Facilitating the dairy market system in Nepal: A participatory approach

01.11.2011
This paper presents the experiences of Practical Action's use of Participatory Market Mapping Workshops (PMMWs) to facilitate a process that allows marginalized dairy farmers in Nepal to gain access to more functional markets, sell their milk, increase their incomes, and help create a more favourable business environment. It illustrates how these achievements have resulted from Practical Action working as a facilitator with market actors to build common and shared understanding of the market system and nurture increased levels of confidence, trust, and influence. Using a visual representation of the market system — the Market Map — facilitators in the field use PMMWs to bring public and private market actors together to identify and discuss blockages and opportunities for increased coordination and collaboration. For the participatory market mapping process to unlock the resources and creativity of public and private market actors, several conditions must be met. This paper gathers and analyses experiences, challenges, tips, and insights from PMMWs conducted in the dairy sector in Nepal, accompanied by an explanation of the principles on which Practical Action's approach is based: systemic thinking, participation, and facilitation.