Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement

An evaluation of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) eight-step clustering approach to agroenterprise development was a key focus of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCA...

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Main Authors: Murray-Prior, Roy, Concepcion, S., Batt, Peter, Israel, F., Apara, D., Bacus, R., Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay, Montiflor, M., Lamban, R., Axalan, J., Real, R.
Other Authors: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Format: Conference Paper
Published: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 2013
Online Access:http://aciar.gov.au/files/pr139.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25828
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author Murray-Prior, Roy
Concepcion, S.
Batt, Peter
Israel, F.
Apara, D.
Bacus, R.
Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay
Montiflor, M.
Lamban, R.
Axalan, J.
Real, R.
author2 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
author_facet Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Murray-Prior, Roy
Concepcion, S.
Batt, Peter
Israel, F.
Apara, D.
Bacus, R.
Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay
Montiflor, M.
Lamban, R.
Axalan, J.
Real, R.
author_sort Murray-Prior, Roy
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description An evaluation of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) eight-step clustering approach to agroenterprise development was a key focus of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) horticulture project on ‘Enhancing the profitability of selected vegetable value chains in the southern Philippines’. The CRS approach encourages farmers to form small, collaborative marketing groups (clusters) and to facilitate the sustainable development of these clusters. The research, which used participative action learning and action research processes, identified that an enhanced clustering approach should incorporate processes that overcome issues such as: input financing arrangements to replace loans from informal moneylenders and traders; risks associated with production failures and pest and disease problems; maintaining relationships with buyers; and building group resilience and independence so that donor agencies have an exit strategy. The research findings suggest that to enhance the sustainability of the clusters the CRS eight-step process should be applied to three phases: (i) establishment, (ii) building resilience and (iii) implementing an exit strategy.
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format Conference Paper
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T07:58:43Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-258282017-01-30T12:50:21Z Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement Murray-Prior, Roy Concepcion, S. Batt, Peter Israel, F. Apara, D. Bacus, R. Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay Montiflor, M. Lamban, R. Axalan, J. Real, R. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research An evaluation of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) eight-step clustering approach to agroenterprise development was a key focus of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) horticulture project on ‘Enhancing the profitability of selected vegetable value chains in the southern Philippines’. The CRS approach encourages farmers to form small, collaborative marketing groups (clusters) and to facilitate the sustainable development of these clusters. The research, which used participative action learning and action research processes, identified that an enhanced clustering approach should incorporate processes that overcome issues such as: input financing arrangements to replace loans from informal moneylenders and traders; risks associated with production failures and pest and disease problems; maintaining relationships with buyers; and building group resilience and independence so that donor agencies have an exit strategy. The research findings suggest that to enhance the sustainability of the clusters the CRS eight-step process should be applied to three phases: (i) establishment, (ii) building resilience and (iii) implementing an exit strategy. 2013 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25828 http://aciar.gov.au/files/pr139.pdf Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research fulltext
spellingShingle Murray-Prior, Roy
Concepcion, S.
Batt, Peter
Israel, F.
Apara, D.
Bacus, R.
Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay
Montiflor, M.
Lamban, R.
Axalan, J.
Real, R.
Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title_full Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title_fullStr Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title_full_unstemmed Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title_short Experiences with the Catholic Relief Services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
title_sort experiences with the catholic relief services' clustering process for agroenterprise development and some suggestions for improvement
url http://aciar.gov.au/files/pr139.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25828