-Summary:

 

  • Background and rationale: 

Recently, the exploration of agri-food value chains has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance household livelihoods and food security. These value chains represent complex systems involving a network of interconnected and mutually dependent actors. Understanding the dynamics of agri-food value chains is crucial for fostering collaboration among these actors. However, despite increased academic interest, there is a notable gap in understanding how the "intermediate" segments of these chains contribute to connecting producers and consumers. This gap is partly due to a lack of sufficient data on the impact of these intermediate segments on household food security. Furthermore, the mechanisms of price transmission along the value chain also require further examination to fully understand and address the challenges within Ethiopia's food system.

  • Objective:
  • To Examine the Agri-Food value chain (AFVC): Patterns, trends, and policy options by investigating
  • the role of "intermediate" segments of food value chain on food security of households
  • the price transmission mechanism along the value chain
  • the effect of a higher food prices in urban dwellers
  • how a policy option affects Agri-Food value chain and control inflation such as :
  1. how an import quota affects the AFVC at the time of a climatic shock and given the midstream concentration of the AFVC
  2. How policies affecting consumer prices translate to producer prices given midstream concentration.

 

  • Main methods : 

The study uses both primary and secondary data. For the primary data, a survey will be conducted with key players in certain value chains, with the help of contacts provided by local FAO offices. The secondary data source incudes the data set previously collected.
FAO partnership for access to value chains stakeholders and field experts 
Four student internships from (Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia and France), paired in two teams (in Ethiopia and Côte d'Ivoire, respectively). Selected students are: Ikram Osrhir (Economics and Africa GP, UB), Hugo Malo (Economics and Africa GP, UB), Alemnesh Gebreselassie (PhD Candidate, Lecturer, Researcher, AAU), Brou Kouassi George (Geographer - Cartographer, UFHB) and Nyameke Tano Marcelle (Master Bio Technologie Agro-Alimentaire, UFHB).
A PhD student, Lina Abdelfattah will investigate the potential of the approach in Sudan, in partnership with FAO.