Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. PRODEL budget cuts required time to realign activities and postpone the implementation of certain activities and investments financed through the Enterprise Partnership Fund. The team made every effort to minimize delays. ANNEX 1 Outstanding Achievements in Value Chain Development Since the start of PRODEL, several anchor firms and producer organizations have gone above and beyond their planned activities, paving the way for sustainable economic development in the value chain and in their communities. The PRODEL team wished to publicly recognize at the Monterrey Technological Institute graduation ceremony these achievements that were particularly innovative, replicable, had a significant impact on producers, or were socially responsible. Awards were given to four beneficiary groups in the areas of vertical linkages, support services, innovation and productivity. Vertical Linkages - ESCOFFEE Prior to its involvement with PRODEL, ESCOFFEE had developed a contractual relationship with its producers, and the affiliation was not solely based on a commercial arrangement but included additional benefits to producers such as company-provided organic fertilizer. In addition, ESCOFFEE has adopted as part of its branding strategy, a corporate image that focused on the link from farmer to market. XXXXXX strengthened this connection that ESCOFFEE had previously initiated. Through the Enterprise Partnership Fund, XXXXXX provided producers linked to ESCOFFEE with technical assistance in best practices for coffee maintenance and post-harvest production techniques, expanded nursery capacity at the farm level, provided pruning implements, and helped improve product quality and volumes through the purchase of depulping equipment. The PRODEL team sees ESCOFFEE as a company that not only sells specialty coffees in markets like Ecuador and the United States, but as a committed and socially responsible institution that has created a win-win connection at every link along its value chain. This synergy among the actors increases competitiveness and validates the PRODEL value chain methodology. ESCOFFEE has distinguished itself through tours that bring end market buyers and stakeholders to Ecuador to visit the coffee farms and experience firsthand the production processes in the field. These farm visits on behalf of industry representatives create loyalty and fidelity to the ESCOFFEE brand and its international image. ESCOFFEE uses this socially responsible image to benefit its pro...
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. In several of the anchor firms there is a lack of formal accounting procedures that has made it difficult to obtain the information needed to monitor the indicators for the firm. PRODEL team members have identified the accounting area for these anchor firms as an item to be funded through the EPF. Turnover in the anchor firms has required extra time and effort on behalf of the PRODEL staff to explain the program to new staff and board members. This has been accomplished in coordination with the local business development advisers and local field technical training personnel.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. A total of eight waivers were submitted to USAID during this 1st quarter of FY 2009 after a rigorous due diligence process to search for the Enterprise Development Fund items in the U.S. market. PRODEL needs USAID approval for these waivers to be able to move forward with the program’s implementation and meet the goals of the program within its short time frame.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. During the first quarter of FY 2009, PRODEL lost its local business adviser from the Esmeraldas province. Immediately upon notification of his resignation, the PRODEL team worked quickly to advertise, interview and hire a highly qualified replacement to minimize any delays in implementation. Large numbers of Ecuadorian IRS employees were let go during this past quarter resulting in further delays to register the ACDI/VOCA PRODEL program for VAT recovery. The PRODEL office in Quito was informed that it should receive an official letter regarding this status before the end of January 2009. All paperwork and steps to affect this registration have been carried out and verbally accepted by the Ecuadorian IRS. The PRODEL office has continued to record all VAT payments through the established IRS online system and expects that reimbursement will be carried out upon receipt of the signed document from the IRS. Due to several turnovers in key positions within CARE Ecuador, the business environment improvement component of PRODEL lagged behind the implementation of the other program components. With the arrival of a new CARE director in Ecuador and the naming of a new direct counterpart within CARE for the PRODEL program, the Municipal Strengthening and Providing Municipal Services to Businesses components really got into full swing during the 1st quarter of FY 2009.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. During the 4th quarter, XXXXXX faced two unanticipated resignations of local business advisors. Immediately upon notification of these resignations, the PRODEL Program Manager worked quickly to advertise, interview and hire new staff to minimize any delays in implementation.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. The main challenge encountered this quarter in the implementation of the business management model has been the national elections which made it difficult to carry out actions to ensure continuity and political validation of the model. As a result, the PRODEL CARE team met with both the current municipal mayor and staff as well as began to meet with newly elected municipal representatives to ensure dissemination of the model to the appropriate stakeholders. In addition, as a result of a budget cut to the program some of the municipal strengthening technical assistance activities planned were suspended. The cut to this PRODEL component was partially based on findings that much of the business registration process within the municipality takes place outside of the municipal offices in other governmental entities, for example.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. The principal difficulties encountered by participating anchor firms during this past quarter consisted primarily of ongoing challenges that face many small enterprises in Ecuador and around the world. PRODEL anchor firms face high fixed costs in their businesses, and lack sufficient access to capital, technology and markets. Through the PRODEL Enterprise Partnership Fund, the firms are making efforts to strengthen their management practices as well as their relationships with producers in an effort to rise above these limitations. As a result of the implementation of the business plans and the Enterprise Partnership Fund (EPF), there have been significant advances during this quarter in capacity development, association and partnership building, improved infrastructure for processing products, the search for credit through financial institutions, the implementation of quality controls and good manufacturing practices, to name a few. In terms of developing markets, several of the participating firms have tried to penetrate the domestic market in order to sell their products through supermarket chains, or improve inventory rotation in the case of companies which already had a relationship with these chains; nevertheless, in general they have found that the bargaining conditions through these sales channels are disadvantageous, particularly in terms of sales margins and payment terms. As a result, these firms have had to rethink their objectives and turn to additional strategies to penetrate into new markets and more profitable products that can be differentiated. For example, PRODEL anchor firms have sought horizontal linkages for commercialization strategies through alternative distributors and door-to-door sales. In addition, the lack of competitive productivity levels has impeded some PRODEL anchor firms from taking advantage of emerging market opportunities. A very positive result is that anchor firms have identified the need to join forces to meet the demand. One clear example of this is the case of Gruppo Xxxxxxx who negotiated the sale of 200 tons of cacao during a sales trip to Europe co-financed through the EPF. Upon their return to Ecuador, Gruppo Xxxxxxx’ representatives contacted fellow cacao sector PRODEL anchor firms to create horizontal linkages to meet the required volumes for this important sale.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. Perhaps the main challenge faced by Ecuadorian producers to greater productivity levels is the dearth of technological development in terms of crop management, quality and the development of healthy, productive and disease resistant plant material at the farm level. On the whole, farmers lack access to disease and pest resistant vegetative material that can survive the adverse climate conditions often experienced in Ecuador. As a result, Ecuadorian producers regularly lose significant crop amounts to weather-related phenomena and pests. In an effort to improve crop productivity, anchor firms like APROCA have teamed with local institutions like the Ecuadorian Institute for Agricultural Production (INIAP) and MAGAP to gain access to improved plant material that will help improve crop quality at the farm level.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. The elections and their results released at the end of May delayed work in this component until June 2009. For the most part, the strategy for establishing contacts with local municipal officials depended on the results of the elections. With the election results announced and new officials taking office in August, the PRODEL Management Model for can be socialized and validated at the municipal level.
Challenges Encountered and Alternatives Employed. The CABP team has hit the ground running on this project and due to its relatively short time frame, has felt the need to divide responsibilities between the Certification and Pest Control coordinators early on in the implementation process. XXXXXX chose experienced coordinators with direct hands on experience in the area of influence for the project. This has allowed for each coordinator to develop activities in coordination with one another but on an individual basis in the field.
