This week, the LIVES project (Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders) held a ‘Commodity Value Chain Development Inception Workshop in Addis Ababa.
ILRI scientist Berhanu Gebremedhin introduced this value chain approach to development. He explained why a system perspective to value chain development is crucial. A value system, he said, is composed of value chain actors and their functions, the business support services and the institutional and policy environment in which they operate. Value chain development should build on a vision of value chain development – in this case, of smallholders -to produce a development strategy and operational plan.
The Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project contributes to enhanced income and gender equitable wealth creation for smallholders and other value chain actors in Ethiopia through increased and sustained market off-take of high value livestock and irrigated crop commodities.
LIVES is jointly implemented by by ILRI (the International Livestock Research Institute), IWMI (the International Water Management Institute), the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural research (EIAR), the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and regional Bureaus of Agriculture, Livestock Development Agencies, Agricultural Research Institutes and other development projects.
