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Three-quarters of the world’s 1.2 billion poor people live in rural areas. Many are small-scale producers who depend on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods. International markets have been seen as a way out of poverty and food insecurity for small-scale producers. These markets comprise traditional food and fibre commodities, but also new markets for quality products, biodiversity conservation, and mitigation of climate change. Increasing volatility and stringent requirements in these markets, as well as international trade agreements, present smallholders and their organizations with multiple opportunities and risks. Higher value has to be weighed against the costs of meeting international standards and certification for quality products and the imbalance of market power when trading with large companies. Imports can push small producers out of their home markets.
This Knowledge Programme has set out to map, elicit and integrate knowledge on the dilemmas confronting small-scale producers in global, regional and national markets. It aims to work with different actors to bring new voices, concepts and insights into the global debate. It thereby seeks to support the development community, policy makers, producer organizations and businesses in their search for better informed policies and practices.
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Small, competitive and resilient - How small-scale producers contribute to food security
Food insecurity threatens almost one billion people, especially in rural areas in developing countries, where four out of five people go hungry every day. Scientists estimate that the world’s population will grow to 9.1 billion by 2050. Since natural resources are already dangerously degraded, fossil fuels are becoming scarce, and climate change has become an impending reality, this poses a serious challenge. To nourish the growing population and meet the challenges of climate change, it is n...
Vergroot 'Land Grabbing' de voedselonzekerheid in Afrika?
Sinds deze zomer wordt de Hoorn van Afrika opnieuw getroffen door grootschalige voedselonzekerheid en de roep om voedselhulp. Tegelijkertijd bereiken ons berichten dat grote arealen landbouwgrond in Afrika worden verworven door veelal buitenlandse investeerders. Dat roept de vraag op:is de huidige hongersnood een direct gevolg van deze door velen als ‘land grab’ betitelde trend? En: Wat weten we eigenlijk van de gevolgen van grootschalige landacquisitie voo...
A Global Learning Network at work
Globalisation and particularly the food crises of 2007- 2008 and 2010-11 have renewed interest in agriculture and small-scale producers. Much of this interest has focused on connecting producers to markets. Governments, donors and the development community at large, as well as many in the private sector, have embraced the “pro-poor market” concept with the expectation that, through market inclusion, small-scale producers can survive and even prosper in the face of the major changes in agricul...
"MUSEVENOMICS" analyzed
Popular understanding as postulated by Ugandan President Museveni suggests that if the prices of commodity prices go up, farmers should benefit by way of higher income. Morrison Rwakakamba from Uganda, a practicing economist and an active member of the Knowledge Programme on “Small Producers’ Agency in Globalised Markets” argues that while this might theoretically be true, the practice is a bit detached from the theory. He explains that certain structural factors inhibit the farmers fro...
Report of the fifth provocation online
The fifth provocation in the series of provocative seminars was held on Wednesday, June 22nd, in the European Parliament in Brussels and was hosted by Vredeseilanden, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament. The provocation dealt with the topic of pro-poor business, development and producer empowerment.
Corporate responsibility: what's in a name?
Over the past two decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) — where businesses adopt a range of voluntary initiatives to improve social, environmental and human rights performance — has become a popular tool for marrying business with development. At the latest provocation from IIED and Hivos, held in Brussels last week (22 June), a group of around 60 policymakers, academics and development practitioners gathered to discuss, among other things, the role of CSR in achieving development go...
Just how inclusive is ‘inclusive business’?
Discussion at the latest of the IIED-Hivos ‘provocations’ in Brussels last week (22 June) suggests that the first step in assessing how ‘pro-poor’ business contributes to development and smallholder empowerment, is to understand what we mean by the word ‘inclusive’. The growing effort to make markets work for the poor has seen several initiatives and practices emerge, which claim to be more inclusive of smallholders and poor workers. But how far such initiatives genuinely reduce poverty and e...
Provocation Seminar Series: Pro-poor business, development and smallholder empowerment
The fifth in a series of six seminars on markets and small-scale farmers will take place in Brussels, Belgium on 22 June 2011, 10.30-13.30 in the European Parliament, Room A3H-1. Why this provocation? As interest in ‘markets that work for the poor’ grows, the private sector is changing how it works to be more inclusive of the rural poor. Approaches such as fair trade, corporate social responsibility and inclusive business models claim to meet commercial objectives while also reducing pov...
Provocation Seminar Series: Making markets work for smallholders or wage labour?
The fourth in a series of six seminars on markets and small-scale farmers will take place in Manchester, United Kingdom on 25 May 2011, 12.00-16.30 (British Summer Time) and will also be available as a live stream on www.iied.org/provocation4. Download the flyer here.Development efforts to make agricultural markets work for the poor tend to focus on supporting small-scale farmers or producers. But what about the millions of poor rural workers employed in commercial operations such as plantati...
Provocation Seminar Series: Report of the third Provocation
The third Provocation was held in Paris, France on 30 March 2011 in association with hosting partners Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and Institut de Recherches et d Ápplications des Méthodes de developpement (IRAM).The Provocation was the third in a series of six being initiated by the IIED/Hivos Knowledge Programme: Small Producer Agency in globalised markets. The first was held in The Hague, Netherlands on 28 September 2010 on the topic Producer Agency and the agenda to “make ma...
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"MUSEVENOMICS" analyzed
Morrison Rwakakamba debates with President Museveni
Provocation on Pro-poor Business
Provocation 5 - part I
Changing perspectives in Latin America
Changing perspectives in Latin America Small producers in globalised markets