Programme Resources Available

kate — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:53:08 +0000

Resources from the Regoverning Markets Programme relevant to North and West Africa are available to download and read.

Seven Middle Eastern and North African Countries Among Top 20 Most Attractive Emerging Market Retail Destinations

billv — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:22:55 +0000

With seven countries among the top 20 in the latest 2008 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), the Middle East/North Africa region is clearly the world's hottest region for retail expansion. The annual Global Retail Development IndexTM is a study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets conducted by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

The strong Euro supporting investment in theMiddle East/North Africa region, consumer familiarity with modern retail concepts and petrodollar wealth are the primary factors making the region an attractive retail destination. With more than $9 trillion flowing into the region by 2020, infrastructure investments will spur consumer and retail growth over the next decade, according to A.T. Kearney.

New Paper: Case studies of agri-processing and contract agriculture in Africa

administer — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:10:19 +0000

Building bridges between processors and smallholders in Africa: are contracts an answer?

Sautier, D.; Vermeulen, H.; Fok, M.; Biénabe, E. / Latin American Center for Rural Development (RIMISP) , 2006

This paper presents specific experiences in Africa, involving small and medium farmers and agri-processors. It illustrates the capacity of farmers and food processors to leverage agricultural growth , take advantage of untapped sources of growth and generate pro-poor development through adequate institutions.

Acknowledging that small and medium size farmers in Africa face unique and difficult market constraints, the paper highlights the potential of contractual arrangements in governing relationships farmers and agroprocessors. Although the effectiveness of contracts can vary, the case studies in this document show ways through which contractual arrangements can support the market participation of small and medium farmers and foster agricultural growth for poverty alleviation.

Le grande distribution: menace pour les petits agriculteurs?

billv — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:47:02 +0000

L'economiste (Maroc) No. 2486 16 Mar 2007

Grande ou moyenne, elle prend le pas sur le commerce traditionnel

Les standards de qualité difficiles à mettre en place

Quelle place pour le petit producteur agricole danes un contexte de commercialisation dominée par la grande distribution? Pour donner un début de réponse, agriculteurs, ingénieurs, économistes, financiers, distributeurs et acteurs associatifs se sont réunis, le 14 mars, à Rabat. Il s'agit d'un atelier multi-acteurs, organisé à l'initiative conjointe de l'Institut agronomique et vétérinaire (IAV) Hassan II et l'association Targa-aide, dans le cadre du programme mondial de recherche Regoverning Markets.

New Book: Chain empowerment -- Supporting African farmers to develop markets

billv — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:44:34 +0000

KIT BookKIT | Faida MaLi | IIRR |

This is a book of hope for Africa's smallholder farmers. It shows how they can earn more from their crops and livestock by taking control over the value chains they are part of - chains that link them with consumers in Africa's towns and cities, as well as in other countries.

The book describes two basic strategies that groups of farmers can use to improve their incomes: vertical and horizontal integration. Vertical integration means taking on additional activities in the value chain: processing or grading produce, for example. Horizontal integration means becoming more involved in managing the value chain itself - by farmers' improving their access to and management of information, their knowledge of the market, their control over contracts, or their cooperation with other actors in the chain.

This book contains 19 case studies showing how groups of farmers throughout Africa have adopted one or both of these strategies to improve their incomes. It shows how development organizations have helped them do this - how they have succeeded, and how they have sometimes failed. It shows the need to invest in improving the quality of existing products, developing new products, establishing market linkages, and building farmer organization and capacity.

The book provides numerous insights for those striving to empower smallholder farmers to develop markets. It will be of particular interest to government policymakers and staff involved in agricultural development, non-government organizations, university faculty and students, trainers, evaluators, and donors seeking ways to promote agriculture in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world.

The book is written in easy-to-understand language and is richly illustrated with line drawings.

Supermarkets in Low Income Mediterranean Countries: Impacts on Horticulture Systems

billv — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 13:22:08 +0000

Article by Jean-Marie Codron, Zouhair Bouhsina, Fatiha Fort presented to Conférence Femise 2003, 4-6 December 2003, Marseille

Turkey which has been taking steps to enter the European Union since 1963, is usually now considered in policy discussions in the same package as the candidates from Central/Eastern Europe (such as Romania and Bulgaria) for integration with the European Union; Morocco is ina somewhat similar situation because of the impending free trade arrangement with the Euro- European market; in both cases, these countries had economies that were very strongly controlled (with similarities to the pre-transition economies) and policies, that were suddenly subjected to opening, liberalization, and strong influx of foreign capital in the late 1990s, in the retail sector.

CASE STUDIES OF AGRI-PROCESSING AND CONTRACT AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA

billv — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:30:09 +0000

Paper by Denis Sautier, Hester Vermeulen, Michel Fok, Estelle Biénabe. RIMISP, November, 2006

Abstract (c/o Eldis)

This paper, part of a series of contributions by RIMISP to the preparation of the World Development Report 2008, presents specific experiences in Africa, involving small and medium farmers and agri-processors. It illustrates the capacity of farmers and food processors to leverage agricultural growth , take advantage of untapped sources of growth and generate pro-poor development through adequate institutions.