Facilitating pro-poor market chain innovation: An assessment of the participatory market chain approach in Uganda

The Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) was developed by the Papa Andina Regional Initiative of the International Potato Center (CIP) to improve the competitiveness of potato market chains and small potato producers in the Andean region of South America. Beginning in 2005, CIP and Papa Andina partnered with the Regional Potato and Sweetpotato Improvement Network in Eastern and Central Africa (PRAPACE) and several local research and development (R&D) organizations to introduce the approach into Uganda and apply it in the commodity chains for potatoes, sweetpotatoes, and vegetables. The study reported on here was conducted to assess the process of introducing the PMCA into Uganda and the results to date, to assess the prospects for future use of the PMCA in Uganda and elsewhere in the region, and to identify essential elements of a strategy for introducing the PMCA into new settings. The overall conclusion is that the PMCA has proven effective in Uganda for strengthening innovation capacity and for developing market chain innovations that benefit small farmers as well as other market chain actors. Valuable capacities for innovation have been developed, particularly in the realms of knowledge, attitudes, skills, and social capital. These new capacities are potentially valuable assets for stimulating future innovations in market chains in Uganda or in other countries of the region. The application and results of the PMCA to date have stimulated considerable interest in the approach in Ugandan R&D organizations, in policy circles, and among those market chain actors who have participated in or heard about the work. Yet, follow-up work is needed to ensure that prototype innovations are adequately refined and to consolidate the multi-stakeholder platforms and social capital created. Based on the experiences assessed, it is concluded that the PMCA has potential value as a means to stimulate pro-poor innovation in Uganda and in other countries of the region. Key elements of a strategy for introducing the PMCA into new settings are identified.