A Juicy Story - Using the Pull Factor to Build an Agricultural Supply Chain

Abstract

In parallel with International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) investment in the Sandora juice company in Ukraine, IFC implemented an advisory project to help build Sandora's supply chain. The project's broader objective was to improve market access and long-term sustainability for vegetable farmers working in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. A number of factors contributed to the success of the advisory work. First, in this project, the presence of Sandora was a key motivating factor for quality improvements at supplier farms: farmers saw the immediate benefits of innovation and enhanced yields in increased sales to Sandora. Secondly, IFC structured the supply chain project not only to provide advice to farmers, but also to work with local banks in order to improve farmers' access to finance. Lastly, IFC carefully chose a few pilot farms for the detailed work, while a significant outreach component was introduced to ensure that the project's advice reached a wide range of farms in the region.