agrl_innovations_in_ssa.pdf?utm_content=buffercb41d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

In this case, the Government and BMC addressed a startling contraction of the bovine cattle
sector through public–private dialogue, organising the BCPA and soliciting its help in designing a
revitalisation strategy. The dialogue is ongoing and has the potential to catalyse further change
within the sector. It demonstrates how change is occurring after private-sector participants
in the bovine red meat value chain organised to effectively engage government for mutually
beneficial changes.
Malawi, building public-private partnerships in the cotton sector
Cotton is a strategic crop in Malawi with a value chain that includes nearly 200,000
cotton growers, ginning, spinning, textile and garment manufacture and oil extraction
industries with both domestic and export markets. The cotton sector has faced a
number of challenges among which are: low productivity, weak institutional structures,
low investment in both production and value addition, and the lack of a cohesive
national strategy to guide the sector This has given rise to conflicting interests between
stakeholders to the detriment of all actors in the industry.
A number of initiatives based on stakeholder interactions culminated in the formation
of a Cotton Development Trust (CDT) comprising all cotton value chain actors.
Through the formation of four thematic groups concerned with improving research,
extension and farmer productivity, marketing and pricing, policy and regulation,
and financing concerns, CDT has achieved remarkable progress in a short time. This
includes: acceptance and recognition of CDT by all stakeholders including Government,
contributing to the review of the Cotton Act that will provide the regulatory framework
for the cotton sector, initiation of a 5-year strategic plan to guide cotton development,
support for establishing the National Cotton Farmers’ Association of Malawi (COFAM) to
represent all cotton farmers, advocacy for improvement of certified seed supplies and
reduction in the use of recycled seed, establishment of cotton test and demonstration
plots linked to research undertaken by Government’s Makoka Research Station,
establishment of a consultative platform for negotiation of seed cotton farm-gate prices
and participation in a wider regional cotton development initiative including Malawi,
Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Brokering the networks and alliances in private–public partnerships is a critical role in
ensuring knowledge is used to enable innovation. This brokerage role is an indispensable
and an unavoidable cost. In this case study an NGO, the African Institute of Corporate
Citizenship (AICC) played this role with support from DFID and the Norwegian Agency
for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
Initial context. Cotton is a key component of Malawi’s agricultural sector, ranking fourth as a
foreign exchange earner for the country after tobacco, tea, and sugar. The crop was identified
by the Government as having the potential to improve the livelihoods of some 200,000 rural
households through the production of more than 100,000 tonnes of seed cotton provided
productivity increases and prices stabilise or increase. It is the most important cash crop for
46 Agricultural Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa