Asia Landscape - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural value chains

VCB-N has launched a series of Webinars on the COVID crises to offer a platform for learning and exchange about the current situation. This is the summary of the webinar on impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural value chains by VCB Network.
Speakers:

1. Mr. Barua Kaushik, Country Director IFAD Cambodia & Mr. Fabrizio Bresciani, Regional Economist IFAD Rome - IFAD perspectives
2. Anirban Bhowmik, Country Director, Swisscontact, Bangladesh – the smallholder farmers and the informal sector perspectives in Bangladesh
3. Mr. Andrew Wilson, Regional Coordinator Market Systems, HELVETAS – The market perspective
4. Prof. Liu Yonggong, China Agricultural University (CAU)- The market perspective from China

Summary:

1. The COVID crisis does negatively impact households in three inter-connected areas i) food security ii) income and iii) investment ability. In rural areas, the down-fall of prices has diminished the investment ability thus working capital of smallholder farmers which will again affect the production thus income and broader food security in the mid-term. The decreased ability to invest in next season’s crops is further deteriorated by the insecurity about next season’s markets. Farmers are falling back on local food systems and traditional production and solidarity mechanisms to deal with the crisis.

2. IFAD is using Rural Poor Stimulus Facility having 4 main pillar: i) safeguarding access to inputs and basic access for production purposes ii) facilitating access to markets incl. support to logistics, storage etc. iii) targeted funds to assure access to services mainly through existing programmes and iv) funds to develop / disseminate digital services / tools to farmers. This will help actors to overcome both Income shocks and Asset shocks.

3. Upstream actors like traders and retailers saw their income flow diminishing with falling business volumes and are short of liquidity which hampers their ability to pre-finance inputs for smallholders. Ability to extend credit line to farmers will be reduced for next season as traders are getting hit.

4. Food production chain especially fish will face big trouble in Bangladesh. April and May are the peak season of stocking of fish and many smallholders are not going to stock due to poor transport, price and availability of inputs. Hatcheries are only able to supply at least 50% of their total production and struggling to keep these all fish fry in their limited area.

5. International value chains for non-perishables like the trade in food ingredients are less affected by the logistical complications. As their exists a 6 weeks lag between shipment and retail at destination markets the real impact on trade volumes is still unclear.

6. “Stress reveals the cracks” : Structural weakness of agriculture value chain related to access to finance along the chain (production and forward market linkages) has been exposed in the current food systems.

7. Policy Narrative- Fiscal and Non fiscal: Non fiscal interventions must focus on production support with timely supply of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Fiscal support must be given to the farmers to manage their debt and allow them to invest in future production cycles.

8. Technology based entrepreneurs are not enough and form minuscule part of supply chain. Investments should be balanced along the VC (farm-level, storage, processing, logistics, and market access) to avoid bottlenecks which can be a "time bomb" for commodity prices, and farmers' income in the end.

9. Responses at company level should typically include software (adapted procedures, regulations) as well as hard-ware (protective gear etc.).

10. Responses as applied in China might be difficult to duplicate in other countries that lack the mechanisms for direct support to producers or financial reserves to apply similar support measures.

Acumen Bootcamp - 7th Week Reflection

Part 0, 1, 2, 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 of Acumen virtual bootcamp series can be found here.

The topic of 7th session was on Adaptive Leadership. All organizations wants individuals to be invested in the rat race. This always shows better return of investment on the salary.  And we are also engaged in the dance of email, instant messages and meetings. But Reflecting in the midst of action is an age -old wisdom and really difficult to achieve.  The crux of the session was on reflection amid action and vice-versa.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Book by Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, and Ronald Heifetz was referred for detailed reading.  The best part in the summarized reading was ours Illusion of the Broken System: There is a myth that drives many change initiatives into the ground: that initiatives into the ground: that organization needs to change because it is broken. The reality is that any social system (including an organization) is the way it because people in that system (at least those individuals in that system (at least those individuals and factions with the most leverage) want and factions with the most leverage) want it that way. In sense, on the whole, it that way. In sense, on the whole, the system is working fine, even though it may appear to be “dysfunctional” in some respects to members, and outside observers, and even though it faces danger just over the horizon.

Adaptive leadership requires helping people to gain a clear perspective in midst of action and uncertainty; making sense of complex, often conflicting, signs and data; and sifting through what is most important, and shifting through what is most important, what is at stake, who will support and what is at stake, who will support and who will will resist change.

This transformation is based on “mapping the system” of stakeholders surrounding the challenge mobilizing key stakeholders. A leader has to mobilize resource, goals and transform the organization. Our focus is less about the “problem” and more about other people’s relationship to the problem, and how to engage them in narrowing the gap. This profound shift is done by leveraging leadership capital for excellence into pragmatic steps for the stakeholders.

The stakeholders are spread in the factions like yourself, authority, allies, opposition, causalities and troublemakers with each having their respective Values, Loyalties and Losses. The opinion inside an organization is different and conflict of interest has to be replaced into confluence of interest.

As an adaptive leader, I had not practiced much of the courageous belief in how things should be in the face of persistent problem. I can articulate ‘the gap’ that is a leadership challenge in the development sector. Its about the decay of grant based work and move towards building a service based model. I will use the tool to analyze the problem and relationship of stakeholders in my organization. Hoping the process to be a fascinating reflection on the ways individuals perceive their own experiences but how men and women in particular might forecast the scenario. In the end, I will develop some capability of adjusting to the requirements of different perspectives and transformation agenda.

Acumen Bootcamp - 6th Week Reflection

Part 0, 1, 2, 3 , 4 and 5 of Acumen virtual bootcamp series can be found here.

I approached our readings 14 pages from ‘On Identity by Amin Malouf with great eagerness. Amin Maalouf born in Beirut, is a prolific writer of fiction, non-fiction and operatic librettos. In 2010 he received the Prince of Asturias Aware for Literature. The discussion was focusing on the issue of identity on a very basic level.

The most marketable skill in leaders is the ability to abandon own identity and slip into someone else's. Most of the people have the privilege to associate with identities that can give them access to new opportunities through network only. This was the aspect that was visible in the group. Whatever people understand and enjoy in human products instantly becomes theirs, wherever they might have their origin. This is true in most of the cases.

I stepped up and shared the experience that is related to imposed identities connected with stereotypes. Stereotyping and malign propaganda always led to the labeling of the person under an identity. An individual trapped in an limited identity will be exploited by authoritative state or community politics. Such imposed identities puts constraint on the individual's open interaction with another individual belonging to different belief system. The dilemma of choosing between integration and emigration from mainstream identity & picking either freedom or security are most tough of all decisions for an individual. There is huge relation between identity, tolerance and violence. Due to shortage of time and lack of depth in the panel, the relation wasn't explored in the meeting. There is a huge topic of identity politics and social justice movements that can be discussed in a class of sociology or political science. I will recommend readers to go through Identity and Violence work by Amartya Sen for a deep dive.

Assignment: An assignment was given quite similar to privilege walk.  We have to design a flower petals with each petal representing a factor of influence in society. It is good incubation exercise for individuals who have never wandered into the areas of humanities and social science.

Digital Well Being

“The struggle of man against social media is the struggle of concentration against distraction.”

Do you know ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)? I have most of the signs of this disorder that has increased from the last few years. But, I am slowly turning the tides by changing the micro habits and following simple rules.

1. Know about Cal Newport’s prescriptions for creating 90 minute slots\ for solid, uninterrupted work. Practice this by increasing gradually from 60 - 150 Minutes. While working on the desktop, allocate specific start and end time of the task and close all other windows.

2. Uninstall LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tweeter from the smart phone. Login and Logout each time from the social media application on the desktop. This will lower the craving to stay connected all the time.

3. Do Not Disturb Mode: This starts by disabling WhatsApp/Telegram and text message notifications and sound. In the peak hours of work, there is need to avoid incoming calls too.

4. Stop refreshing Inbox for constantly new emails. Plan your working hours with meetings, lunch, tea break, and phone call in between concentrated work hours.

5. Digital Down Time: There must be for digital downtime every evening. When you are done with work for the day, try to shut down work related task for the day completely. Phone calls, share market, social media and text messaging are all covered in this session. During dinner, movies, reading and jogging, start leaving your phone alone.

6. Wind Down Time: The entertainment has to be fixed post-office and pre-sleep hours. I put my phone on on wind down between 12 - 7 AM. Good sleep improves work productivity.

7. Partial phone/desktop/TV deprivation is good for health. This can be extended from 4-12 hours during day time.

8. Digital detox will leave a void in the life and there is huge need to reinvest back in the family, friendships and relationships

9. I have committed in 2020 for “no new hobbies, no new books.” I had acquired several books in the last few years and read only one fifth of the home grown library.

10. Binging is bit smaller issue but also leads to erosion of the self control. The discipline to say No is the core of the self control.

11. Stop Consuming too much of news, entertainment, and reports. Start a habit of creation: reading, coding, painting, gardening, jogging etc..

Consumer culture drives us to explore in a rabbit hole. Think an example like Youtube surfing. Digital Wellbeing is an essential part of the mental health. I often have to challenge myself for this experiment and I have huge withdrawal symptoms too. This is an attempt to go deeper and cultivate self control. Its like watching grass grow. It will take perseverance and belief in the power of self.

Ankur Capital Dialogues - Navigating Recovery Post COVID-19 for Consumer Food Brands

I have the privilege to attend a webinar on 15th April, Wednesday Navigating Recovery Post COVID-19 for Consumer Food Brands organized by Ankur Capital.

The panel had good expertise in FMCG and the food industry. They shared a more comprehensive range of challenges and issues faced by the consumer food brands amid lock-down. I will summarize the webinar in six points:

1. Managing human resources: The legal aspects of managing human movement was relatively easy for the firms. But, a lot of personal communication was established by the leadership team to establish trust between them and employees. There were a lot of queries on the risk involved as the mainstream media has heightened a sense of panic and anxiety. Communication with the employees and all key stakeholders is the key!

2. Organization culture: While business metrics are important, companies should adopt a people-first approach and ensure that the well-being of their employees and customers is the key. The whole culture has been put to the litmus test and the lock-down has put the values of the companies in the action.

3. Alternate partnerships: Companies have ensured seamless supply through partnering with new partners and tackling logistics issues. Companies have re-prioritized the channel distribution strategies by considering the willingness, infrastructure, and payments of the partners. The situation is different for each partner.

4. Embracing technologies solution: Leadership has been pushing for technology like Microsoft Team and Zoom to the reluctant adopters.

5. Financial Liquidity: Startups have negotiated cash discounts to distributors. The Cash crunch has led to the cutting cost and made them functional for 2-3 months. There will be changes in the product portfolio, and processes to make companies more efficient.

6. Ecosystem Recovery: The recovery curve will be U shaped rather than V-shaped in consumer food brands. The behavioral habit of the consumer such as out-of-home shopping, and dining will change as people venture out less often. There will be trust building by brands through reassurance, hygiene, quality, and the process they follow at the back end. Unknown brands will be either buried or raised from the debris. The online groceries ecosystem will change and rapidly evolve in the next 6 months. A lot of medium food brands will change the rules of engagement in the online space.

Covid is a moment of truth and companies are looking to emerge from this stronger. Brands should focus their efforts on building trust and ensuring that the values that the organization stands for come to the forefront during times like these.