| Study conclusions | |
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The study concludes that processing potentially can contribute to rural development and to the reduction in poverty. However, there is a need for systematic and sustained investment in the business services environment accessible to rural populations and in the management capacity of potential micro and small business operators. 
Conclusions based on 9 country studies French version
Spanish versionProcessing is not an easy solution to problems of low price and seasonal gluts or market access as indicates the following conclusions: - Currently processing capacity is limited and therefore not set up to absorb large seasonal overproduction. Short term increases in amount of production which is processed are not likely. Many of the products based on banana and plantain are perishable and cannot easily be stored for later use. From the point of view of the processors, the more limiting problem is the lack of raw material and high prices in certain seasons of the year; - Processing businesses pay the market price or lower. When plantain or banana prices increase too much, processors suspend their processing lines rather than pass short term price fluctuations on to the consumers of their products. In very few cases, farmers processed bananas or plantains to capture added value; - Many of the processed foods are consumed by local mass markets for their low cost and easy availability. This market does not appear to have much potential for expansion. There is growing middle class market with increasing disposable income for pre-processed foods and innovative snack foods, but in most of the nine countries, this growth is still limited. In most countries local contacts spoke of requests for processed products for export, but the volumes and the quality requested were usually beyond the production capacity for raw materials and beyond the managerial and service capacity of most of the countries. - Musa processing is extremely important to thousands of micro-enterprises from marginal households as a livelihood strategy for survival. Very few of these businesses grow from micro to small businesses. - Owners and operators of micro, small and medium businesses need additional skills and resources to access services and information which would allow them to resolve problems in their processing and marketing and to identify and take advantage of opportunities for new products or markets. This problem is aggravated by the fact that most service providers are not easily accessible to poor, marginal or rural households. |
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