Programme Resources Available

Agrifood Sector Studies

Restructuring agrifood markets in China - The horticulture sector

This report concentrates on identifying the determinants and consequences of restructuring the horticulture sector in China. The analysis is conducted on three levels: macro (policy issues and the national business environment), meso (the different chain segments and villages) and micro (household level). Due to space limitations and the timing of the research, the linkages between the first two levels are analysed in this paper. The micro study is available as a seperate report.

Production, marketing and impacts of market chain changes of farmers in China

Given the mixture of findings from previous studies and our meso study in this project, the overall goal of this micro study (Module 3) is to look for more empirical evidence of market restructurings and to quantify their impacts on farmers based on an intensive farm primary survey of two major vegetables (cucumber and tomato) in China's largest vegetable production area; Shandong province. Specifically, this study is aimed to examine the following four sets of research questions and test the hypotheses.

Innovative Practice 

Supermarket penetration in rural China: the Suguo model and its impacts on smallholders and SMEs

This case study of Suguo supermarket is one of 32 case studies of innovative practice in connecting small-scale producers and SMEs with dynamic markets as part of IIED's Regoverning Markets Programme. The case study focused on Suguo's supermarket business model and its impacts on smallholders and SMEs. The innovations in this case are twofold: the supermarket penetrated the rural market by extending its network of stores gradually from metropolitan cities into the countryside, and it expanded its market share by offering franchises to cooperatives.

Market chain changes in a small-farm economy: A case study of mushrooms in China

The overall goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of Lanbo's mushroom marketing chain and its impact on small farmers. We conducted two surveys to achieve this: one primarily based on interviews with Lanbo's manager and designated agent, and the other based on a micro farming household survey in two villages where farmers sell their mushrooms to the agent.

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