KEY LEARNING POINTS
Know the context: The context is an
integral component of the market
system that the facilitator intends to
enhance and encompasses a wide
range of factors that include socio-
cultural norms, traditions, and
expectations, standard business
practices and procedures, political and
regulatory environment and language.
Do not play a direct role in the
market: The facilitator has a
development agenda whose role is to
support service delivery by developing
a vibrant, competitive market.
Facilitators should disappear as the
market develops and suppliers or
other permanent market actors take
over its functions. In contrast, the
supplier is a commercially oriented
market player whose role is to offer
services. It is important that the
facilitator does not undermine private
suppliers and directly provide the
services - however a facilitator may
test market a service or aim to
demonstrate the commercial viability
of a service by providing it for a limited
period with a clear exit strategy.
Address critical market constraints:
KDSCP determined that the raw milk
market was subject to price reductions
and was generally less favorable for
small-scale farmers and farmer
groups, and focused on expanding the
processed milk market, diversifying
raw milk markets and reinforcing the
importance of clear supply contracts
with processors - to ensure secure
rewards and improved consumer
safety.
Think deeply about where you will
intervene: Choose to work in areas
where they are fewer players. Milk
shed mapping was imperative for
KDSCP as the dairy sector in Kenya is
well funded and the program was keen
to identify exactly where to work and
with whom. In addition understanding
and coordination among a myriad of
development actors is often difficult
when different methodologies are at
play.
Share costs by dividing activities:
Facilitators perform much of the
service development and testing, and
suppliers provide standard services on
a regular basis. Providers become
expert at serving small enterprises and
facilitators specialize in negotiating
and managing funds and developing
supplier capacity.
Facilitate the formation of strategic
public-private alliances: Foster
dialogue and negotiations between,
leading dairy processors, SBOs,
financial service providers, input and
service providers, local authorities and
development partners to build
sustainable milk sheds.
Identify environmental concerns: In
order to mitigate against potential
negative environmental impacts of
activities and ensure compliance with
USAID regulations, KDSCP completed
revising the Environmental
Examinations and Pesticide Evaluation
Report and Safer Use Action Plans
(PERSUAP). Screen proposed
activities to identify potential
environmental considerations before
implementation.
Get the right team balance: The
program was highly human resource
dependent. As a market development
project, the skill set of the team is critical.
At managerial level it is essential to have
strong private sector development and
business development services
grounding.
Encourage joint action: Cooperative
unions and federations that unite small
farmer groups/milk bulking centers into
bigger groupings and business
organizations greatly improve farmers‘
terms of trade, bargaining power and
eases resource mobilization for
investment in embedded service
provision.
Develop appropriate prices and
payment mechanisms for services:
Prices tend to favor users more as
service markets become more
competitive and when small enterprises
have bargaining power therefore
facilitators should aim to develop
competitive markets over the long term.
Facilitators may need to: lessen users
distrust of service providers, increase
users understanding of how services
add value to products, and promote a
culture of payment for intangible
services. Facilitators may need to:
increase providers‘ capacities to price
services logically, fairly, and consistently;
explain to consumers how services are
priced to increase trust; and develop
payment options with input from client
enterprises.
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