John Belt – författare

The rapid changes taking place in the structure and governance of national and regional agri-food markets in developing countries seriously affect the ability of agriculture, especially small-scale agriculture, to contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. Reconnecting Markets is the second volume of case examples from the Regoverning Markets programme (2005-2008). It focuses on the keys to inclusion of small-scale farmers and rural SMEs into dynamic national and regional markets. The cases document specific arrangements that appear to have played a positive role in supporting greater inclusion, such as public policies and business initiatives, collective action by farmers and support from development agencies.

The rapid changes taking place in the structure and governance of national and regional agri-food markets in developing countries seriously affect the ability of agriculture, especially small-scale agriculture, to contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. Reconnecting Markets is the second volume of case examples from the Regoverning Markets programme (2005-2008). It focuses on the keys to inclusion of small-scale farmers and rural SMEs into dynamic national and regional markets. The cases document specific arrangements that appear to have played a positive role in supporting greater inclusion, such as public policies and business initiatives, collective action by farmers and support from development agencies.

The rapid changes taking place in the structure and governance of national and regional agri-food markets in developing countries seriously affect the ability of agriculture, especially small-scale agriculture, to contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. Reconnecting Markets is the second volume of case examples from the Regoverning Markets programme (2005-2008). It focuses on the keys to inclusion of small-scale farmers and rural SMEs into dynamic national and regional markets. The cases document specific arrangements that appear to have played a positive role in supporting greater inclusion, such as public policies and business initiatives, collective action by farmers and support from development agencies.

In spite of the current wave of globalization, the majority of the world’s people remain poor, excluded from economic development. The aim of this book is to show that disadvantaged smallholders and other poor people can be included in modern integrated value chains, which are profitable for them, for the value chain leaders, and for all the other processors and traders involved. And, that this can be done without subsidy, without donor or government aid, and without appeal to ‘corporate social responsibility’; it is simple good business. Commercial and Inclusive Value Chains includes case studies on fifteen profitable and inclusive value chains from different countries in Western, Eastern and North Eastern Africa, and from India, Cambodia, Peru. The goods which they handle include food stuffs and other products that are transformed through a value chain. Each case includes a detailed ‘map’ of the value chain, showing how much value is added at each stage, as well as the results of surveys to assess the benefit to the small producers or other disadvantaged group who are members of the chains.This book is important reading for managers and consultants who work in value chain development, staff of NGOs and donor agencies, and researchers and post-graduate students in business schools and in departments of economics and development studies.

Commercial and Inclusive Value Chains includes case studies on fifteen profitable and inclusive value chains from different countries in Western, Eastern and North Eastern Africa, and from India, Cambodia, Peru.

As smallholder farmers switch to producing for the commercial market, they face a steep learning curve. To select a product and to market it effectively, they must understand both their immediate market situation and how the whole value chain works. Individual smallholders probably cannot grow enough on their own, so they have to get organised and sell their produce as a group. That takes leadership, organisation, mutual trust and a common vision. They need to access a range of business services: inputs, financial services, training, market information, transport, government support, and so on. And they need to plan their businesses: analyse their potential markets, identify customers, negotiate with buyers and suppliers, work out their costs and expected income, look at their longer term position in the value chain, develop a business plan, and put the plan into operation. How best to help groups of smallholders to gain these skills? This book describes a "learning alliance" approach that combines training, practical assignments to develop an enterprise, on-the-job coaching, and the sharing of experiences among several groups of farmers. The approach was piloted in Ethiopia from 2007 to 2010 with 18 groups of farmers in Amhara, Oromia, the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNPR) regional states. It covered a wide range of commodities, from staple grains to dairy, coffee, legumes, honey and incense. Where normal training courses impart skills that farmers find hard to apply to their own situation and soon forget, the learning alliance enables them to apply new skills to their own situations, reinforces their new knowledge, and gives them hands-on, guided experience with building their own businesses. That makes a learning alliance a highly effective way of enabling farmers to build their businesses in a sustainable way.