Household-Microenterprise – the Missing Link In
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Household-microenterprise – the missing link in gendered value chain analysis: lessons from an analysis of dairy chains in Nicaragua SELMIRA FLORES and JOHAN BASTIAENSEN In Nicaragua, gender analysis in value chains is usually restricted to a study of men and women as producers or workers within the chain itself. This overlooks many relevant dimensions of gender struggles. We therefore propose a gender analysis in value chains that pays attention to the interrelation of the value chain with intra-household dynamics in microenterprises and the broader community. We apply our approach to two dairy chains, not to compare which is better for women producers but to show the gender complexity in both that needs to be considered in value chain analyses. Based on case studies, we identify gender differentiation overlapping with conflictual-cooperative relations between men and women within the sphere of economic and family relations in the two dairy chains. Keywords: gendered value chain analysis, household-farm, household-microenter- prises, dairy chains, Nicaragua THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS AND ILLUSTRATES an integrated framework for Gender Analysis in Value Chains (GinVC) in Nicaragua. Currently, most known studies (Flores and Lindo, 2006; Lyon et al., 2010; Sender et al., 2014) analyse differences between women and men within value chains in terms of employment, wages, working conditions, and workload, particularly focusing on locations where women have a strong visible presence (Tallontire et al., 2005). That approach focuses on female producers gaining internal economic power (Coles and Mitchell, 2011), i.e. becoming more involved in chain management (KIT et al., 2012). It leads GinVC research to centre on incor- porating women and upgrading their position in the technical-productive processes and associated economic relationships (Gereffi and Korzeniewicz, 1994; Kaplinsky and Morris, 2001; Mayoux and Mackie, 2007). While this analysis is useful, it tends to ignore the actors’ background as gendered beings in broader social relationships. We therefore try to overcome the limitations of this approach by incorporating an analysis of gender dynamics in household-microenterprises and the broader community. These dynamics relate to what Bourdieu (1998) called ‘doxa’: principles and norms that people embrace as the natural order and no longer recognize as contingent human creation, even though they constitute the subject of continuous Selmira Flores, PhD ([email protected]) is Research Director at Nitlapan, Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua; Johan Bastiaensen is Professor at the Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp, Belgium. http://www.developmentbookshelf.com/doi/pdf/10.3362/1755-1986.16-00028 - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 2:37:17 AM University of Antwerp IP Address:146.175.15.55 © Practical Action Publishing, 2017, www.practicalactionpublishing.org http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1755-1986.16-00028, ISSN: 1755-1978 (print) 1755-1986 (online) March/June 2017 Enterprise Development and Microfinance Vol. 28 Nos. 1–2 GENDERED VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 99 contestation, struggle, and thus change. Our approach to GinVC aims to reveal these hidden struggles over the gendered doxa in households and the community. Such analysis not only digs deeper than the more visible dimensions of gender constraints (lack of access to formal property or credit and mobility restrictions). It also avoids treating women as a homogeneous group characterized solely by their place and functions within the VC, but rather by a combination of identity markers beyond gender itself, such as age, marital status, and membership in social organiza- tions (Crenshaw, 1991; Mc Call, 2005; Davids and van Driel, 2007). We illustrate our approach with two case studies of dairy chains in Matiguás, Nicaragua (Flores, 2015). The case studies draw extensively on the first author’s experience – since 2005 – as a consultant-researcher-trainer in gender projects and value chain studies, including the elaboration of specific methodological material to incorporate gender into value chain analyses in Nicaragua (Flores and Lindo, 2006). The specific information for the analysis of the case studies in Matiguás comes from extensive semi-structured interviews with 12 local managers of milk collection centres (two of them women) complemented with data about milk production obtained from milk collection centres in 2010. In addition, we organized three focus groups on evolving gender relations in the fresh milk chain (two with women – 23 in total – and one with 10 men, all cooperative members). We further carried out 10 case studies of local dairy processors producing cuajada (a soft compacted white curd cheese) and an additional 10 interviews with local and national stakeholders in government and non-governmental organizations. Types of dairy value chains in Matiguás, Nicaragua In Nicaragua, one can identify six complementary types of dairy chains connecting milk-producing farmers with different market segments (Artola and Parrilli, 2003; Flores and Artola, 2004; Flores, 2015). In urban areas, we first can find short and small informal chains for fresh milk directly connecting peri-urban farmers with consumers. Then, there are two much more extended cottage dairy chains: the mantero and the cuajada chain, which respectively produce hard, dry white cheese in large 20 to 50 lbs (9–23 kg) blocks and soft fresh cheese, processed into small, hand-formed balls (cuajada) as well as sour cream. Both chains supply the popular demand for traditional dairy sold in the markets – the Ivan Montenegro Market in the capital Managua in particular. Both continue to process a substantial amount of milk from the remote interior areas of Nicaragua in low-technology, often home-based artisanal plants. Next is the chain of semi-industrial cheese factories, also located near the producing areas in the interior of the country, which are largely controlled by Salvadoran exporters. They originally processed milk into cheese for export to the Salvadoran market in slightly upgraded plants, but today operate differentiated cheese plants, also partially for export to the US. A fifth chain is formed by upgraded producer cooperatives who collect their own milk to produce the ‘morolique cheese’ for export to El Salvador and Honduras. Finally, there is the fresh milk chain which links producer cooperatives with the large industrial dairy processing companies. In these chains, which process around 30 per cent of the total http://www.developmentbookshelf.com/doi/pdf/10.3362/1755-1986.16-00028 - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 2:37:17 AM University of Antwerp IP Address:146.175.15.55 Enterprise Development and Microfinance Vol. 28 Nos. 1–2 March/June 2017 100 S. FLORES and J. BASTIAENSEN supply, milk is collected and cooled in (often cooperative) milk collection centres and transferred to industrial plants near the capital. The chains produce a variety of processed dairy products catering to supermarkets and neighbourhood shops while some export to Central America and Venezuela. In order to apply our approach to GinVC, our analysis in Matiguás focuses on two local versions of industrial fresh milk and cuajada chains, which are largely segmented with few interactions and virtually no actors involved in both chains. Each has different requirements of volume, quality, and timing of milk delivery as well as institutional conditions (like cooperative membership). Because the cuajada business is historically female-dominated while milk production and cooperative membership are considered male-dominated, it is often presumed that the former would hold more opportunities for female participation and gender justice. Our GinVC analysis of both chains, however, indicates that the dynamics of gender relations and struggles are less simple and straightforward than often assumed, such that progress and regress in gender equality and female entrepreneurship can take place in both chains. Figure 1 presents the different actors and their roles within these dairy chains, from input suppliers, milk production, and milk processing to marketing. We reiterate that our aim is not to compare them or evaluate which one offers better perspectives for gender justice; it is rather to present the diversity and complexity of the gendered socioeconomic context in which both chains are embedded, and the need to incorporate this in the GinVC analysis. As we will illustrate below, taking due account of this contextualized embeddedness is critical in order to analyse and deconstruct gender relations such as to inform adequate value chain interventions. The fresh milk industrial chain is the most dynamic segment of dairy chains in the country and its network of collection centres with tanks for cooling milk in central rural sites like Matiguás has good access to paved roads, water, and electricity. From a VC perspective, it is often held to represent the most advanced form of dairy production, based on industrial processing and branding as well as the observance of the highest hygienic standards. In Matiguás, 15 collection centres have been established with public support, and an annual average value added per litre of milk in 2011 was estimated to be some C$9.32 (US$0.43) in total, with a value of C$3.08 (US$0.14) per litre of milk remaining in Matiguás, as illustrated at the bottom of the last column in Table 1. At first sight, this industrial–cooperative chain appears to be an exclusively male domain. However, many women participate