Source: IFAD Rural Poverty Portal

In Mozambique if you shop at Shoprite, Africa's largest food retailer, with operations in 16 countries, you'll be buying vegetables produced locally by small-scale farmers.

The IFAD-funded Agricultural Markets Support Programme (PAMA) supports the implementation of major economic reforms launched by the government during the 1990s, including the commercialization of small-scale farming through better access to markets and improved linkages with private-sector operators.

The programme, funded by a US$23.6 million loan, enables small-scale farmers in Boane, 30 km south of Maputo, to grow cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes and other cash crops in the rehabilitated irrigation schemes that were severely damaged during 16 years of civil war. Today, in the Boane area, the irrigation schemes cover 405 ha of land and the programme works with approximately 400 farmers.

The new World Bank World Development Report 2008, for the first time in 25 years, is dedicated to agriculture. Chapter 5 of the WDR --"Bringing Agriculture to the Market" -- includes a call to action in response to the modernisation of procurement systems in integrated supply chains and supermarkets, whereby small farmers can share in these growth opportunities. The Chapter includes case material from the Philippines-NORMIN and China-watermelon case studies from the Regoverning Markets programme.

German Development Cooperation (BMZ and GTZ), Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC and SECO) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) called an international conference on "Value Chains for Broad-based Development", which was held in Berlin on 30-31 May 2007. Around 200 experts in the field of value chain promotion participated.

Supermarkets And Agri-Food Supply Chains: Transformations in the Production and Consumption of Foods

Edited by David Burch and Geoffrey Lawrence. July 2007. Edward Elgar Publishing

Regoverning Markets: A Place for Small-Scale Producers in Modern Agrifood Chains?
Edited by Bill Vorley, Andrew Fearne and Derek Ray

Gower Sustainable Food Chain Series.

This book offers a contemporary look at what happens when the modernisation of food supply chains comes face to face with the livelihoods of rural and poor people. The authors are drawn from eighteen countries participating in the 'Regoverning Markets' programme, which aims to not only improve our understanding of the way modernisation and re-structuring of food supply chains is affecting food production and distribution systems, but also identify best-practice in involving small-scale producers in supermarket supply chains, and ascertain the barriers to inclusion which need to be removed.

New Book from CABI: Global Supply Chains, Standards and the Poor: How the Globalization of Food Systems and Standards Affects Rural Development and Poverty

Edited by J F M Swinnen, KU Leuven, Belgium. February 2007 

Using original research from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, including from Regoverning Markets partners, this book reviews the recent restructuring of the global agri-food industry and the dramatic rise of global retail chains in developing and transition countries. It focuses on the private standards and requirements imposed by multinational companies investing in these countries and the resulting changes to existing supply chains. It also examines the impact of these changes on local producers, particularly poor farmers, and considers the long-term policy implications in terms of growth and poverty.

An UNCTAD expert meeting entitled "Enabling small commodity producers in developing countries to reach global markets" was held from 11 to 13 December 2006 to discuss how to help such producers obtain market information and financing, work out logistics for selling and transporting goods, and understand and comply with more complex regulations.

Joachim von Braun and Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla

IFPRI Issue Brief No. 52. September 2008

The world agrifood system is becoming increasingly globalized. As the majority of the world moves into cities, and as rural inhabitants who are connected to infrastructure adopt more urbanized lifestyles, food consumption is becoming both more varied and more similar around the world. The food processing and retail industries have become global players, and farmers are increasingly specializing their production, leading to changes in inputs such as water, seeds, feeds, and technical equipment and, ultimately, to new organizational arrangements in the food system.

by Thomas Reardon and Ashok Gulati, IFPRI Policy Brief No. 2, June 2008.

The supermarket revolution has progressed far and will continue apace for years to come in developing countries. This revolution will present opportunities for small farmers who have access to infrastructure and possess needed nonland assets, but it will present a challenge for assetpoor farmers and traditional retailers. It is important for governments to build policies and make investments that prepare farmers and retailers to face the challenges and meet the requirements of the modernized food markets whose development is spurred by the supermarket revolution.

This paper reviews the extent to which the Regoverning Markets (RM) programmes' outputs and activities have contributed directly and indirectly to the wider vision of more secure and enhanced inclusion of small-scale producers and small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs in dynamic modern agrifood value chains. It focuses specifically on domestic and regional agrifood markets within developing and emerging market-economy countries.

Download the full report here