Having recently spent lot of time scouring the INTERNET I have been struck by the focus that there is now on two issues that impact on development in Africa – Biofuels and BOP enterprise models.
Biofuels
As Europe and the USA see the effect expanding refining is having on their agriculture and understand the overall efficiencies there seems to be a move towards looking at sourcing inputs from countries with more tropical climates where higher agricultural production efficiencies are possible. This in turn means that land, hopefully not that currently used for feeding ourselves, is cultivated – possibly clearing forests (palm oil), risking the spread of alien species (jatropha) or using other resources (eg sugar irrigation) on behalf of those countries who can’t achieve efficiencies make production economically sustainable.
BOP
Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) is an approach/model based on a view advanced by CJ Prahad that the 4 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day, are ignored by multinationals, although in sum they represent a large market. He, therefore, promoted the opportunity offered by this market, improving the supply to the poor and spinning off other opportunities through the supply chain.
Others have challenged this approach questioning whether the market is large enough to interest multinationals and proposing instead that efforts at alleviating poverty should be based on establishing business in or partnerships with enterprises at he bottom of the pyramid.
Both of these of course impact on food processing, in particular when considering it as a development tool for Africa. I will therefore blog on them as much as personal learning (BOP) and staying abreast excercises at www.agribusiness.wordpress.com and maybe http://digivu2nd.blogspot.com/
I would be very interested to get your ideas, concerns and feedback on these issues.
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