Promoting sector development to boost growth
Centrale Danone is behind an ambitious project to help Morocco’s small dairy farmers. The national dairy sector leader is helping them to increase their incomes and also fast-track the development of modern farming methods.
Morocco aims to gradually achieve self-sufficiency in dairy products. Centrale Danone acts as the dairy sector architect and therefore has taken on responsibility in the sector’s development.
This strategic intent not only involves developing the whole ecosystem that revolves around milk but also financial and regulatory support in the general interest by the State and private partners.
We strive to support development of the sectors by drawing on our expertise to analyse, organize and galvanize the upstream and downstream sectors.
Where does the By.O Group come in to play in this sector development drive?
We are introducing a global approach to make a sector’s players more familiar with each other and together with them develop innovative projects that address environmental, competition issues and even territorial dynamics.
For instance, we are winding up a mission to assess farming and breeding practices in Danone’s North African dairy production areas that focuses on their economic and environmental impacts.
The mission is being led by Apexagri, an international consultancy firm created as a venture between the Buy.O Group and the Maïsadour Cooperative Group, in conjunction with CIRAD, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development.
Over and above the direct positive impacts on farm holding performance and profitability, this farming practice optimisation approach is part of a more sustainable building and structuring process for the dairy front-end and the protagonists of its ecosystem.
We regularly offer guidance on sector organization ranging from the farming and agri-food sectors to luxury goods.
This is what led us to contribute to the production of a white paper*, in May 2016, that catalogues the upstream luxury goods sectors in France (in partnership with the Institut Supérieur de Marketing du Luxe).
We interviewed some forty national and international luxury industry players to develop our thinking and draw up an inventory of the main branches.
So far, their strategy has been primarily based on the rationale of incorporating/buying up the upstream luxury goods players. The creative and innovational potential that these players offer cannot be fully harnessed by this protectionist vision.
Today’s challenge for the French luxury goods houses is to turn these craft
specialists in to full sector partners to reinforce their legitimacy in the face of the new generation of competitors, particularly from Asia.
The sector players must be reconciled and a reform must be promoted to foster an ambitious, global vision.
What are the sectors’ development issues?
Development and innovation are spawned by the ability to mobilize the sector players and encourage them to work together. That is one of the keys to economic growth.
Globalization, climate change, population trends, new technologies… these factors upset the existing sectors, however they must be integrated if power struggles in ecosystems are to be reduced while enriching relationships to build better-performing, and more sustainable sectors.
It is a given that developing a sector is a fundamental challenge for boosting its attractiveness, not to mention an entire economy.
* “En amont du luxe, quelle valorisation des filières?” White Paper contacts:
Célia Le Corre / By.O Group – clecorre@byo-group.com
Delphine Cantat / Sup de Luxe – dcantat@edcparis.edu