Madagascar Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Value - Microlinks

Wildcrafters’ link to market information is twice removed and passes through sub-collectors who are usually not
generous in sharing information. In fact, the relationship between these actor groups is based less on information
sharing than on a shared need to maintain stable social ties that transcend financial concerns. The two to three-tiered
collector model is inefficient, time consuming and constraining for establishing long-term cooperative relations.
Nevertheless, middlemen play an indispensable role under the present value chain structure, given the remoteness of
production zones.
There is a distinction to be made between a relationship that links wildcrafters/producers (usually women) and
permanently based sub-collectors (small hamlet convenience stores, both men and women) and the relationship
that links wildcrafters with ambulant sub-collectors (usually men). For the former, the relation is generally neighborly
and supportive. Producers rarely negotiate price or quality from fear of not being able to sell or of breaking a
community bond. There are exceptions. Even when women band together as a group or cooperative, they are not
prone to engage in price negotiations; Malagasy at that level are discreet in manner and non-confrontational in nature.
In the same vein, there are small-shop, sub-collectors who will pay wildcrafters full price for a bag load (usually 30 to
50 kg) brought to them even though the load will contain foreign particles and plant parts that do not meet the next
level collector’s specifications. For the shopkeeper, it is more important to maintain good “neighborly” relations than
to refuse merchandise. Payments to producers are generally made upon delivery; there are no advances in these
transactions. There is shared trust at this level of the value chain. Buyers and sellers prefer maintaining a longstanding
relationship rather than break it and seek another client or seller.
Conversely, the relationship that links wildcrafter/producers with ambulant sub-collectors (roving collectors on
bicycles or small pick-up trucks) is generally distrustful and perceived as exploitive from both ends. The ambulant
sub-collector is seen as an outsider to the community and does not want his client to know who he is, where he comes
from, and to whom he resells. Information flow and knowledge sharing do not exist between the two actor groups,
although the wildcrafter/producer wants information and more know-how. There are no advances from the subcollector
to the producer. Generally, relations are established on the basis of opportunity—who can deliver requested
products on time or who pays on a timely basis upon delivery of products.
The processor/buyer is closer to the end market and has a longer-tem view of business prospects than the collector.
The collector requires a truck and warehouse space, which can both be rented at an entry cost of under U.S. $8,000. A
collectors’ survival is based less on capital investment than on a stable network of sub-collectors. If the collector
cannot provide plant material according to specifications, the non-binding relationship is easily terminated. The
processor/buyer either finds another collector or expands his business by establishing a presence in the production
region.
2. HORIZONTAL
Cooperation among actors closest to the end markets is stronger than that expressed among actors closest to the
natural product base where MSEs are concentrated. For the latter, a low level of cooperation is a function of the
physical distance between individual wildcrafters or collectors (and poor transport infrastructure) as well as a general
suspicion among competitors who vie for the same finite resources. When the plant source is either cultivated or
grown in plantations, there is less tension among competitors. It is not clear which of these two forms of production
systems result in a more effective allocation of resources within the chain.
There is little distinction among actors regarding the importance of protecting the natural resource base, from which
they derive their livelihood. There are encouraging signs of individuals, groups and private firms taking affirmative
MADAGASCAR AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANT VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 38