NEW! Inclusive Business in Agrifood Markets: Evidence and Action, plus Conference Issues Papers

This conference 'Inclusive Business in Agrifood Markets: Evidence and Action' brought together 130 invited leaders in farming, food and agriculture policy, agrifood business, research and civil society. It shared the evidence and insights generated from research and learning on business practice and policy undertaken by the Regoverning Markets programme through its global consortium.

The presentations and discussions addressed the business case for working with small-scale producers; how policy approaches can anticipate and manage change in the agrifood sector; and how producers and their organizations can be partners with new agribusinesses. A one-day visit to wholesale and retail agrifood markets in the greater Beijing area preceded the conference, on March 4, 2008.

This conference was undertaken with the financial support of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Development Cooperation.

The conference sought to answer the following questions:

● Can the new food giants, including supermarkets and food companies be partners in the economic growth of rural areas?

● Can small-scale farmers meet the high expectations for food quality, safety, and quantity?

● Can policy help to make successful market linkages between business and small-scale farming?

The conference was hosted jointly by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP), the Office of Agricultural Vertical Integration in the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, and the Regoverning Markets programme. It was a unique opportunity to take advantage of a diversity of perspectives from the public sector, the private sector, farmers' organizations, academia, civil society and the media and to share evidence and develop ideas for action. It also provided an opportunity to communicate findings from the Regoverning Markets programme, to test the appropriateness of these findings, and to develop a common agenda for business, policy makers, farmers and researchers.

The full document can be downloaded here