Agriculture
Case studies in enterprise development in post-conflict situations : Bosnia-Philippines-Afghanistan
Enterprise development support activities in post-conflict countries
Authors:
J. Stokes
Publisher:
US Agency for International Development , 2008
The research addresses three case studies, Vegafruit in Bosnia, growth with equity in Mindanao -Philippines and an IFC project in Afghanistan.
Bosnia BGI case Study (for buyer-supplier and/or post-conflict) 'Vegafruit'.
In the midst of the Balkan War, two Bosnian Muslim refugees from the Republic of Srpska started and built a fruit processing company, Vegafruit. The company combined veteran management, fiscal responsibility, a risk management strategy that included local sourcing, and a desire to found an up-market export-oriented brand. It did all this while employing both internally displaced peoples and buying from growers on the other side of a raw ethno-political divide. The company was an ideal candidate for USAID loans. The best lesson that USAID can take from the Vegafruit case is that good companies can manage their own supply-chain relationships even in a post-conflict environment. Rather than extend loans to companies in the hope that they will foster good buyer-supplier relationships, USAID can use existing supply-chain relationships as an indication that a business is well positioned to manage loans.
The Philippines, Mindanao, USAID growth with equity.
The Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program has been USAID’s principal activity in Mindanao since 1995. The Program’s objectives have been to accelerate economic growth in Mindanao and ensure that this growth benefits as many people as possible. The program concentrates effort in conflict-affected areas. USAID activities cover infrastructure development, education improvement, health and family planning services improvement, agribusiness and fisheries development, democracy promotion, former combatant reintegration, environmental protection and management, renewable energy development, public administration improvement, as well as other sectors. The main lesson learned from the program is: larger, transformational investment can act as a nucleus for the establishment or strengthening of SMEs.
Afghanistan: IFC PEP-MENA green raisin project.
In Afghanistan, an IFC project initiated in 2006 assisted green raisin farmers by introducing the latest drying techniques from neighbouring Iran, increasing productivity nearly three-fold. The project has three primary goals: 1) to introduce new production technologies through training; 2) to work directly with the traders to encourage efficiency and quality; and 3) to assist traders in better understanding and connecting to export markets. Lessons learned from the project is investing in upgraded processing capacities should be accompanied by expanded access to end markets with demand for the product; product diversification can mitigate risks; and innovative solutions working within the established cultural relationships are fundamental.
