Introducing the Livestock and Fish research
program value chain assessment toolkit
Epi Katjiuongua, Derek Baker, Froukje Kruijssen, Kate Longley, Isabelle
Baltenweck, Emily Ouma, Jane Poole, Samuel Mbugua, Edna Mutua, Kathy
Colverson, Michael Kidoido, Carlos Quiros, Emily Kerandi, Paula
Kantor, Alessandra Galie
Livestock and Fish Gender Working Group
Workshop and Planning Meeting
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14-18 October 2013

Value chain analysis and development
Scoping
Assessment
Situational
analysis
Producer
tools
Scoping
tool
VC development
M&E
IA
VC development facilitation
guides
Opinion
leaders tool
Site
selection
In-depth
analysis
M&E
Producer
benchmark
GTA tools
Other chain actor tools
Technical assessment tools
See: https://livestock-fish.wikispaces.com/VC_Toolkit
other

Situational analysis
• Purpose: Overview of VC environment (economic/
social/ policy/ structure), contextualize VC, identify
potential challenges / opportunities in policy
environment, partially informs site selection, focus on
macro-level
• How: Desk review, Key informant interviews, no specific
tools provided, only report outline
• How long: Initial: 2 months, Final: 3-6 months

Situational analysis cont’d
Topics:
• The product
• Consumption and expenditures
• Production
• Imports and exports
• Input & services: L&F health, L&F genetics, feeds, knowledge
systems, credit
• Value addition and marketing
• Food safety
• Competitiveness
• VC governance
• Externalities
• L&F development strategies and activities
• R&D partnership landscape
• Current perspective on opportunities for pro-poor L&F value chain
development R&D

Scoping tool
• Purpose: Inform authorities about the project, get
overview of VC (mapping/ actors), Defining broad
intervention areas, Defining issues for VC assessment,
Planning of VC assessment
• What: 1)Interview checklist for small groups of districtlevel officials; producer association representatives;
trader representatives; market agents; other KIs; 2)
Checklist for use with individual consumers (10 min
interview)
• How Long: 1-2 day per VC domain per district

Value Chain Assessment (VCA)
• Purpose: Analysis of the VC to define interventions
• What: Modular approach, some core modules some
choices, Both quantitative and qualitative information
(but focus on qual.):
1. Village leader tool
2. Producer tool –1 day FGDs exercise at village level
3. Individual trader questionnaire
4. Individual retailer/processor questionnaire
5. Individual input supplier questionnaire
6. Individual consumer questionnaire
• How long: 3-6 months

VCA: General / village leader level
VCA sections
Research question
A. Village resource
map
B. Historical profile
Context, infrastructure, access to
resources and markets
Context, trends in production, shocks,
constraints

VCA: Producer level
VCA sections
Research question
A. Livelihoods analysis
Context, trends, VC performance: participation,
financial (livelihood composition, relative
contribution of L&F, farm/non-farm), constraints
B. Seasonal calendar
Context, risk, labour availability, constraints
C. Gender roles
(activity clock)
Understand roles of sub-groups and
opportunities to improve women’s roles,
constraints
D. Decision making
Same
E. Group membership
/ collective action
VC governance and coordination (purpose of
group membership, constraints to join groups)

VCA: Producer level cont’d
VCA sections
Research question
F. Objectives for and
VC performance in terms of objectives
systems of L&F production
G. Value chain mapping
VC composition, supply-demand, inputs and
services, seasonality, payment systems,
constraints
H. Feeds and feeding
Describe systems, define constraints for
technical interventions
I. Breeding / seed input
Describe systems, define constraints for
technical interventions
J. Constraints and
solutions
Best-bet interventions
11

Gender Transformative tools
Sections
Research question
Gender norms
How do gender norms affect VC opportunities
and outcomes?
Activity and time use
Understand activities and time use of men and
women
Relationships wheel
Understand how relationships between people
and organizations affect VC outcomes
Decision making and
ownership
Understand gendered patterns of decision
making and ownership and link to VC outcomes
Gender attitudes
Quantitative questions to understand gender
attitudes and effect on VC opportunities
Envisioning change
Workshop tool to share results and discuss
gender-based constraints

VC benchmarking
• Purpose: Benchmarking  Baseline for impact assessment
at all actor levels and coordination in the VC including VC
performance (both for pilot and large-scale development
projects  sample size may differ across different projects)
• What: Survey at several actor levels based on modular
approach: Individual producer questionnaire
The following are the same as for VC Assessment:
a) Individual trader questionnaire.
b) Individual retailer/processor questionnaire
c) Individual input supplier questionnaire
d) Individual consumer questionnaire
• How long: Depends on the project and level of funding
available

EXERCISE

Exercise
Groups:
1. Value Chain Assessment tools
2. Gender Transformative tools
3. Benchmarking tools

Group work
• We will provide you with a copy of a specific tool
• In your group go through the tool and look at each question
with the context of your L&F value chain in mind
• Provide feedback on the tool in terms of its usefulness from
a gender perspective
• Answer the following questions (Use flip chart to capture
responses and assign a rapporteur). From a gender
perspective:
– what did you like about the tool?
– what changes/ additions might you recommend for the
tool?
– could you use this tool in your work?

CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
livestockfish.cgiar.org
CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. The CGIAR
Research Program on Livestock and Fish aims to increase the productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems
in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable across the developing world.