PMCA: triggering innovation and building trust

METHODOLOGIES TO FOSTER PRO-POOR I N N O V A T I O N

PMCA stimulates innovation and generates business opportunities

that benefit small farmers. This participatory process involves

different market chain actors, including small farmers and the

business sector, as well as research and development (R&D)

institutions, agricultural service providers and representatives

from the gastronomy sector.

Participatory market chain approach (PMCA)Participatory market chain approach (PMCA)

Phase 1: DiagnosisObjective: Understand market chain actors’ activities, interests, problems and ideas.

Phase 2: Analysis of opportunitiesObjective: Analyze joint business opportunities in thematic groups.

Phase 3: Development of innovations

Objective: Develop demand-oriented new products, technologies and institutions in a participatory way.

Participants R&D institutions

Interest

Trust

Collaboration

Leadership

Facilitation

Backstopping

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AR

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PP

RO

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How does it work?PMCA uses a carefully structured participatory process focused on market demand, guided by a facilitator, and organized around three phases (diagnosis, analysis of opportunities and development of innovations). Together, the different market chain actors analyze new business ideas and innovative ways to implement them. The PMCA process focuses on building trust among the different actors and fostering effective public-private partnerships. PMCA also provides R&D institutions with an opportunity to capture research demands from farmers and other market chain actors.

ies and institutions in a technologietechatory way.cipatoparticip

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Results

PMCA generates pro-poor, demand-oriented innovations of three types:• Commercial innovations: new products or marketing concepts that offer a comparative advantage to small farmers. Examples: gourmet, selected native potatoes; naturally-colored chips; selected and bagged chuño and tunta (potato product dehydrated through a traditional

method in the highlands).

• Technological innovations: market opportunities generated by the application of PMCA have created demand for research in the areas of production and post-harvest management. Examples: organic alternative for sprout control, aeroponics for production of potato seeds, good processing practices for tunta, postharvest machines for chuño.

• Institutional innovations: organizations or rules that favor competitiveness of the sector and empower small farmers. Examples: stakeholder platforms (see flyer), technical quality standards for production of chuño and tunta.

How was PMCA used? PMCA was originally developed and applied to the potato market chain in the Andes by Papa Andina and its partners. It has subsequently been extended to other market chains such as coffee, milk and fruit in the Andes, and to sweet potato and vegetable market chains in Africa and Asia.

Awards for innovation The result of a PMCA conducted in 2004 in Peru, “T’ikapapa” is an innovative marketing concept that enabled High Andean farmers to sell their native potato production in supermarkets for the first time. T’ikapapa was awarded four prizes, including the United Nations’ SEED Award and BBC, Newsweek and Shell’s World Challenge in 2007.

P A P A A N D I N A

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Key Key Readings

C o n t a c t P a p a A n d i n a

cip-pandina@cgiar.orgw w w . p a p a n d i n a . o r g

PMCA in the Andean region

PMCA in other contexts and other products

POTATOESOTHER PRODUCTS

• Collective Action for Market

Chain Innovation in the

Andes. Food Policy 34, 31-38. 2009.

Devaux A. et al.

• The Participatory Market

Chain Approach: Stimulat-

ing pro-poor market-chain

innovation.

ILAC Brief 21. 2008. Bernet T. et al.

• T’ikapapa: Linking Urban

Consumers and Small-Scale

Andean Producers with

Potato Biodiversity.

International Potato Center. 2008. Ordinola M. et al.

Tools:• Participatory Market Chain

Approach (PMCA) –User

Guide. International Potato Center.

2006. Bernet T. et al. (Eds).

• Enfoque Participativo de

Cadenas Productivas

(EPCP) – Guía para

capacitadores. Centro Internacional de

la Papa. 2008. Antezana I. et al. (Eds).

Perú: Native PotatoFONTAGRO / IDB

Uganda: PotatoPRAPACE / DFID

Laos: PotatoCIP-SEAsia / HELVETAS (Not concluded)

Uganda: Sweetpotato and vegetablesPRAPACE / DFID

Perú: Native PotatoINCOPA / SDC

1st PMCA inPerú: Potato

INCOPA / SDC

Indonesia: Potato

CIP-SEAsia / ACIAR

Bolivia: Native PotatoCAMBIO ANDINO

Bolivia: Native PotatoPROINPA / SDC

Bolivia: Potato - ChuñoSDC

Replications with other partners

Perú: CoffeeCAMBIO ANDINO / DFID

Colombia: ÑameCAMBIO ANDINO

Bolivia: MilkCAMBIO ANDINO

Perú: Native PotatoFONTAGRO / IDB

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008