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P4P News

News on Purchase for Progress, both from the projects around the world and from WFP headquarters.

New initiative to reduce post-harvest losses

A large number of detailed studies show how food commodities can be damaged or spoiled during harvest, processing, storage and transporting. Every year, more than 30 percent of the food produced for human consumption across the sub-Saharan African countries is lost or wasted. This volume far exceeds the total amount of international food aid provided to the region each year.

Fortunately, there are many solutions available.

Record purchase from P4P-supported farmers in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has one of the most ambitious P4P programmes in the world. During the past year, WFP bought more than 100,000 metric tons of food in the country, its largest local purchase in Africa. One of the biggest deliveries – almost 19,000 metric tons of maize – was recently completed by P4P-supported smallholder farmers in 16 cooperative unions.

Seven new studies to document critical P4P lessons

 

Through interviews with more than 130 farmers in Burkina Faso and Rwanda, P4P aims to document how smallholder farmers decide where and how to sell their surplus produce. More specifically, the study aims to identify the key factors that affect how smallholders use farmers’ organisations as an advantageous marketing channel. In this way, the study provides key information on P4P’s fundamental assumption that collective action is an effective way to build a sustainable access to markets for smallholders.

P4P exemplifies innovation in new UN procurement report

 

The 2012 Annual Statistical Report on UN Procurement provides data and analysis on the goods and services procured by the United Nations system in support of its operations. The thematic supplement to the report focuses on sustainable procurement. It contains a range of articles and case studies from academia, the public and private sectors and the United Nations.

P4P in post-conflict countries – difficult but important

WFP is deliberately piloting P4P in a very diverse set of countries to determine the various positive and possibly negative outcomes of different approaches in different environments. In post-conflict countries like Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan, many difficulties have been revealed.

Countless obstacles face P4P implementation

One example is the lack of roads and basic transport infrastructure in South Sudan, hindering most smallholder farmers to access markets.

Smallholder farmers to report prices from smartphones

WFP launched the new price monitoring system in order to obtain a better understanding of the different marketing options available to smallholder farmers. In essence, the system will capture the volumes sold and the prices obtained by farmers in different markets, such as local markets, farm-gate selling and marketing through farmers’ organisations. El Salvador is the first of four target countries to pilot the new system. A data collection application for smartphones has been specifically designed for the trial.

P4P procurement update - 1st quarter 2013

The P4P Consolidated Procurement Report (September 2008 – March 2013) can be downloaded here. 

Highlights from the report includes:  Since the launch of the P4P pilot initiative in September 2008, through 31 March 2013, 310,651 metric tons (mt) of commodities at a value exceeding US$121 million have been contracted from farmers’ organizations, small and medium-scale traders, food processors, Commodity Exchanges and Warehouse Receipt Systems in 20 P4P pilot countries.  Of this, 229,152 mt (74%) has been delivered to WFP.

Collecting P4P lessons for the benefit of future farmers

P4P emphasizes the value of learning from an honest and transparent examination, both of what works and what does not work. WFP collects programme data based on a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system that collects quantitative and qualitative data from farmers, farmers’ organisations and traders. Later this year, AERC will launch a web portal containing the lessons learned and the data collected over the five years of P4P implementation.

New study reveals WFP’s impact on African food markets

During 2012, WFP purchased over 1.8 million metric tons (mt) of food from developing countries, adding revenues of more than US$ 800 million to local economies. Around one third of the procured value was purchased in Africa. In order to find out how this local and regional procurement (LRP) actually impacts the local markets, food prices and quality standards, WFP’s Procurement division and P4P contracted a research team at Michigan State University (MSU). Extensive case studies were conducted in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda in 2012.

WFP Purchase for Progress Annual Consultation

Reflections and Looking Forward   These sessions will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress to date and share some preliminary details of emerging evidence.  The focus areas will be Building Capacity of Farmers’ Organizations and Gender.   P4P as a Catalyst – Supporting Agricultural Transformation:   This session will present specific examples of how P4P is being effectively used to support broader agricultural transformation agendas.