Following a thorough analysis of various delivery models to implement the livelihoods strategy on the ground, ACCESS has developed a project delivery mechanism called SPARC (Small Producers Assistance Resource Center). Since it was initiated in 2007, the innovative concept of SPARC has attracted the interest of diverse stakeholders within the sector, allowing ACCESS to significantly increase its livelihoods portfolio.
SPARC is the core of ACCESS livelihoods interventions. It is an ACCESS innovation to bring prudential norms, discipline and sustainability of resources invested in livelihoods interventions. SPARC is conceptualised as an embedded service within a cluster to support the primary producers with need-based services that they desire and integrate them into value chains. Typically a SPARC is manned by a Professional Team headed by a Team Leader, one subject matter specialist, one social processes expert and one value chain expert. One SPARC can service about 500 primary producers in the non-farm sector and about 1000 primary producers in the farm sector.
Among the several tasks that SPARC is expected to perform, the following are key responsibilities:
- Undertake cluster diagnostics of the area to identify the issues, gaps and potential and prepare a five year perspective plan for the cluster
- Undertake a stakeholder analysis
- Facilitate formation of Producer Business Groups and provide business services to them as well as monitor their functioning
- Enable aggregation to become more efficient
- Explore possibilities of value addition (through processing / design / efficient production / change in package of practices / product development)
- Analyse and understand the value chain relating to the product / commodity by identifying key actors in the value chain and establishing strategic links with them
- Set up systems for information flows
- Explore financial and strategic business leverage
While SPARC may be set up through a grant support in the beginning, by the end of year FOUR, it is expected that SPARCs are either not required by the local cluster / community or are able to self sustain entirely on the basis of fees from services.
