Resumen
- At the time of this publication, seven cases have been completed. This is the third to be published as an AGSF Working Document. Each case provides relevant information for decision makers and development specialists in the particular countries. In the near future, AGSF will produce a synthesis report giving a comparative appraisal of the lessons learned. The present report considers panela development as a diversification strategy for farmlevel income generation, by analyzing patterns of change and associated success factors. The panela production constitutes a vertically integrated system in which the rural producer participates in the entire process of producing sugarcane, processing it into panela and selling the finished product. The vertical nature of the panela industry has facilitated the development of more flexible and effective livelihood strategies than those that may arise from horizontal or primary production-type processing technologies. The report examines the viability and commercial sustainability of the panela industry in Colombia and makes a comparative review of the panela industry in Brazil and Guatemala, where panela is a major local production item. It assesses the impact of panela production on Preface ix producer incomes and livelihoods in Colombia and provides information on the institutional and financial support required for Colombia to improve panela's commercial viability and increase profits for small-scale farmers. The report, originally published in Spanish, was translated into English in order to increase awareness of issues involved in panela processing and to broaden understanding of support required for improvement in other countries where similar products are produced. Panela is known with different names: Jaggery in India and Sri Lanka; Muscovado in the Caribbean and the Philipines; Demerara in Guyana and Mauritius and htanyet in Myanmar. Commercially, it is known as natural brown sugar. The report is aimed at policy makers and extension staff of government, private and nongovernment organizations and at donors' organizations that support agro-processing technologies for small and medium-scale entrepreneurs.