Wall Street Journal 4 May 2007

Mumbai: Organized retailers looking for help in sourcing fresh agricultural produce that matches the like of ITC Ltd's e-Choupal model, have a new friend to turn to.
US Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to bring farmers and retailers together on a common platform using information and communication technology that will help farmers improve their productivity and supply produce as per the retailers demands.

The Second European Forum on Sustainable Rural Development took place during the week of 18 June 2007 in Berlin. The event brought together 400 participants, including policy makers and practitioners from the European Commission and EU Member States' governments and development agencies, parliamentarians from EU and African countries, as well as expert speakers from developing countries governments, civil society organisations, research institutes and international organisations.

Regoverning Markets is pleased to announce a special call for short desk studies about policy innovations in the public or private sectors that have led to enhanced market participation by small-scale producers.

Regoverning Markets is pleased to announce a call for case study analyses for Component 2. We are seeking case study analyses of two types: (1) Full studies of innovative practices in connecting small-scale producers with dynamic markets; and (2) Short policy snapshots of policy innovations in the public or private sectors that have led to enhanced market participation by small-scale producers

Authors: Moustier, P. (et al.)
Produced by: International Finance Corporation (IFC) (2005)
 
The study assesses conditions for an increased involvement of the poor in the food value chains driven by supermarkets and other value-adding outlets. The trends of the different distribution chains were analysed through the gathering of secondary data. Surveys on poor consumers' access to different retailing points were made in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Moc Chau, as well as comparison of prices between the different points of sale in these cities. Four case studies investigated poor farmers' and traders' participation in distribution value chains.

A Global Learning Network was launched today [to be completed].A video of the First Study Tour and Workshop is available at www.rimisp.org/video/