The document discusses the application of value chain analysis (VCA) in the livestock development sector, particularly highlighting its objectives of increasing profitability, improving competitiveness, and reducing rural poverty. It presents examples of practical benefits from VCA, including insights into the Zambian beef industry, challenges faced by rural producers, and the need for a supportive policy framework. Ultimately, the document emphasizes VCA as a valuable analytical tool that can benefit both commercial and traditional livestock systems while addressing environmental and livelihood concerns.

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Utilization of value chain analysis in the
livestock development sector
Ahmed E Sidahmed
Associate Director for Development and Partnership
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
University of California -Davis
For presentation at The Livestock Week (IALDG)
4-6 May 2010 IFAD Rome Italy

2. Slide 1
n1 nb-sidahmed, 13/04/2010
n2 nb-sidahmed, 13/04/2010

3. Outline
1. VC and VCA
2. Objectives of VCA in livestock industry
3. Examples of practical benefits from VCA
▫ Research and innovations
▫ Poverty reduction
4. The case of Zambia beef industry
5. A final note

4. Value Chain Analysis
VC : - a range of activities required to bring a product or
service from conception to final disposal after use;
- a connected string of players working together to
satisfy market demand for a product /products.
VCA: an approach for identifying the value created at
each step of the production (Porter 1985).

5. Objectives of VCA in livestock industry
• Increase commercial profit;
• Improve competitiveness;
• Reduce rural poverty. e.g. by explaining why the
poor may face barriers along the chain it becomes
quite possible to overcome these barriers;
• Reform governments’ laws to help improve their
business environments;
Also
• Contribute to research and innovation (climate
change, environment, water use, etc);
• Assist the development community to determine
where to focus support.

6. Examples of practical benefits
from VCA

7. Research: Environmental health
(Source: researchers at Duke University Feb 2009; BSR-WSCC May 2009)
USA beef industry ($50 billion, one million farms).
UK dairy industry (e.g. suppliers of milk for Cadbury
chocolate manufacturing).
The industries are major sources of greenhouse gases, water
pollution and use of fossil fuel.
Challenges:
To reduce the severe sources of environmental emissions/
waste.
Benefit from VCA :
Identification of the actors along the chain who have the
strongest leverage for effecting such change, e.g.
▫ Feedlot companies-influence feed content;
▫ Dairy value chain;
▫ Farmers - influence manure management practices.

8. Development: Poverty reduction
(Sources: various e.g. COPLA-Trade and poverty ,social exclusion project in
LAC Dec 2009; WB’s FIAS VCA analysis in Pakistan March 2006)
Livestock industry:
• Is under performed and most of the rural producers are poor.
Challenges :
• To access technological, institutional and market capabilities.
Benefits from the VCA:
• Identification of the critical issues and barriers to entry of the
poor e.g.
▫ Lack of economic power of rural poor;
▫ Need for institutional and economic frameworks for interventions
to change the circumstances of the resource poor.

9. The case of Zambia beef industry
• Global Development Solutions (GDS) - 2007
• World Bank Zambia - 2010

10. Cattle industry in Zambia: Huge potential, key
to reducing rural poverty
• Livestock owned by most rural households;
• Higher proportion of household incomes than crops;
• Cattle industry provides income to 300,000
households;
• Cattle is the largest asset (US$1-1.5 billion).
Cattle Sheep Goats Pigs Poultry
Million
heads 3.1 0.485 0.746 0.704 9.9

11. GDS’ VCA approach (2007)
•Attempted to find out why Zambia beef sector has declined;
•Selected a “snapshot” representative of the cattle industry
(commercial beef) where the data collected was assumed as being
accurate and real;
•Selected a VC: a feedlot operation of an abattoir that has the
desire, intension and qualification to export;
•Performed a “cost based analysis” capturing each value addition
event along the product chain in monitory terms;
•Confirmed and validated, once the analysis is complete, in an open “
player forums” .

12. The feedlot value chain:

13. The Abattoir value chain:

14. Results (priority needs):
• Reduced animal and feed cost in order to increase
competiveness;
• Improved breed that allow entry of cattle to
feedlots at lower costs;
• Rural financing in order to allow farmers to
access veterinary services (PS: Veterinary cost is
very small (<1.0%) but a very important
constraint);
• Enhanced GoZ proactive role as coordinator of
donor supported resources, improved hygiene,
health, transport and regulatory conditions.

15. WB Zambia Approach (2010)
Done
Looked at the whole stages of beef and dairy industry;
Analyzed competitiveness (national/regional and international
levels) and identified the drivers and productivity;
Defined results (priority needs/outcomes) that- if achieved -
would improve productivity and competiveness;
Identified via stakeholder forums specific action plans (policies,
regulations, programs) that would help achieve the targeted
outcomes.
In Progress
Further communication and advocacy (building accountability
for results);
Identification of “actions” to achieve these Results (use
competitions to generate & select best ideas and monitor
implementation).

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Zambia beef value chain: Immature but
evolving Traditional 80% : Emergent 15% Commercial 5%
• Immature but evolving: firms
19%
Independent Independent
32%
49%

17. Zambia’s beef value chain ( cont):
• Cattle population traditional 80%, emergent 15%,
commercial 5% ;
• Traditional losing to commercial (urbanisation);
• Modern retailing is developing
• A small % (5- 10) of traditional cattle find its way to
feedlot operations;
• Annual slaughter : feedlot commercial 10%, non-
feedlot commercial 33%, traditional slaughter 57%;
• Dollar value: feedlot based 29%, commercial non-
feedlot 33%, Traditional informal 49%;
• Grade: bulk of commercial standard, 25% of
commercial feedlot-based is choice;
• Problems: affordability – high price, low quality, poor
hygiene.

18. In spite of the huge potential
the cattle industry is not
performing

19. Immature industry structure
• Highest incidence of disease in the region;
• Droughts;
• Under utilised feed resources
• Poor investment in preventative veterinary care, animal nutrition
and husbandry;
• Slow cattle population growth – low calving & high mortality;
• Traditional attitudes mean that farmers keep animals not cash;
• Selling at the same time (school fees, droughts) causing prices to
fall;
• Cattle sales, prices fluctuate sharply reducing incentive to invest;
• High costs of feed, transport and fuel undermine competitiveness.
Most imported input costs are higher than neighbouring SADC
countries;
• High prices are slowing down the growth of the local and regional
markets;
• Competition is limited and there are barriers to entry.

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Underutilized feed resources
Province Crops
Central Maize, sweet potato, soybean, groundnut, cotton, watermelon, sunflower, wheat, tobacco
Copperbelt Maize, sunflower, soybean, beans, groundnut, wheat, oilseeds
Eastern Maize, soybean, sunflower, orange, sweet potato, cassava, cotton, groundnut, pigeon pea,
sorghum
Luapula Cassava, rice, maize, sunflower, sweet potato, millet beans, banana, groundnut, oilseeds
Lusaka Maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, tobacco, sweet potato, pigeon pea, rice, cotton, wheat,
watermelon, orange
Northern Rice, maize, cassava, sunflower, millet, sweet potato, banana, cotton, beaus, soybean, coffee
North- Maize, pineapple, sweet potato, soybean, sunflower, millet, orange, cassava, faba bean,
western sorghum, coffee, groundnut, rice
Southern Maize, soybean, sunflower, tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, banana, millet, oranges
Western Maize, sorghum, rice, millet, groundnut, faba bean, cassava

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Poor processing efficiency and hygiene
Mostly under performing All could look like this

22. Poor /lack of enabling environment
• Poor Policy & Institutional Framework:
▫ Livestock sector has been neglected by policy makers;
▫ Lack of coordination among multiple agencies;
▫ Multiplicity of licences & permits;
▫ Misapplied levies;
▫ Poor market infrastructure;
▫ Labour skills – poor productivity;
▫ Competition & consumer protection,
▫ Theft.
• Unfavourable investment climate

23. High beef prices compared to regional /
international markets
Zambia Kenya Namibia RSA Argentina Brazil UK USA
Live
weight 1.25 1.11 1.19 1.57 1.26 0.99 2.26 1.98
(US$/kg)
Dressed
weight 3.69 2.16 2.13 2.8 2.7 2.04 4.19 3.81
(US$/kg)
Source: FAOSTAT, year 2007, Zambia figure: consultants’ calculation
Competitive in live weight, especially from traditional farmers
(US$1.25/kg), but uncompetitive in dressed weight. High beef prices
result from low productivity system with high costs. High prices limit
market growth, cannot export
22

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Competition limited but growing
• The commercial subsector is vertically integrated
/monopolistic;
• Market concentration, integration are barriers to
entry of others (emergent, traditional producers);
• Weak supply linkages with farmers;
• Few independent abattoirs;
This is changing as a result of growing markets
(local and SADC)
• Competition increasing: new entrants gaining market share
and exerting competitive pressure on the dominant players;
• More independent abattoirs close to the traditional
production sites;
• Demand from the emerging economies of neighboring
countries such as Angola and DR of Congo and others.

25. Results (priority needs):
Better business models featuring:
• Availability of competitive Inputs:
▫ Health , husbandry, feeds, breeds and extension
▫ Transport, rural finance, rural power and energy
• Maximized opportunities to increase off-take,
productivity and investment;
• Enhanced efficiency along the chain (feedlots,
abattoirs, SPS measures and compliance,
communication, market access);
• Improved policy, institutional framework conditions
that encourage effective public/private partnerships,
and enhance economic growth.

26. A final note
• VCA is a powerful analytical tool not constrained by
assumptions or strict methodology, nor it has to be
only quantitative.
• Could be of use to livestock industry that
combines profit seeking commercial with livelihoods
based traditional systems if it is able to:
▫ capture the needs and aspirations of most players;
▫ ensure environmental health; and
▫ stimulate policy and legal frameworks that enhance
competitiveness while contributing rapidly to rural
poverty reduction.

27. Thank you