Participatory market

chain approach (PMCA) METHODOLOGIES

TO FOSTER PRO-POOR
I N N O VAT I O N

PMCA stimulates innovation and generates business opportunities

that benefit small farmers. This participatory process involves
different market chain actors, including small farmers and the
business sector, as well as research and development (R&D)
institutions, agricultural service providers and representatives
from the gastronomy sector.

How does it work?

PMCA uses a carefully structured participatory process focused on market demand,
guided by a facilitator, and organized around three phases (diagnosis, analysis of
opportunities and development of innovations). Together, the different market chain
actors analyze new business ideas and innovative ways to implement them. The PMCA
process focuses on building trust among the different actors and fostering effective
public-private partnerships. PMCA also provides R&D institutions
with an opportunity to capture research demands from farmers
and other market chain actors.

PMCA: triggering innovation and building trust

Phase 1: Diagnosis Participants R&D institutions

X

Objective: Understand market

O

chain actors’ activities, interests,

Interest Leadership
R

problems and ideas.

P

Phase 2: Analysis of opportunities

P

Objective: Analyze joint business

A

Trust Facilitation
opportunities in thematic groups.
R

Phase 3: Development of
A

innovations Collaboration Backstopping

E

Objective: Develop
Y

demand-oriented new products,

technologies
tech ies and institutions in a
technologie
1

participatory
atory way.
participa
cipato
 KeyReadings
• Collective Action for Market
Chain Innovation in the
How was PMCA used? Perú: Native Potato
Andes.
PMCA was originally developed and applied to the potato FONTAGRO / IDB
Food Policy 34, 31-38. 2009.
Perú: Coffee
market chain in the Andes by Papa Andina and its partners. CAMBIO ANDINO / DFID Devaux A. et al.
Colombia: Ñame
It has subsequently been extended to other market chains CAMBIO ANDINO
• The Participatory Market
such as coffee, milk and fruit in the Andes, and to sweet Bolivia: Milk
CAMBIO ANDINO Chain Approach: Stimulat-
potato and vegetable market chains in Africa and Asia. Perú: Native Potato ing pro-poor market-chain
FONTAGRO / IDB

Bolivia: Native Potato

innovation.
Bolivia: Native Potato
Bolivia: Potato - Chuño
CAMBIO ANDINO
ILAC Brief 21. 2008. Bernet T.
SDC

PMCA in the 1st PMCA in

PROINPA / SDC et al.
Perú: Potato Perú: Native Potato
Andean region INCOPA / SDC INCOPA / SDC Replications with other partners
• T’ikapapa: Linking Urban
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Consumers and Small-Scale
PMCA in other contexts Uganda: Potato
PRAPACE / DFID Indonesia: Andean Producers with
and other products Potato
Uganda: Sweetpotato and vegetables
CIP-SEAsia Potato Biodiversity.
/ ACIAR
PRAPACE / DFID
International Potato Center.
POTATOES Laos: Potato
OTHER PRODUCTS CIP-SEAsia / HELVETAS (Not concluded) 2008. Ordinola M. et al.

Results
Tools:
• Participatory Market Chain
PMCA generates pro-poor, demand-oriented innovations of three types: Approach (PMCA) –User
• Commercial innovations: new products or marketing Guide.
concepts that offer a comparative advantage to small International Potato Center.
farmers. 2006. Bernet T. et al. (Eds).
Examples: gourmet, selected native potatoes;
naturally-colored chips; selected and bagged chuño and
tunta (potato product dehydrated through a traditional
method in the highlands).

• Technological innovations: market opportunities

generated by the application of PMCA have created
demand for research in the areas of production and
post-harvest management.
Examples: organic alternative for sprout control,
aeroponics for production of potato seeds, good
processing practices for tunta, postharvest machines for • Enfoque Participativo de
chuño. Cadenas Productivas
(EPCP) – Guía para
capacitadores.
• Institutional innovations: organizations or rules that favor Centro Internacional de
competitiveness of the sector and empower small farmers. la Papa. 2008. Antezana I.
Examples: stakeholder platforms (see flyer), technical et al. (Eds).
quality standards for production of chuño and tunta.

Awards for innovation

The result of a PMCA conducted in 2004 in Peru,
“T’ikapapa” is an innovative marketing concept that
enabled
. High Andean farmers to sell their native potato
production in supermarkets for the first time. T’ikapapa
was awarded four prizes, including the United Nations’
SEED Award and BBC, Newsweek and Shell’s World
Challenge in 2007.
Contact
Papa Andina
cip-pandina@cgiar.org
P A P A A N D I N A w w w. p a p a n d i n a . o rg