Non-timber Products and Markets: Lessons for Export-Oriented Enterprise Development from Africa

Abstract

Micro-enterprise development is widely recognised as important in many developing countries, although support to the NTFP sector is only relatively recent. Much recent literature has questioned the benefits to local livelihoods, suggesting they are relatively small or not widely apparent. This chapter considers a number of examples of export market NTFPs across a wide range of products, which demonstrate that the value of these markets is enormous and each involves thousands of people. These export NTFP products have many characteristics in common. Particularly important is the need to understand supply chains, consumers, middlemen, prices, roles and market potential. Successful enterprises have concentrated on a few species that are potential winners. Common weaknesses of enterprises based on harvests by small-scale producers are their inability to get the large volumes to meet market demand, and lack of attention to quality, quantity and production on time. The characteristics of winning products in successful enterprises are considered