INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREA CO-MANAGEMENT (IPAC) - BIDS

The value chain framework, which is a powerful analysis tool for the strategic planning of an
activity, is a string of agents or collaborating players, who work together to satisfy market
demands for specific products or services.
The ultimate aim of any value chain framework is to maximize value creation while minimizing
costs. This entails the concept of value added, in the form of the value chain, which is utilized to
develop a sustainable competitive advantage of the activity concerned. This may consist of the
key steps within an activity that link together to develop the value of the final product. Such
steps may include purchasing, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the products and
activities 38 .
The value chain analysis essentially entails the linkage of two areas. Firstly, the value chain
identifies and links the value of the activities with its main functional parts. Then, the
assessment of the contribution of each part in the overall added value is made. The profitability
of an activity depends to a large extent on how effectively it manages the various steps in the
value chain, such that the price that a customer is willing to pay for the products and services
exceeds the total costs of the value chain steps. It is important to bear in mind that while the
value chain analysis may appear much simple in theory, it is quite time-consuming and complex
in practice.
This study entails value chain analysis in its simplest meaning in that the activities centered
around SRF products are assessed in terms of price value additions and overall returns starting
from resource collectors to ultimate retailers. Focus is given, however, on social relationships
among actors involved across supply value chain. For simplicity, the study assumes no export
activities in the process. In other words, only indigenous and local actors are under the purview
of the present investigation.
Figure 1.1: Basic structure of SRF products marketing systems
Primary Market
Secondary Market
Mahajans
Suppliers
Collectors
Commission agents
Aratdars
Auctioneers
Wholesalers
Source: BIDS IPAC – VCA Study 2010
Consumers
Retailers
38 The core concern of the present study, however, is the marketing chains of products starting from harvests.
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