Since 2021, COLEAD's Market Insights department has been contributing its market intelligence expertise to the VCA4D project (Value Chain Analysis for Development), funded by the European Union. A look back at a little-known collaboration.
VCA4D, evidence for decision-making
Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) is an EU-funded methodology that assesses the economic, social and environmental sustainability of agricultural value chains, to support evidence-based policy and investment decisions.
COLEAD's contribution: the market perspective
For each selected VCA4D study, Market Insights prepares a market profile providing an external market perspective that complements the country-level value chain analysis. These profiles cover international, regional and domestic market dynamics; supply, demand and trade trends; price intelligence and competitiveness; market access conditions (SPS, regulations, standards); and market opportunities, including emerging market segments. The added value of the exercise: connecting local value chain diagnostics with global market realities, to strengthen the interpretation of their competitiveness and sustainability.
The track record at a glance
17 market profiles, covering 16 value chains in 15 countries: cocoa in Colombia, Ecuador and Sierra Leone, coffee in Ecuador and Tanzania, fisheries in Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania, shrimps and groundnuts in Madagascar, sesame in Chad, cowpeas and groundnuts in Niger, mango in Burkina Faso, as well as cheese in Colombia, aquaculture in Georgia, cotton in Tajikistan and cashmere in Mongolia.