NTFP value chains and incentives for sustainable harvesting 

Dr Jenny Wong

Value chain analysis

Part of ‘new institutional analysis’ a branch of economics that argues that markets cannot be understood simply in terms of prices

= the full range of activities required to bring a product from the producer to the consumer, emphasising the value that is realized and how it is communicated

CEPFOR project - Marshall, Rushton, Schreckenberg et al. 2006

The objectives of value chain analysis are to:

• Identify the main actors or organizations in the commercialization chain from the input provider to the collector right through to the final consumer. Identify their specific activities.

• Identify the different routes to commercialize the NTFP, which could be what currently exists and what potentially is available or could be developed.

• Assess how well the marketing chain is working.

Developing a value chain analysis

• Description• Identify important routes and actors• Assess profitability, power and institutional

environment of key actors

Analysis of value chain

• Equity• Governance• Sustainability (supply logistics)

Data requirements

• Entrepreneur-level research (livelihood assets)

• Enterprise budget• Market analyses

FRP R8305 Developing biometric sampling systems and optimal harvesting methods for medicinal tree bark in

southern Africa

Market networks for medicinal bark in southern Africa

Engagement with actors in medicinal plant supply chain

• Harvesters• Export / importers • Traders / Wholesalers• Herbalists• Patients

Methodology

• 10-20 min questionnaire of market traders• Min 30 from each site n = 210 • Malawi – Southern Region • Zambia – Copperbelt Province• RSA – Johannesburg market• RSA – Durban herb market• Mozambique – Maputo market

RSA urban herb marketsJohannesburg• 30% of traders indicated

that some of the bark was harvested outside South Africa – primarily Mozambique

• 53% reported sales to foreign customers –mainly patients and herbalists from Swaziland

Durban• 67% of traders indicated

some of the bark was harvested outside SA –primarily Mozambique, Swaziland and Malawi

• 43% sold to foreign customers – mainly from Mozambique

Durban herb market

Mozambique ‐ Xipamanine

• 19% traders sourced from South Africa• 15% sold to South Africans• Average distance to harvest sites ~ 197

km

Trader at Malawi/Zimbabwe border

Malawi – Southern Region

• 80% traders harvest what they sell• 68% return to home district to collect• Average distance to harvest site ~8 hrs

drive• 40% sourcing from Mozambique• 56% selling to South Africans

Wholesaler in Malawi

Zambia ‐ Copperbelt

• 95% traders are migrants• Most material collected locally (< 4 hrs

drive)• 30% reported sourcing from DRC• 41% sold to DRC• Links to Senegal & Uganda

Retail (TMP) Zambia

Johannesburg MaputoJohannesburg Maputo

Trade patterns derived from a market survey in Durban, Johannesburg, Maputo, southern Malawi and Copperbelt Province of Zambia (2005). Purple internal trade, red cross-border trade

KwaZulu-Natal

ZimbabweMalawi

Mozambique

Swaziland

Eastern Cape

Unidentified

Herb trade in Southern Africa

Trade-resource relationships in southern AfricaSubsistence use – plants collected and used within walking distance from the forest as and when needed. Common in rural communities, close to forests but also in urban areas where nearby forests are heavily exploited.

Herbalists collecting for their own practice – and perhaps sharing or informally trading among their peers.

Itinerant wholesalers – traders that place orders for large quantities of herbs with collectors close to forests which are then sold on. Quantities involved are large (pickup loads) and larger traders in Malawi tend to have harvesting licenses and phytosanitary certificates. Much destined for export from the continent.

Wholesale markets – traders based in large, urban wholesale markets who source their wares in a variety of ways: themselves or to order, from specialists collectors, from other traders etc.. In Durban market the average trader sells 10+ 50 kg-size bags per month of bark.

Typology of international trade

• Herbalists carrying for patient use• To supply expatriates• Reputation of specific sources• Resource depletion closer to market• Established ex-Africa trade• Opportunistic ex-Africa export• Speculative ex-Africa export

Points of intervention

Zambia – THPAZMalawi – Forestry and customs officialsSouth Africa – TradersMozambique – ?

Thank you!