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Building Sustainability across MARKUP II’s Value Chains

South Sudan

For gum arabic producers in South Sudan; sustainability is not an abstract concept; it’s a practice that ensures longevity. Gum arabic is harvested by tapping acacia trees for their resin, and how that tapping is done, and how well each surrounding acacia tree is managed, directly determines whether that tree, and that livelihood will still be productive in ten years time.

This year, MARKUP II wove environmental sustainability directly into its value chain-work. In South Sudan, 87 gum arabic producers, extension workers and supervisors received hands-on training in improved tapping, harvesting, post-harvest handling, quality control and critically the regeneration of acacia resources. The goal was to better connect product quality and market value with the long-term health of the natural resource base that makes it all possible.

Across the wider MARKUP II programme, 49 MSMEs are now recorded as applying sustainable consumption and production practices, with resource efficiency, traceability, and improved production controls integrated directly into coaching.

Underpinning much of this work is ITC’s Green Performance Toolkit; a free, online tool that helps small businesses assess and monitor their environmental performance across eight key areas; from energy and water use to waste management. This year, MARKUP II extended the toolkit’s reach by training Business Support Organizations (BSOs) directly, in a Training of Trainers, designed to embed environmental performance into BSO’s own ongoing work with SMEs.

Want to assess your own business's environmental performance? Explore the free Green Performance Toolkit: https://greenperformance.intracen.org/home