As the food security sector evolves, Chemonics has seen some of its biggest impact with value chain facilitation, according to James Butcher, executive vice president of the development consulting company.
Butcher pointed to work with coffee growers in Rwanda, where post-conflict economic growth was hugely important, as an example of work and donor money well-spent, and where quality improvement and new technology implementation allowed growers to eventually get their coffee into European and U.S. markets.
“The other thing we see is that the introduction of new technologies from the developed world or from other developing country contexts has really allowed for a leapfrogging effect to occur,” Butcher said, naming microinsurance as an example of a service that is now much more widely available.
About the author
Kelli Rogers@kellierin
Kelli Rogers has worked as an Associate Editor and Southeast Asia Correspondent for Devex, with a particular focus on gender. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has reported from more than 20 countries.
