prices are 100%-142% higher.

The main production months are November to December, although Balanites aegypitaca maintains production until May. Oversaturation of products may occur in November, when prices are the lowest. The highest demand for products is often at the beginning of the lean season and before the rainy season between April and June.

Farm gate prices fluctuated 14%-27% in 2014/2015 and have experienced yearly fluctuation for about 60% in the past few years. The highest demand for Adansonia digitata is often during the month leading to the Ramadan month in the Islamic calendar.

A significant percentage of Tamarind (20%-35%) is sold to industrial processors through regional or national wholesalers. Adansonia digitata and Balanites aegyptiaca have experienced increased demand from large industrial processors over the past five years (from less than 1% in 2010 to 4%-8% for Balanites aegyptiaca and 10%-25% for Adansonia digitata in 2014/2015). Traded volumes in the project area have increased by 20% over the past five years despite 30% decrease in NTFP production. This significant increase in traded volumes is also associated with about 30% increase in prices (including farm-gate prices) over the past five years.

12



13. Gum Arabic. As illustrated in the graphs, most gum arabic (86%) is sold to village traders/intermediaries. Less than 2% of products are sold in local markets. 2% are sold to regional or national wholesale traders and about 10% are sold directly to regional markets in Um-Ruwaba or Obeid where prices are 73% higher. No products are sold directly to national markets in Khartoum where prices are 109% higher.

The gum Arabic industry in Sudan was liberalised gradually five years ago (Gum Arabic Company’s monopoly on marketing and exporting gum arabic was abolished gradually between 2008 and 2010, 18 taxes and duties imposed on gum Arabic were removed in 2011, and policy of minimum prices and market stabilisation mechanisms were suspended). As a result, an increased number of local industrial processors, and independent and private processors and exporters have been established. These processing companies conduct the final kibbling, granulating, powdering, spray drying, and quality control before exporting them to world markets. Demand from domestic consumption has surged 20-fold in the past decade to 10,000 tons, according to the Sudanese Gum Arabic Board. Producers perform the collection and tapping, and in fewer cases conduct the cleaning, grading and packing if sold directly to national wholesalers and large private processors, where prices were 73%-109% higher in 2014/2015.

The main production months are November to January. The highest demand for products is often in December with the lowest prices in November due to oversaturation. Farm gate prices fluctuated 27% in 2014/2015 and have experienced yearly fluctuation of 30-80% in the past five years. Traded volumes in the project area have increased by 100% over the past five years despite 20%-30% decrease in production. This increase is mainly due to the liberalisation of the gum Arabic industry

since 2010 which enabled independent village traders to sell products in regional auction markets where grading and re-packing is conducted. No producers or village traders in the project area have accessed domestic consumer companies, large processors or exporters.

14. Honey. As illustrated in the graphs, most honey products (60%) are sold locally door-to-door, at roadsides, or to local retailers. This is mainly due to the relatively limited production in the project area, which can barely meet local demand. 7% are sold to local village traders/mediators. About 4% are sold to regional wholesalers and 29% are sold to regional markets in Um-Ruwaba or Obeid where prices are about 20% higher. No products are sold directly to national markets around Khartoum where prices are 31% higher.

The main production months are November to December and oversaturation of products may occur in November, when prices are the lowest. The highest demand for honey is often at the beginning of the lean season and before the rainy season between April and June. Farm gate prices fluctuated by 7% in 2014/2015 and have experienced yearly fluctuation of 25% in the past few years.

15. Analysis of primary grades. There are four common grades of Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi, Tamarindus indica and Adansonia digitata:

• Grade 1: dehusked, de-seeded and no fibres;

• Grade 2: dehusked, de-seeded with fibres;

• Grade 3: dehusked, with seed and fibres; and

• Grade 4: with husk, seed and fibres.

Grade 4 is not commonly traded. Most of the Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi and Adansonia digitata fruits traded are either Grade 1 or of Grade 2 quality.

13



Farmers obtain more money for Grade 1 than for Grade 2. Tamarindus indica is more commonly traded as Grade 3. Grade 2 (seedless) tamarind appears to be preferred domestically and internationally to Grade 3 (seeded) tamarind and farmers are able to obtain more money for Grade 2 tamarind than for Grade 3. Grade 1 Balanites aegyptiaca and Ziziphus spina-christi are preferred domestically and Grade 2 Adansonia digitata is preferred domestically. Farmers obtain more money for those grades than other grades.

However, the labour that goes into de-seeding and taking out the fibres are comparatively high, particularly in relation to tamarind, due to low adoption of time-efficient practices. One person can harvest 75-150 Kg in one day and can dehusk 40-60 Kg in one day. De-seeding takes around 2.5 days for 50 Kg for tamarind, and half this time for the other NTFP products. Appropriate technology is available to de-seed tamarind in a more efficient manner. This technology is not used in the project area and could be employed by women’s groups. Furthermore, processed seeds are also traded, particularly A. digitata seeds as coffee and tea substitutes and packaged fried and dried seeds of Tamarindus indica. The seeds of B. aegyptiaca and A. digitata are crushed and the kernels are boiled with water to extract oil for cooking purposes; however the extracted oil is not commonly traded and is only used for household consumption.

For honey, there are three common grades in the project area: Raw and not heated; strained (comb, propolis, or other defects removed); and filtered (pollen, air bubbles and fine particles removed). Honey is commonly traded as either strained or filtered.

For gum arabic, Sudan has a well-established grading system for gum arabic, the main grades being as follows:

• Hand-Picked-Selected or HPS (Selected Sorts): uniformly shaped, medium sized and light coloured nodules.

• Cleaned and Sifted (Clean Sifted Sorts): The irregular shaped or darker-coloured nodules together with clean fragments.

• Cleaned (Cleaned Amber Sorts) • Siftings • Red • Dust

The prices of 'Hand-Picked Selected' (HPS) are about 15% more than the cleaned grade. The price of the 'Cleaned and Sifted' is usually mid-way between those of the 'HPS' and 'Cleaned' grade. After segregating the first two grades manually, the remaining gum along with pieces of bark, dust etc. is broken by beating with sticks. It is then winnowed, impurities separated and removed. The residue is then sifted. The portion remaining in the sieve is known as gum sifting and what passes through the sieve is gum dust. The majority of grading in the project area is done by the merchants and the producer plays no role in it. This simple grading system is easy to teach to the producers. When adopted by the producers, it can lead to 10%-30% increase in net profits after deducting variable and labour costs.

16. Commercialisation Strategies. Although most producers practice some form of buy and sell mechanisms, few are able to afford risks, which affects competition, pricing, access to credit, successes, and long-term perseverance and business planning. NTFPs need to compete in the marketplace based on functionality, price, quantity, and quality. The assessment revealed that only few producers selected their products based on the overall competitive advantage in the market. Functionality, quantity and quality are often not factored in their marketing strategy. Producers, particularly women, often face the greater risk in the value chain since economic options are scarce and the cost of failure in subsistence-level

14



lifestyle is high. Most producers participate in some of form of marketplace, although with lower income in comparison to income generated at principal markets or where product aggregation, uniform grades over long-term, economy of scale, and other value addition options are present. Costs associated with inefficient harvest, production, and marketing are also high among producers with no access to horizontal linkages (e.g., costs associated with aggregation, transportation, storage and waste, and harvesting techniques that harm Acacia trees over the long-term). As a result, production and transaction costs and risks are high for the majority of producers (about 89%) except where producers are able to access and link with market partners at a flexible pace that creates flexibility and gradual acceptance and understanding of risk.

17. Producers’ product diversity status. The majority of producers are dependent on either a single market buyer or a single contract or market channel. NTFP product diversity along similar value chains among producers is limited even though wholesalers and markets often seek multiple NTFP products under the same contract. Only few are able to produce products that make the best economic sense for them over the long-term despite that production, harvesting and processing techniques and infrastructure are transferable across NTFP products. Diversification of markets minimises risk by reducing dependence on single clients or products. Markets change, prices fluctuate, and clients may change their preferences and interests. When product diversity exists along similar value chains, economic resilience and incomes are higher among producers. For market diversification, and in addition to demand, the other factors that affect market diversification strategies and their long-term economic benefits are geographical closeness to principal

markets, type of products, quality and price, and the production capacity of the producer. Analysis of the trade-off between long-term market access and selling immediately to many outlets have shown that an adequate mix that favour access to a mix of large wholesalers can produce higher and more secure long-term income for producers.

18. Product value addition. Products and product processing (already available in other markets) may yield valuable by-products using simple techniques. Value added products are now more common in principal markets (see Section 8 and 9). Their market volume and value is increasing steadily. Demand pressure and increased interest from manufactures, wholesalers and end-consumers that require initial processing are increasing year-on-year, yet local producers are not responding adequately to market change, especially that such product value addition increases profits by 40 to 100% for producers.

19. Variable costs and traders. The cost for production includes time costs, harvesting tools, sacks and transportation, and in some cases where practiced, processing tools and equipment, storage and aggregation costs. Key factors that affect costs are person days for collection, local processing, selling methods, equipment cost/use, taxes (non-applicable for wild fruit), unofficial costs, storage costs, transportation costs, and weight loss.

Given the negotiating power of traders, they often can sell products at prices that are more than 14% higher than then the highest price sold by producers in local markets and 45% higher than the lowest price sold by producers. Traders often purchase stock from producers based on debt-based relationship (particularly for Gum Arabic) and thus have the advantage in their ability to negotiate prices. The

15



majority of traders are men with less than 10% women. Traders often store products in order to sell at a higher price or sell in towns or urban areas, where demand is greater and prices are higher. The largest costs for traders are the stock purchase of goods followed by transportation and taxes. Producers cited bargaining power, quantity, quality, diversity of products, packaging, distance, storage conditions and monopoly as the main factors that affect the selling price. Traders cited that the biggest constraint was transportation cost to markets.

Wholesalers. Wholesalers tend to absorb more risk than producers, but they often face their own failure costs associated with dealing with the unknown, mushroomed, and non-formalised small suppliers in remote areas that have limited communication access, rely on unfavourable transportation infrastructure particularly during the rainy season, and are unable to meet quantity demand or ensure uniform quality grade. Wholesalers prefer production and sourcing strategies that are long-term, where their needs are dynamic over the long term, and where transactions costs are lower on the long term; producers’ selling price is therefore not the main determinant, but reliability and sustainable access. Helping design production and sourcing strategies that meet both sides’ needs and that are dynamic and secure over the long-term can ensure long-term contracts and higher return for producers.

20. Potential value of demand and competitiveness. For B. aegyptiaca, Z. spina-christi, T. indica and A. digitata, the majority of the production is traded domestically. However, about 5% of processed products are exported to the Arab states of the Gulf since 2011; with an a 25%-36% increase of exports between 2013 and 2014 and a forecasted significant increase in exported products, particularly for A. digitata and T. indica (unverified export figures: B.

aegyptiaca 140 T in 2013 and 190 T in 2014; Z. spina-christi 27 T in 2013 and 35 T in 2014; T. indica 60 T in 2013 and 75 T in 2014; and A. digitata 42 T in 2013 and 55 T in 2014). There are no official figures or estimates about the size of total production in the country. Key informants estimate the annual traded volumes in the country for B. aegyptiaca, Z. spina-christi, T. indica as 3,000 tonnes for each product, and about 1,000 tonnes of A. digitata annually. Dried, fresh or processed fruits, fresh leaves and processed seeds are sold in most vegetable markets in urban, peri-urban and rural centres in Sudan. About 90% of them are collected in Kordofan States and traded all over the country. Demand for processed, powdered, and unprocessed and bottled Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica juice and pulp products have seen a significant steady increase in urban centres over the past eight years. Adansonia digitata and Balanites aegyptiaca have experienced increased demand from large industrial processors over the past five years (from less than 1% in 2010 to 4%-8% for Balanites aegyptiaca and 10%-25% for Adansonia digitata in 2014/2015). Traded volumes in the project area have increased by 20% over the past five years despite 30% decrease in production and natural resource base. This significant increase in traded volumes is also associated with about 30% increase in prices (including farm-gate prices) over the past five years. This continuous recent increase in market volume and value is mainly due to a demand pressure and increased interest from domestic manufacturers, wholesalers and end-consumers for NTFP products and by-products that require initial processing, yet local small producers are not benefiting from this market change since they are not responding adequately to market change due to variety of challenges, including lack of market organisation, limited market access and information, and low access/adoption of improved processing,

16



harvesting and production practices and technologies, particularly because producer’s selling price is not the main determinant for market access and share, but reliability and sustainable access. Product processing techniques in other domestic markets are yielding valuable by-products using simple techniques and are increasing profits by 40 to 100% for producers. For example, by turning A. digitata and T. indica into powder, porridges and sauces producers have significantly increased their income particularly when efforts are geared at repackaging and redesigning existing products and knowledge into a more business and entrepreneurial orientated approach. Quality and quantity also affect the producer’s ability to tap into this increased demand. Current packaging and transportation methods result in waste and irregular quality and uniformity. Markets expect a more commercial and professional looking product with high quality standards. This is a corner stone for increasing consumer demand. For example, the prices of different grades of Tamarindus indica and gum Arabic are associated with quality. Therefore, the quality of the products is a cornerstone for stimulating and increasing consumers’ demand.

Key factors that affect quantity are climate, storage (especially pests), waste, unsustainable harvesting techniques, deforestation, uncontrolled fire, wood collection, processing equipment, and harvesting techniques and equipment. Key factors that are affecting quality are storage, harvesting techniques, climate, soil and water conditions, natural fertiliser through intercropping and others, processing techniques for by-products or upgraded products, processing equipment and harvesting equipment. Therefore, reliability, sustainable access, quality, quantity, by-products and uniform grades

are key determinant factors for the product competitiveness and increased net profits for small producers.

For gum Arabic, exports increased by 70% between 2001 and 2014, with only 2009 showing decline following the international financial and economic crisis. Production volumes influence the price, as does origin, with gum Arabic from Sudan attracting the highest prices. The price for gum Arabic from Senegal was about GBP 1,000/tonne in 2003/2004, rising significantly to about GBP 3,000/tonne in 2006/2007, and dropping back to about GBP 2,000/tonne in 2008/2009. In 2014, Western Europe and the U.S. imported most of the 60,000 tonnes of gum arabic sent abroad, at prices between GBP 2,135 and GBP 2,535 per tonne. For hard gum (the high quality reference gum on the global markets), the Kordofan reference is the highest, with hard gums from Chad and Nigeria (Grade 1) being around GBP 200 to GBP 400 per tonne lower compared with Sudan; these countries represent Sudan’s main competitors producing the lower quality talha, or flaky gum. Furthermore, the government is encouraging domestic consumption, with demand having surged 20-fold in the past decade to 10,000 tonnes. Since the liberalisation of the gum Arabic industry, the volume of traded gum Arabic from Sudan increased significantly, with an official target output of 160,000 metric tonnes in 2015/2016 to meet increasing export and domestic demand - representing a triple increase in production since the mid-2000s. Official figures reveal a significant shortfall in supply, with a required yearly output of 300,000 metric tonnes of Kordofan gum Arabic to meet the current level of demand. This represents an opportunity for small producers in the project area since gum Arabic produced in the project area attracts the highest prices domestically and internationally and with a forecasted price for Kordofan gum Arabic to

17



increase or remain stable for the next 10 years.

For honey, Sudan imports 42% of its honey supply. In 2014, Sudan produced 740 tonnes of honey and imported 540 tonnes. Despite this local production shortfall to meet local demands, a small amount of high quality honey is exported to the Arab states of the Gulf.

F. Strategy and Impact

21. Organised producers of NTFPs take advantage of market opportunities, get more benefits. When local NTFP producers are organised, they bring the value chain to the village and integrate factors such as better transportation, bulk sales and better information on markets. NEF’s experience in Kordofan and case studies indicate that income can be doubled or tripled when local producers are organised. Marketing in community groups has been seen to be more beneficial to the producers than marketing individually or through middlemen. Women-led cooperatives and groups create horizontal links that strengthen their ability to negotiate vertically in the value chain. Creating horizontal links ensure negotiations over contract terms and provides collective backing for vulnerable women when negotiating with men and other market actors in the value chain. Women-led groups address challenges regarding mobility and lack of access to market. Additionally, it allows women to jointly leverage resources to invest in quality control, product aggregation and market linkages. Although single sex groups are culturally appropriate in the project area, including men in the groups can enable the women to gain the buy-in and the support of men and change agents and facilitate conversations around women as earners

and around gender equality and economic rights.

22. Innovation and value addition. Local NTFP producers seldom process their products before marketing them given the lack of resource and know-how. Processed products could yield added income, increase product value, increase shelf-life and allow adjustments to seasonal excess of supplies if information is disseminated and organisation of producers increases the economies of scale. Increase in technological innovations on local production and processing activities can be an asset to local producers as it also provides negotiating power to local producers. Therefore, adopting appropriate technology is a major way that producers, particularly women, can save their time or improve the quality of products or add value to their products. Such technology must be user friendly, culturally appropriate, affordable, simple and reliable. Furthermore, it is important to invest in the research and development of new by-products (e.g., oils, dyes, flour, medicinal plant products, and other non-timber products), breeding new and better yielding varieties, improvements on agro-technology and post-harvest technology, by-product utilisation, value added product development and new formulations. This requires collaboration with local and international research and development organisations such as with the Sudanese Agricultural Research Organisation, Sudan’s National Forest Corporation, GACSA, FAC, and ASFG Network. Please see Section 8 for additional information on proven and culturally relevant value addition practices.

23. Optimising market access strategies. The seasonality of prices shows the need to consider market strategies as a means to add value to NTFPs. It is more advantageous to decide on the scale of production based on local, regional and national demands and the possibilities for

18



secondary processing or use in the manufacture of other consumer products such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This implies reducing risk of not being able to sell one product by diversifying the number and type of end users for each NTFP product. Moreover, products can be sold on local, regional, national or international markets, or a combination of all of them. Producers may sell to end users who have different uses/markets for the product themselves. Communities may also use market strategies to differentiate their products in order to command higher prices by branding to differentiate them in the marketplace (e.g. organic, green, natural, fair trade, socially responsible). This calls a form of micro-franchising, unified labelling or certification by a third party, although at some costs that may require initial external support.

24. Improving access to quality market information. Market information and the capacity of small producers to analyse the market and the product quality are limited. Lack of market information reduces their negotiation power with traders. Improving quality and access to market information about local, regional and international market price and demand, price fluctuations, supply and market size, market trends, regional and national market actors, distribution channels and souring habits can help small producers to develop pricing, sourcing, processing and appropriate market access strategies and to improve their bargaining power with the traders.

25. Enhancing relevant skills, knowledge, extension and business development services. Local producers do not have the required skills to process, upgrade or diversify their products, increase net profits, reduce variable costs, and employ sound business management skills in ways that can increase their income in a sustainable way and generate greater social and

economic benefits. This requires a comprehensive and targeted capacity building approach that enable them to acquire relevant skills and apply knowledge through training, coaching, learning-by-doing, demonstration sites, and producer-to-producer learning. The capacity building should focus on (1) product upgrading which can increase the unit value of a more sophisticated product such as by improving quality, shelf-life or packaging; (2) process upgrading that can enhance the efficiency in transforming raw materials into end products through reorganisation of productive activities, improved processing technology and reducing wastage and weight; (3) functional upgrading that can enable the producer to introduce new functions through grading, bulking and storage and transportation; (4) inter-chain upgrading that can enable them to apply capabilities acquired in relation to one NTFP product (e.g., harvesting techniques, process or product upgrades, processing technology, storage, aggregation and transportation) and using them in another chain position or in relation to a different NTFP product; and (5) resource base upgrading that can improve the sustainable supply of raw materials and reduce harvesting and post-harvest losses through skills in resource management, reforestation, nurseries, sustainable harvesting and improved storage. The capacity building should also focus on improving market information and access skills through improved market information, diversifying of marketing channels, reducing costs of aggregation, transportation and storage, and improving bargaining power with traders. Furthermore, financial know-how to budget, plan and manage income from NTFPs and strategies to improve asset accumulation and livelihood resilience should be strengthened. This capacity building approach will enable small producers, particularly women, to “move up the value

19



chain”, either by shifting to more profitable positions in the chain, or by making products that have more value-added invested in them and can provide better returns. This will help them improve their well-being, increase their revenue in a sustainable way and protect the resource base.

26. Sustainable income. In three years, the project will have increased the sustainable income for poorer and economically vulnerable women from NTFP activities. To achieve this, the project will have enabled local producers to increase their average income from NTFP by at least 40%; increase asset accumulation by 10%; increase NTFP selling prices by at least 40%; decrease in the prevalence of households that experience food insecurity by 10%; increase the number of producers using enterprise-related infrastructure such as processing facilities; and improve by 50% the level of knowledge and application/access of commercialisation strategies and services among producers related to market access and information, laws and regulations, marketing, budgeting and financial management, variable costs and efficiency, product value addition, processing and storage (e.g., selling price of buyers, processing of the products, storage of the products, final destination of the products, final uses, trading rules, users of the products, phenology, distribution, growing stock of the products, restoration/protection of the natural resource base, sustainable harvesting rules, and regulatory rules marketing and distribution, variable costs (efficiency), record keeping, budgeting and financial management, non-market-related information technology). Moreover, 36 Women NTFP entrepreneurs will have developed sound business models and value added products under a unified brand, they will have access to a micro-franchising platform, and they will own and manage financially viable NTFP enterprises. Further,

we will have increased the numbers (and the terms) of contracts between producer groups and buyers; improved the numbers and the nature of upgraded NTFP products using proven techniques; and improved the satisfaction levels among market actors at all levels with (a) the relationships, (b) terms of access, (c) overall growth of the market and (e) micro-franchising services and services provided by associations.

27. Inclusion and women’s empowerment. In three years, the project will have enabled local producer women to improve their empowerment, agency, and inclusion in the NTFP sector in relation to income, production, resources, leadership and time. By organising women into producer groups, we will have increased women’s agency to make and shape their own choices on product development; enhance their negotiation power with traders; and place women in decision-making roles. The project will invest in technology transfers to producer groups that both enhance the value of product quality and increase time-efficiency to address women’s time poverty. By engaging women in natural resource management structures aimed at establishing community-owned rules on NRM and to reduce conflict, we will be including women’s voice and leadership in community structures. We will work with 15 women-led producer groups and committees to represent at various community forums as a way to shift norms around women’s roles and responsibilities.

28. Sustainable NTFP productivity and forestry. In three years, the project will have enhanced the human and institutional capacity to increase sustainable NTFP productivity and forestry. To achieve this, producers will have increased their level of knowledge and application of technologies and management practices related to sustainable NTFP productivity and forestry disseminated by extension services, trainings, demonstration sites, and through

20



associations (e.g., farmer-managed natural regeneration, soil-related fertility and conservation, pest management, water management, climate mitigation or adaptation, sustainable harvesting practices, post-harvest handling and storage, land management, shared/collaboration natural resource base, fire line defence techniques, and relevant cultural practices). By the end of the project, 9 communities will have functioning processes and conventions for community/multi-stakeholder management of shared natural resources, 80% of producers will report increased or improved natural assets, and the depletion of the natural resource base will be reduced by 6% annually (18% over three years). Examples of coping mechanism linked to NTFP and NRM that increase resilience to economic, environmental, instability or other shocks as well as evidence of practice adoption and adaptation among producers that increase sustainable NTFP productivity and forestry would be facilitated, documented, explored and shared with the aim to facilitate replication and multiplication of results. Multi-stakeholders will have implemented 21 collaborative natural resources management projects that benefit multiple groups and improve sustainable NTFP production, and 240 people would have accessed loans that enable them to acquire butane gas stoves, brick making, forest fire defence, and implement activities that reduce the depletion of local forests and lessen the time demands on working women.

29. Community-based and women-led conflict prevention, mitigation and management. Dependence on timber products as an income generating activity often lead to tensions, conflicts and environmental degradation. Thirty percent of forestland has been lost over the past five years in the target area, largely as result of human-induced land degradation (e.g., unregulated

wood collection and livestock grazing). Many pursue activities that lead to environmental degradation especially with weak community-level management mechanisms. Further, women are more likely to be affected by conflicts over resources, and are more vulnerable to physical attacks as they carry out NTFP and NRM activities. Based on NEF’s experience, engaging women in natural resource management can help foster more inclusive decision-making processes in Kordofan, where women pastoralists have been recognised as being particularly influential in managing resource-based conflict. By engaging women in natural resource management structures aimed at establishing community-owned rules on NRM and to reduce conflict, we will be including women’s voice and leadership in community structures. Moreover, by introducing Local Conventions Plans (LCP) and Collaborative Land Use Management Plans (CLUMP), we will mitigate against resources based conflicts and have community-based structures that can ensure the management and sustainable of shared resources. Further, LCP and CLUMP will cover gender-based violence as one of the most important conflict issues to address. Resource-based conflict management trainings will include topics on gender and women’s needs.

30. CSO contribution to NTFP development. In three years, the project will have increased the effectiveness of local CSOs to deliver and sustain pro-poor market development programmes that are supportive of women involved in NTFP. To achieve this, 15 women-led associations and committees will have enhanced technical and managerial capacity in facilitating product aggregation, adequate storage, quality market information, access to product development and technology, access to new markets and trader networks and sustainable natural resources management

21



of forests and forest products. These associations and committees will have increased their women members by 60% after formation. Further, 18 effective CSO-led co-operation between civil society, the private sector, state actors and other stakeholders to address barriers to NTFP productivity, market access and trading will have been implemented. Approaches that have proven to be the most effective in stimulating change amongst supporting

functions in support of the project approach in terms of (1) adaptation of internal systems/policies/programmes to respond to project approach, (2) adoption of project approach, would be facilitated, documented, explored and shared with the aim to facilitate replication and multiplication of results. Community-led replication trainings would be conducted in 36 neighbouring villages.

22

23

G. Risks

Reference:

• Analysis: Physical (Ph); Environmental (En); Political (Po); Economic (E); Social (S).

• Impact / Severity: Scale 10 to 1; 10 is the most severe.

• Probability / Likelihood: Scale 10 to 1; 10 is the most probable.

Risk (Ph, En, Po, E, S)

Mitigation (Impact/Probability; scale 1 to 10)

Community is unwilling / unable to work together across villages and engage change agents and vulnerable women and households [Ph; S]

Adequate outreach; clarity in roles/ activities/ timeframes; long-term plan; adequate persuasion and communication; opportunities for interaction, sharing and discussion facilitated; platforms to discuss concerns, address misunderstandings, and build trust strengthened and facilitated; facilitate access and transportation [7/2]

Women-led associations experience high members turnover [S]

Adequate consultation with the associations; trainers fully briefed; facilitate transportation and access to trainings and activities; flexible / participatory scheduling of trainings; encourage nomination of member attendees that are able to commit to attend and participate in trainings and project activities; all trainings include peer-to-peer principles to facilitate transfer of knowledge [5/3]

Women are too isolated, too busy, or not interested [Ph; S; E]

Mobilise community members / women leaders to reach out to and engage with disadvantaged women; communicate the benefits clearly; make more attractive; assess specific causes of loss of interest; facilitate access; use alternative outreach channels, actors [8/2]

Community does not distinguishes or finds balance between tackling exclusion and inequality as rights issues and market-based responses [S]

Participatory analysis of drawbacks, benefits, scenarios and options of both approaches; explore alternative options that can provide balance and community consensus between market-based and rights-based approaches [5/1]

Social structures, mind-set that “I can do it”, and social and physical infrastructure are not favouring and sustaining the change [S; Ph; E; P; En]

Robust community-based and accessible monitoring of social structures, producers’ buy-in, and essential social and physical structures that can enable and sustain the change; strategic plans integrated into the operation of women-led associations (and regularly updated) that can address such challenges [7/3]

Market information is not accessible and unable to analyse or forecast

Involve diverse number of market actors in the commercial chain; communicate benefits and results


Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation And Market Chains Development 24

demand and supply as well as market prices [S; Ph; E]

and emphasise ownership of producers; employ alternative methods such as key informant interviews focused on market information across different market positions, market trends, supporting functions [7/2]

Organising women into producers’ groups and enabling them to access market information and technological and economic resources impede their control over and returns from the productive process [S]

Monitor control over and return from productive processes amongst women producers on household and community level; engage change agents and improve their attitudes towards women's empowerment; involve men and the community in conversations around women as earners, and around gender equality and economic rights [7/3]

Vertical entities in the market chain are not interested or have the ability to forge/strengthen relationships, inputs and services [S; E]

Adequate outreach; clarity in roles/ activities/ timeframes; long-term plan; adequate persuasion and communication; assess specific causes of loss of support and reaching solutions; alternative outreach and communication channels; revise roles/ activities/ timeframes [7/2]

Community is not willing to provide sites for demonstrations or demonstration sites are not accessible to all women producers [S; Ph]

Consulting stakeholders about causes; rethinking schedules and arrangements that might not be appropriate; adapting schedules and seeking alternative arrangements [6/1]

Women are not interested to ‘move up the value chain’, either by shifting to more rewarding positions in the chain, or by making products that have more value-added invested in them and/or that can provide better returns to producers. [S; Ph; E; P; En]

Assess specific causes of loss or lack of interest, including social, physical, political, economic, and environmental causes; engage community members, women leaders, associations and change agents in analysing the causes and devising adequate actions; communicate the benefits and risks clearly; facilitate access; use alternative outreach channels, actors [8/2]

Unable to reach consensus for Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), unified brands, standardisation processes and incubation services related to micro-franchising [S; E]

Flexible/ participatory scheduling; good management of process; clear communication of benefits and roles; make more attractive; involve all participants and ensure full ownership of the process; involve peer-to-peer and face-to-face communication methods [6/3]

Business development and incubation services for mirco-franchisees are not adequate and do not lead to feasible business plans [E; S]

Revise the business development process; links with private sector and supporting functions; integrate market assessments; ensure full ownership of the process by participants; explore joint businesses; involve external experts, staff, CSOs, different expertise [8/2]

Larger-scale producers/traders are sustaining market imperfections by maintaining economies of scale and

Facilitate community-organised horizontal linkages that can tackle exclusion from profitable market positions and favourable contracts; promote inclusion of small



building information exchange networks based around social capital that exclude small producers and newcomers [E; S]

produces and newcomers by tapping into the collective social capital of producers and change agents; engage large-scale producers and traders in roundtables and debates about market inclusion; open up market information and make accessible and up-to-date to small producers and newcomers; promote market inclusion as an approach that will benefit not only members of the associations but also communities as a whole. [7/4]

Vulnerable women are trapped in interlocking markets (lack of assets, limited livelihood options, poor terms borrowing, dependence on patrons, cash-flow deficit, contractual agreements on poor terms, etc) [S; E]

Monitor domestic needs, consumption coping strategies, asset accumulation, terms of contracts and access to credit strategies, and tailored interventions (e.g., asset accumulation strategies, consumption coping strategies) and associations’ strategies (e.g., bargain power, vertical contracts, revolving funds) to enable women to break out of the ensuing dependence trap [8/4]

Intra-national and international trade, infrastructure and regulations create access barriers to market information and new markets [S; E; Ph]

Engage local, regional and national supporting functions in exploring and addressing access barriers amongst small producers by encouraging adaptation and adoption among supporting functions in support of the project approach [7/2]

Supply and demand of NTFP are not adequately interacting and are distorted, and prices do not reflect adequately changes in the demand or supply of NTFP [S; E]

Improve access to market information across all market actors; tackle monopolies and improve contract terms and bargain power; facilitate a more transparent marketing chain [7/3]

NTFP activities are caught in a “low level equilibrium trap” generating a vicious circle of underdevelopment and low returns [E]

Support high labour productivity strategies; high technological progress; improvement in natural resource base and related infrastructure; and high propensity to save and invest as a way to escape the “low level equilibrium trap” [8/1]

Micro-franchisees experience failures [E; S]

On-going coaching and support; full local ownership promoted; linkages with civil society, private sector, mentors, support groups; revise plans, SOPs and business failures [8/3]

Demonstration sites, extension services and producer-to-producer trainings are not able to access isolated women and groups [S; Ph; E]

Facilitate access; use alternative outreach channels, actors; mobilise community members / women leaders to reach out to and engage isolated women and groups [8/2]

Acquiring resources to obtain butane gas stoves and develop brick-making and forest fire defence do not reduce

Monitor causal links; discuss causes of demand for and dependence on firewood with the local community; adjust the revolving fund criteria to concentrate on



the demand for and dependence on firewood and the depletion of local forests [S; En; Ph; E]

activities that have direct impact on regeneration of local forests, or on activities that have shown better results [7/3]

Community is not able to prioritise, mobilise resources and provide in-kind matching contribution to implement natural resource projects [E; S]

Design plans to accommodate capacity of associations and the community to provide in-kind matching; broader community contributions; encourage in kind contributions in term of labour, land and materials;; clarity of objectives and benefits; update plans to accommodate any change in community contributions; encourage broader community contributions; clarify objectives and benefits; expand links and contributions by the private, state and civil society actors [6/1]

Neighbouring villages are not interested in the subject, and not willing to cooperate with the associations or host trainings and initiatives [S; P]

Assess specific causes of loss of support and reaching solutions; alternative outreach and communication channels; revise roles/ activities/ timeframes [6/3]

Pro-poor NTFP women-focused market development is not a priority subject for joint actions and roundtables [S]

Facilitate access; flexible / participatory scheduling; communicate clearly objectives, benefits and long-term plans; focus on specific topics prioritised by the community instead of generic approaches [6/2]

As demand increases, without natural resource management interventions resources may be depleted and access to shared resources increases as the potential for conflict rises. [S; En; E; P]

Local Conventions Plans (LCP) and Collaborative Land Use Management Plans (CLUMP) in place to mitigate against resources based conflicts and to have community-based structures that can ensure the management and sustainable of shared resources [8/2]

Women are more likely to be affected by conflicts over resources, and are more vulnerable to physical attacks as they carry out NTFP and NRM activities [S]

In keeping with internationally accepted gender-based violence risk-protection strategies, 20 percent of the women-led associations will be men to reduce potential backlash against women if there are concerns about exclusion. Further, LCP and CLUMP will cover gender-based violence as one of the most important conflict issues to address. Resource-based conflict management trainings will include topics on gender and women’s needs. [7/2]

Government interest and support of project; ability to maintain continuity through changes in local or national government leadership [P]

Develop and maintain positive relationships with native administrations, line ministries and officials. NEF and its partners hold approvals from Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) to undertake project activities. [5/1]

Environmental hazards resulting from the small-scale natural resource-related projects that aim to improve

Participatory environmental screening carried out for all NRM projects and integrated into project designs; projects involve the repair or rehabilitation of existing



the conditions of natural resource base [En]

infrastructure only; projects do not include the use of pesticides, waste or toxic substances; involve relevant bodies in assessments, approvals and oversight, including Sudan Water, Environment and Sanitation Department (WES), National Forest Corporation (NFC), and Gum Arabic Company (GAC) [7/2]

H. Financial Performance and Projections

31. Approach to financial performance. For producers, we will implement activities that improve the position of poor women NTFP producers. The associations address the lack of credit, quality control, product aggregation, market linkage, forests production, and conflict prevention under a single umbrella. They help build new links, improve women’s inclusion in local value chains, and link otherwise isolated women to markets. Producer associations help increase the participation, leadership, and technical skills of women in the NTFP market and enable women to take on duties that were previously in the men’s domain – e.g. negotiating with traders and representatives of the private and public sectors and moving up in the value chain. Micro franchising creates opportunities for women entrepreneurs to develop sound business models and value added products and to own and manage NFWP-focused financially viable micro-enterprises under a unified brand. Micro franchising increases the sustainable income for women from NTFP activities and bridge the gap between indigenous knowledge, action research and innovation, and emerging global best practices in the NFWP sector.

This approach will benefit not only members of the associations but also communities as a whole. Training-of-trainers, demonstration sites and extension services help articulate interests, build capacities and multiply results. The approach will also contribute to bridging

the global knowledge-gap related to financially viable NFWP enterprises through learning papers and social entrepreneurial development.

We will monitor the progress of market inclusivity, economic opportunities for producers and performance of micro-franchisees. We will monitor market inclusivity by measuring change in market value for participant women, change in women's participation in higher levels of value chain, decision-making and bargaining power over sale prices, and effectiveness of supporting functions. For producers, we will monitor change in income, production, technical skills, selling prices in comparison to end-consumer price, variable costs, value-added invested in products, and value of products sold to outside markets or directly to wholesalers. We will monitor (1) income spent on food, health care, education and asset accumulation, (2) level of sole or joint decision-making over income, production, resources, leadership and time, and (3) change in empowerment and confidence level linked to increased economic opportunities. We will monitor the increase in profits, business skills, business practices, access to networks and financing for micro-franchisees.

32. Earned and unearned income. No earned or unearned income is expected in this project.

33. Capital costs. For micro-franchisees, we will provide targeted financial support for 36 women-led NFWP micro-franchisees

27



through competitive awards focused on potentials for replication, sustainability, and social impact. The exact amount of each financial support is determined based on vetted and approved business plans by qualified technical and financial staff. Each plan is required to be approved by an evaluation committee. Financial support will be provided contingent on performance. The financial support will include a signed agreement with participant micro-franchisees specifying a fixed list of items to be procured for starting up their business as per final business plans. Businesses will be designed, run, maintained and owned by individual micro-franchisees. The project will provide technical and managerial training and coaching to support the development of businesses. We will provide technical and operational services and develop standard operating procedures (SOP) in a participatory way (e.g., market access facilitation, processing methods, quality control, financial management, certifications, and labelling, packaging and storage), standardisation, development of unified brands, and entrepreneurship modelling. Micro-franchisees will be monitored and coached throughout the process starting with an incubation process. Micro-franchisees will have full ownership of the business idea and model, the business development process, and subsequent start up and management of the business.

34. Financial sustainability. For producers, financial sustainability is an essential criterion for achieving agency, independence, and self-reliance. The project funds and encourages successful businesses, trainings, and income generating activities to support beneficiaries’ long-term economic self-reliance, asset accumulation and financial sustainability. We will provide producers with trainings and tools, improve their

knowledge and application of improved technologies and practices, and strengthen their collective voice, bargaining power and control over resources and business decisions in order to enhance their market inclusion, profits and their long-term perseverance, self-reliance and financial viability. We will work with supporting functions to address bottlenecks and constraints in the market systems that affect them, and monitor their change in income, profits, variable costs, asset accumulation, and market systems adaptation aimed at providing them with a tailored support to sustain the results. We will provide grants for 36 entrepreneurs - who will provide in-kind investment - in a targeted and competitive way based on feasible business ideas and supported through tailored managerial and technical support through incubation so that entrepreneurs have the capacity to enhance their self-reliance and financial viability. Learning will be generated and shared to support other entrepreneurs.

For producer groups, we approach financial sustainability by enhancing the value for money of economic and social services that are provided to an underserved group of beneficiaries that can facilitate the realisation of their social and economic rights and promote their self-reliance, market inclusion, decision-making and choice. By value for money, we mean the economy, efficiency, effectiveness and the equity of programmes. We will pursue this by strengthening the capacities of associations to (1) manage their finances better; (2) prioritise and pool technical and financial resources with other civil society, market and state actors; (3) address the root causes of market exclusion which will reduce the need for their services and enable them to free up financial resources; and (4) provide an effective service that reduces the dependency of women on CSO services by improving women’s ability to be

28



self-reliant, confident and safe. In addition, we will actively seek alternative ways of funding future expansion of the programme that promote replication and scalability to reach out to other regions, including a variety of locally based initiatives, by building on an evidence of a proof of concept and enhanced capacity of local CSOs and networks that can provide peer-to-peer education.

35. Value for money. NEF UK has in place a framework to ensure the project delivers value for money. We have integrated actions in the project design to address the economy, efficiency, effectiveness and the equity of the project. We will apply our procurement and risk management policies to achieve cost-efficiencies; we will track and optimise administrative and non-administrative costs per inputs/category. We will share resources among partners and key stakeholders; optimise the use of technology; standardise procedures; streamline systems; and optimise entry and exit phases. We have identified and will continuously test project assumptions, hypothesises, causal links throughout the project implementation by employing stakeholder generated narratives, field observation and expert and peer reviews. We will disaggregate costs by vulnerability type and track costs, results, value and equity of each result. We will ensure effective conversion of inputs to learning, partnerships, capacities and sustainable results. We will monitor attribution and measure costs and benefits against outcomes.

36. Financial projections. Prices are calculated based on average of highest and lowest prices in the 2014/2015 season and for the most common traded quality grade for each product. The analysis of annual producer’s income, income from NTFP, and annual produced volumes are based on a study conducted in early 2015. Data is triangulated with information from

secondary resources and key informant interviews. Projected figures are based on the market and value chain analysis discussed earlier and integrates learning from primary and secondary experiences.

Financial Projections

Average number of full-day work allocated for NTFP activities annually per producer

31 days

Average labour wages in the area

£2.14

Total annual volume produced by the procedures (average)

618 tonnes

Total annual value produced by the procedures (average)

£439,447

Average annual total household income per producer

£922.1

Average annual total household income per producer from NTFP

£230.5

Average percentage of income per producer from NTFP

25%

Average producer’s daily income from NTFP activities

£7.32

Average producer’s daily income from NTFP in GBP above the average wage

£5.18

Current asset accumulation 0%

Projected increase in price for Adansonia digitata

63%

Projected increase in price for Balanites aegypitaca

66%

Projected increase in price for Ziziphus spina-christi

55%

Projected increase in price for Tamarindus indica

71%

Projected increase in price for Gum Arabic

54%

Projected increase in price for Honey

15%

Projected increase in price averaged for all NTFP activities

56%

29



Estimate of variable costs averaged for all NTFP activities

15%

Projected increase in net profits averaged for all NTFP

41%

Projected increase in asset accumulation per producer

10%

Projected total annual value of products in three years (average)

£618,990

Projected total annual producer’s income in three years

£1,016

Projected total annual producer’s income from NTFP in three years

£325

Average percentage of producer’s income from NTFP in three years

31.97%

Average increase in total annual income in the project area in three years

£179,990

30

I. Action Plan

Change agents improve attitudes towards women's leadership in NWFP

Improved access to and decision-making participation in NWFP

Limited mobility and prevalence social norms addressed

Community and inclusion

Associations do not experience high members turnover

Women are not too isolated, too busy, or not interested

Community is mobilised and forms associations

Associations improve their technical and organisational capacity

Women have improved voice, confidence, and control over resources

Community willing / able to work together across villages and engage change agents and vulnerable women and households

Community distinguishes and finds balance between tackling exclusion and inequality as rights issues and market-based responses

Social structures, mind-set that “I can do it”, and social and physical infrastructure are favouring and sustaining the change

Associations implement advocacy campaigns and activities

Women have improved access to markets and market information

Market information and access

Organising women into producers’ groups and enabling them to access market information and technological and economic resources increase their control over and returns from the productive process

Committees improve produce-to-producer skills and organisational capacity in product aggregation, storage and transport

Committees develop systems to analyse and forecast demand and supply, and market prices

Market information is accessible and developed systems are able to analyse and forecast demand and supply as well as market prices

Larger-scale producers/traders are not sustaining market imperfections by maintaining economies of scale and building information exchange networks based around social capital that exclude small producers and newcomers

Vulnerable women are not trapped in interlocking markets (lack of assets, limited livelihood options, poor terms borrowing, dependence on patrons, cash-flow deficit, contractual agreements on poor terms, etc)

Committees develop systems for product aggregations and improved storage techniques

Vertical entities are interested and have the ability to forge/strengthen relationships, inputs and services

Supply and demand of NWFP are interacting without impediment or distortion, and prices reflect adequately changes in the demand or supply of NWFP

Committees facilitate roundtables and vertical linkages with other associations and wholesalers

Women involved in the NWFP receive higher value for their products

Committees improve produce-to-producer skills in improved value addition, processing techniques, sustainable harvesting, post-collection handling, and storage

Community is willing to provide sites for demonstrations; demonstration sites are accessible to all women;

Product upgrade

Assumptions, risks, causal

links

Assumptions, risks, causal

linksImmediate outcomes

Activities and outputs

Intermediate outcomes

Women involved in the NWFP increase their sustainable income from NWFP

Overall growth of the market in terms of value and production

Households improve their food self-sufficiency and asset accumulation

Intra-national and international trade, infrastructure and regulations do not create access barriers to market information and new markets

Longer-term outcomes

Communities and households improves their resilience

Women improve their leadership role in NWFP

31

Supply and demand of NWFP are interacting without impediment or distortion, and prices reflect adequately changes in the demand or supply of NWFP

Women entrepreneurs own and manage financially viable NWFP enterprises

Sustainable productivity of NWFP increases

Women are interested to ‘move up the value chain’, either by shifting to more rewarding positions in the chain, or by making products that have more value-added invested in them and/or that can provide better returns to producers.

Committees improve produce-to-producer skills in improved value addition, processing techniques, sustainable harvesting, post-collection handling, and storage

Committees develop extension services and implement village-level demonstration sites on product upgrade and transportation and value addition

Community is willing to provide sites for demonstrations; demonstration sites are accessible to all women;

Committees build their technical and organisational skills in micro-franchising and develop associated SOPs, unified brands and services

Consensus reached for SOPs, unified brands, standardisation processes and incubation services

Committees organise open calls for micro-grant awards/franchisees and targeted incubation for NWFP women-led enterprises

Women upgrade their products and improve their product value addition

Larger-scale producers/traders are not sustaining market imperfections by maintaining economies of scale and building information exchange networks based around social capital that exclude small producers and newcomers

Micro-franchisees do not experience failures; micro-franchisees have control on and decision-making power over business management and resources

Women NWFP entrepreneurs develop sound business models and value added products under a unified brand

Women NWFP entrepreneurs have access to a micro-franchising platform

Call is able to reach all potential women NWFP entrepreneurs; sufficient applicants; business development services are adequate; business plans are feasible; incubation services are effective and tailored to micro-franchisees needs; micro-franchisees are able to provide in-kind matching contribution

Micro-franchising system is operational and able to demonstrate tangible social and economic benefits and is increasing interest

Community have access to resources (materials, financial, technical and organisational) to protect and plant trees, increase productivity of trees, and to safeguard and expand forests and shared natural resource

Acquiring resources to obtain butane gas stoves and develop brick-making and forest fire defence reduce the demand for and dependence on firewood and the depletion of local forests

Committees build their produce-to-producer skills in tree planting, forest regeneration, fire protection, local conventions and collaborative land-use planning, and natural resource projects that benefit multiple groups

Committees develop extension services and implement village-level demonstration sites on sustainable natural resource management

Demonstration sites, extension services and producer-to-producer trainings able to access otherwise isolated women and groups

Committees establish 3 cluster-level revolving funds for households to acquire butane gas stoves, brick-making, forest fire defence, and activities that reduce the depletion of local forests and lessen the time demands on working women

Community is able to prioritise, mobilise resources and provide in-kind matching contribution to implement natural resource projects

Technologies and practices competency upgrades across all NWFP products and across the entire agricultural sector (e.g., FMNR, NRM, conventions, entrepreneurship, sustainable harvesting, etc) are multiplied and used across all functions of chain/sector.

Entrepreneurship

Natural resource base

Overall growth of the market in terms of value and production

NWFP activities are not caught in a ‘low level equilibrium trap’ generating a vicious circle of underdevelopment and low returns

32



Community have access to resources (materials, financial, technical and organisational) to protect and plant trees, increase productivity of trees, and to safeguard and expand forests and shared natural resource

Committees establish 3 cluster-level revolving funds for households to acquire butane gas stoves, brick-making, forest fire defence, and activities that reduce the depletion of local forests and lessen the time demands on working women

Community is able to prioritise, mobilise resources and provide in-kind matching contribution to implement natural resource projects

Committees implement natural resource projects that benefit multiple groups and improve sustainable NWFP production

Local Conventions Plans (LCP) and Collaborative Land Use Management Plans (CLUMP) can mitigate against resources based conflicts and to have community-based structures that can ensure the management and sustainable of shared resources

Technologies and practices competency upgrades across all NWFP products and across the entire agricultural sector (e.g., FMNR, NRM, conventions, entrepreneurship, sustainable harvesting, etc) are multiplied and used across all functions of chain/sector.

Women’s increased income does not impede their access to and control of the natural resource base

CSOs improve their effectiveness to deliver and sustain pro-poor market development programmes that are supportive of women involved in NWFP

Associations and partners increase their effective co-operation with civil society, the private sector, state actors and other stakeholders to address barriers and develop strategies for sustainable, inclusive and equitable NWFP productivity, market access and increased income

Pro-poor NWFP women-focused market development is a priority subject for joint actions and roundtables

Associations reach out to and implement trainings and awareness campaigns in 36 neighbouring villages

Associations organise roundtables with stakeholders to address barriers to sustainable and equitable NWFP productivity, market access and trading

Neighbouring villages are interested in the subject, willing to cooperate with the associations, and able to host trainings and initiatives

Associations co-implement cross-sector initiatives aimed at promoting equitable, inclusive and sustainable NWFP productivity and sustainability

All stakeholders are responsive and interested in engaging in cross-sector initiatives

Associations and partners develop learning papers aimed at delivering and sustaining pro-poor market development programmes that are supportive of women involved in NWFP

Learning papers able to generate relevant earning

Pro-poor NWFP women-focused market development is popular and a priority subject for civil society organisations

Civil society-led cross-sector cooperation strategies are able to link otherwise isolated women and achieve a more favourable terms of market engagement for them, as well as addressing restrictions on mobility, limited bargaining power, social norms, and their ability to take on new roles in value chains as trainers, middlemen and leaders.

CSO contribution to NWFP development

Knowledge improved in relation to financially viable NFWP enterprises through learning papers and social entrepreneurial development

33

Further reading and references

• Support for Sustainable, Profitable Gum Arabic Production in Sudan, Near East Foundation, 2011

• Gender and Value Chain Development, DANIDA, 2010

• Gender and non-timber forest products, IFAD, 2008

• Agricultural value chain development: Threat or opportunity for women’s employment?, FAO/IFAD/ILO, 2010

• Where “food security”, “health”, and “income” grow on trees: opportunities for forest-dependent entrepreneurs in Central Africa, FAO, 2010

• Market analysis of the wood Industry in Pcinja and Jablanica District, SDC, 2010

• Pro-poor Value Chain Development, UNIDO, 2011

• Practical Tools for Researching Successful NTFP Commercialization, Marshall, Rushton, Schreckenberg et al. 2006

• Linking Smallholders to Markets, ODI, 2013

• Export Marketing of Sudanese Gum Arabic, World Bank, 2007

• Rapid Reconnaissance Market Survey on Tamarind in Kenya, ICRAF, 1999

• Wild food trees in Eastern Nuba Mountains, Sudan: Use, diversity, and threatening factors, JARTS, 2014

• A Note on Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Strategies in North Kordofan State, Sudan, University of Khartoum, 2013

• Contribution Of Local Trade In Ziziphus Spina-Christi L. Fruits To Rural Household’s Economy In Rashad Locality, Sudan, Forestry Ideas, 2010

• Impact of wild fruits local- marketing to household income and livelihood in western sector localities (Elbiga and Elsalam) of South Kordofan state, Sudan, International Journal of Education and Research, 2014

• Managing Conflict Over Natural Resources in Greater Kordofan, Sudan, IFPRI, 2007

• Gum arabic in Sudan: production and socioeconomic aspects, FAO

• Contribution of local-level trade in non timber forest products to rural development in Rashad locality of Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Technische Universitat Dresden, 2011

• Ethno-botany of Natural Forests of Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan State, Sudan, Research Published, 2014

34

www.neareast.org

ntfp sudan - program design and market analysis...b. overview of the business case 1. problem...

Documents