Building Pro-poor Value Chains: Experiences from Rural India

Abstract

In spite of the early success of Verghese Kurien in building pro-poor dairy value chains in India during the 1940s, this strategy for strengthening rural livelihoods remained largely under-utilised until recently. During the past two decades, several social entrepreneurs/developmental agencies have successfully carried out pro-poor value chain interventions (PVCIs) in a wide range of sub-sectors. The article examines the strategies deployed in six such PVCIs, culminating in the development of a typology of strategies. The typology includes strategies for working with existing value chains (reviving, reconstructing, leveraging) as well as for creating new value chains (linking distant consumers and marginal producers through fair-trade channels, creating networks of decentralised value chains). The typology is suggestive of what works best under different situations. Also included is a discussion on building appropriate social capital for PVCIs, which is critical for the success and sustainability of such interventions.