BY ANNA FABRY,KAAT VAN HOYWEGHEN, HENDRIK FEYAERTS,IDRISSA WADE AND MIET MAERTENS
There has been much discussion on the resilience of different types of agrifood value chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. Good empirical evidence on this issue is limited because comparing value chains must account for variations in several factors (different commodities, different countries, etc.). The study by Anna Fabry and her colleagues described in this post is thus especially interesting, as they compare the performance of different types of value chains within a single country (Senegal) and the same commodity group (horticultural products). They find that export-oriented vertically integrated value chains have been much more resilient than their more traditional counterparts that supply domestic markets. Key differences relate to how the different value chains have been able to overcome input and labor constraints.—Johan Swinnen, series co-editor and IFPRI Director General.
Photo credit: ENDA Pronat
