Related development approaches, generally known as value chain approaches, aim to generate higher value added in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and create win-win relationships among various chain actors, including small-scale producers. Since 2004 the Nicaragua office of Technoserve―a provider of business and technical services to the rural poor based in the United States―has worked to link small-scale producers in northern Nicaragua with international buyers of taro, a tropical tuber locally known as malanga, which is similar in appearance to cassava.

Víctor Rodríguez, Jorge Salazar Cooperative, with freshly harvested taro root (malanga).

Technoserve has channeled its interventions through the Jorge Salazar Cooperative (JSC). Established in 1993 by 26 members of the armed resistance to the Nicaraguan government during the 1980s (known as "contras"), JSC now specializes in the processing and marketing of malanga for local exporters and buyers in Miami. Technoserve established the first contact between JCS and a Nicaragua-based malanga exporter and facilitated contact between JSC and local producers.

Between 2006 and 2009, JSC exported more than 60 containers of malanga to Miami, with a value of nearly US$2 million. By 2009 approximately 400 producers were delivering malanga to JSC. In addition, JSC constructed a processing plant, with an average of 60 seasonal employees, and developed capacities for navigating the complex food safety and logistical issues for malanga export. Nevertheless, total direct subsides by Technoserve and others have been limited to just US$80,000, with only limited support for technical assistance to cooperative-affiliated producers.

There is reason for both optimism and caution regarding the impacts of participation in the malanga value chain by the rural poor affiliated with JSC. On an optimistic note, higher net income derived from the sale of malanga can provide increased options for investments in malanga and other production systems, education and greater demand, which could provide a pathway out of poverty over time. One the other hand, the high risks associated with the production and marketing of fresh tubers can limit the ability of some producers to respond to the opportunities in the mid-term.

Risks are especially high when 1) credit is utilized for malanga production, 2) producers have little or no previous experience producing malanga and 3) production is carried out on rented land (for example, soils on rented land may be compacted from livestock production, which is not favorable for tuber production).

Since relatively little is known about potential pests and diseases, achieving high yields over time requires extensive investments in chemical inputs or alternative pest management practices and, in many cases, access to irrigation infrastructure. Those producers without access to irrigation must sell their malanga in February or March, when prices for it are typically at their lowest.

Cross section of taro root (malanga)

JSC is not able to offer soft credit to their members, so members must turn to commercial banks, which require land titles as collateral. In the past year considerable friction over cost and benefit sharing related to malanga exports emerged between JSC and its most important buyer (responsible for 75% of total JSC sales in 2006–2009). Technoserve joined forces with CATIE in 2009 to better understand the implications for the rural poor participating in the malanga value chain in Nicaragua. The methodology for poverty impact assessment designed by CATIE, in collaboration with Technoserve and others, was based on identifying changes in endowments of (or access to) crucial livelihood assets (natural, human, social, physical and financial capitals) as a result of participation in the malanga value chain. Analysis of data collected from more than 150 malanga-producing households is being carried out.