Green Value Chain for Green Growth and Livelihoods Creation

Today, more and more products and services pass through value chains to reach the end consumers to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources at different stages. It is through value chains that resources ultimately ‘start’, as they are transformed or used as inputs like energy and water and ‘end’, back in the same natural environment through final disposal.

Value chains just like natural resources are no longer perceived in linear terms and as local processes, but instead regarded as circular and operating at a global scale. With emphasis being laid down on transition to a green economy and consumers becoming aware and opting for green products, greening the value chain is of supreme importance.
The aims of a green approach to value chains are as follows:

• To ensure sustainable use of natural resources and reduce negative environmental impacts
• To maximise material and energy efficiency at each stage of the process
• To increase livelihood opportunities in rural areas, where nature holds extreme importance

Development of green value chains therefore is a systemic approach to integrate environmental support functions with market players. Being the backbone of the rural economy, nature represents considerable untapped opportunities for productive livelihoods and significant potential for feeding communities across the globe. If proper measures such as the use of energy saving automated machines and improved procurement and distribution channels be adopted for agri based livelihoods, employment can be created for a larger share of the rural population. Rural producers are the starting point of most businesses that are introducing the concept of green value chains. These business organisations can help the rural producers capture greater market opportunities while increasing rural incomes and employment.

Bundelkhand: Fibre Value Chain Prospect to Increase Income and Employability

With extinction of arable land and lack of raw materials for production, crafts as well as the artisans of Bundelkand, a semi – arid region in Central India are now on the verge of subsistence despite having a rich crafts heritage. The underlying cause for low productivity has been identified as the existence of a poor value chain comprising of deficient resources, lack of information and poor market access and interventions. As a result, the end products are uncompetitive in the larger market place forcing the artisans to adopt other occupations.

With the aim of developing integrated, pro-poor and environmentally sustainable value chains; the Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) under the DST core project is introducing a green value chain in the region to enable poor growers, collectors and producers to improve their products. For doing so, TARA aims to improve the overall sustainability of the value chain by optimising links between various stakeholders to provide increased outputs.

The greening will be conducted along the following verticals of the value chain:

• Use of natural resources such as fibre for production purpose with near zero environmental hazards.
• Improved designs, skill development, use of advanced machinery and quality control measures to reduce wastage.
• Demand driven production for increased consumer satisfaction leading to increased profits and greater self- sustenance.

Increased profits and awareness programmes will motivate the farmers to revamp the fibre production in the local area that will further add to greening the system with reduced transportation. This green value chain will further help increase the quality produce in turn fetching more profits. With increased profits, finance institutions will enable small producers to take loans which will bring in self-sustainability in long run.

In the long run, it is expected that greening of the fibre chain will add value, notably through the productive use of human as well as natural resources. It has been estimated that the value chain will result in a 15% increase in employment in businesses in the targeted clusters. Increments in income will be made by virtue of improved quality and diversification into lifestyle products and ensuring a sustainable global value chain for the fibre sector.

To conclude, it is expected with the roll out of the global sustainable development goals, the green approach will not only bring environmental sustainability but will uplift the economy. With improved processes, the green value chains will upsurge business development and promote a mix of policy instruments including eco-labeling, green public procurement, improved cluster networking, tradable permits, subsidy reforms and green regulations.   q

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