Smallholder value chains as complex adaptive systems: a conceptual framework

Orr, Alastair; Donovan, Jason; Stoian, Dietmar

doi:10.1108/jadee-03-2017-0031

Cited by 54 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…HQCF value chains in Nigeria special issue (Orr et al, 2018). This framework identified seven common properties, all of which are relevant for the analysis of smallholder value chains.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping, adapting and reserving the right to play

Lamboll

Martin

Sanni

et al. 2018

JADEE

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explain why the high quality cassava flour (HQCF) value chain in Nigeria has not performed as well as expected. The specific objectives are to: analyse important sources of uncertainty influencing HQCF value chains; explore stakeholders' strategies to respond to uncertainty; and highlight the implications of different adaptation strategies for equity and the environment in the development of the value chain.Design/methodology/approach -The authors used a conceptual framework based on complex adaptive systems to analyse the slow development of the value chain for HQCF in Nigeria, with a specific focus on how key stakeholders have adapted to uncertainty. The paper is based on information from secondary sources and grey literature. In particular, the authors have drawn heavily on project documents of the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa project (2008 to present), which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and on the authors' experience with this project. Findings -Policy changes; demand and supply of HQCF; availability and price of cassava roots; supply and cost of energy are major sources of uncertainty in the chain. Researchers and government have shaped the chain through technology development and policy initiatives. Farmers adapted by selling cassava to rival chains, while processors adapted by switching to rival cassava products, reducing energy costs and vertical integration. However, with uncertainties in HQCF supply, the milling industry has reserved the right to play. Vertical integration offers millers a potential solution to uncertainty in HQCF supply, but raises questions about social and environmental outcomes in the chain.Research limitations/implications -The use of the framework of complex adaptive systems helped to explain the development of the HQCF value chain in Nigeria. The authors identified sources of uncertainty that have been pivotal in restricting value chain development, including changes in policy environment, the demand for and supply of HQCF, the availability and price of cassava roots, and the availability and cost of energy for flour ...

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“…HQCF value chains in Nigeria special issue (Orr et al, 2018). This framework identified seven common properties, all of which are relevant for the analysis of smallholder value chains.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping, adapting and reserving the right to play

Lamboll

Martin

Sanni

et al. 2018

JADEE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Given the complexity in which value chains operate in developing countries (Orr, Donovan, & Stoian, ), it is unlikely that a linear causal pathway from the perspective of a single certification system can reasonably address the various factors that influence outcomes for farmers and businesses. The extent to which other actors (e.g., government agencies, NGOs, and downstream businesses partners), processes (e.g., strengthening environmental and labor laws in producing countries), and external events (e.g., changes in local or international prices and growing conditions) shape outcomes require explicit consideration.…”

Section: Research Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple certification uptake by coffee businesses: Evidence of functions and benefits from Central America

2019

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This article examines why and how nine coffee businesses in Central America engaged with multiple certification systems and the related functions and benefits. The businesses implemented, on average, four systems. Certification, in general, strengthened their negotiation position vis‐à‐vis exporters and international buyers, whereas multiple certification reduced the risks inherent in their reliance on any one certification, allowing businesses to sell as much coffee as possible at a relatively higher price. However, commitments to the certification's underlying goals were tenuous: Businesses engaged a subgroup of their supplier base in any one label, and coffee buyers purchased relatively small volumes of certified coffees, at times, conditioned on access to larger volumes of noncertified coffees. Although certification facilitated capacity upgrading, in many cases, the changes were minor and might have taken place without certification. Results suggest that multiple certification helps sustain small‐scale coffee exporters but dampen expectations that certification will drive long‐term systemic change in the sector. We conclude with recommendations for certification agencies and others that seek to support coffee businesses to expand their engagement in certified coffee markets.

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“…Thus, the decision to hike the excise duty on sorghum beer policy was not something like rainfall, over which agents had no control, but was the result of a process of negotiation between different actors in the value chain. Hence, we should not see shocks as something external to the value chain, but also as generated from within the value chain, by uncertainty, by technological change, and also by "interacting agents" whose individual behavior can have unpredictable results for the system as a whole (Orr et al, 2018). Again, complex systems are characterized by sudden changes, caused by feedback loops, where the system lurches suddenly to a new equilibrium (Orr et al, 2018).…”

Section: Sudden and Endogenous Shocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The general objective of this paper is to answer these questions using a conceptual framework based on complex adaptive systems (Orr et al, 2018). Specifically, we apply four of the common properties of this framework.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Killing the goose? The value chain for sorghum beer in Kenya

Orr

2018

JADEE

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The decision by the Government of Kenya in 2013 to increase tax revenue by imposing excise duty of 50 percent on sorghum beer resulted in economic losses for smallholders, the brewery, and the government itself because it effectively killed the value chain. In 2015, the government reversed the policy decision and reduced excise duty to 10 percent. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of this policy decision on the value chain, adaptation by growers and the brewery, and the rationale for this policy change and its reversal. Design/methodology/approach -The author analyzes this episode using a conceptual framework derived from complex adaptive systems, focusing on four properties of such systems: sudden, endogenous shocks, interacting agents, and adaptation. Findings -The author shows how the nature of politics in Kenya exposed the value chain to endogenous shocks as the result of conflicts between interacting agents, where smallholder farmer organizations were important for successful adaptation. Conflicts between development and political objectives in neo-patrimonial states are sources of complexity and uncertainty in smallholder value chains.Research limitations/implications -Complex adaptive systems proved a useful framework to understand decision making by government and business actors in the value chain. Originality/value -The paper applies a novel conceptual framework to the analysis of an important value chain in Kenya.

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Smallholder value chains as complex adaptive systems: a conceptual framework

Cited by 54 publications

References 33 publications

Shaping, adapting and reserving the right to play

Shaping, adapting and reserving the right to play

Multiple certification uptake by coffee businesses: Evidence of functions and benefits from Central America

Killing the goose? The value chain for sorghum beer in Kenya

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