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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.
News
Markets, value chains and development
We herewith invite you to an exiting day; with a program centering on the question what do we actually know about how value chains and markets work for development. In the morning, bilateral dialogues of businesses, NGOs, and governments with researchers aim to make intervention theories explicit and to seek bridges between frameworks of different actors. In the afternoon, small-scale farmers’ agency in setting the development agenda is the focal point of a combination of provocations from L...
Report Geneva Meeting
Farmer leaders, agribusiness entrepreneurs, researchers and non-governmental organisations from across the world gathered near Geneva from 26 to 29 April to establish a new Learning Network on small-scale farmers, markets and globalisation. This network was convened as part of the Knowledge Programme ‘Small Producer Agency in the Globalised Market’, coordinated by Hivos, Mainumby Ñakurutú and IIED. After four intensive working days in Geneva the Learning Network agreed on the main topics th...
Africa Roundtable Report
A Knowledge Programme (KP) is being established by Hivos, IIED and a global learning network (LN), to map, elicit and integrate knowledge on the dilemmas confronting small-scale producers from the globalisation of markets. A series of regional roundtable meetings is being held in Latin America, Africa and Asia to: Present the concept of the knowledge programme and its associated learning network, which will drive knowledge generation; Have an open and frank discussion to validate the conten...
Latin America Roundtable Report
A Knowledge Programme and a global learning network has been established by Hivos, Mainumby and IIED, to map, elicit and integrate knowledge on the dilemmas confronting small-scale producers in the context of globalising markets. A series of regional roundtable meetings were held in Latin America, Africa and Asia to: Present the concept of the knowledge programme and its associated learning network, which will drive knowledge generation; Have an open and frank discussion to validate the con...
Asia Roundtable Report
As part of the “Small Producer Agency in the Globalised Market” KP, Hivos, in association with IIED and Mainumby, held the third international Round Table on 4 February 2010 in Bangalore. The first two round tables were held in Latin America and Africa in August and November 2009 respectively. The round table was held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMB). Participants in this round table included NGO functionaries, corporate representatives, academics and entrepreneurs from India, Ca...
Innovative Thinkers and Practitioners Looking Ahead
Farmer leaders, agribusiness entrepreneurs, researchers, nongovernmental organisations from across the world gathered near Geneva from the April 26- 29 to convene a new Learning Network on small-scale farmers, markets and globalisation. After four intensive working days in Geneva the Learning Network (LN) agreed on the main topics that they will work on over the next eighteen months. As the central pillar of the Knowledge Programme, the sixteen members of the LN discussed the dilemmas that s...
Video Changing perspectives in Latin America
Today, more than ever, after the food crisis of 2007 - 2008, governments and private sector are showing greater interest in agriculture and food supply for a fast growing and more urban world population. Today small scale farmers are facing great challenges. This video is a contribution for the debate by: IIED, Hivos and Mainumby.
Inclusive Chocolate: Towards more integrated certification of Tropical Commodities
In the 17th century, Dutch companies introduced Europe to the global trade and processing of cacao, coffee and tea. Four centuries later, the Dutch food industry proclaimed that all the cacao it processes will be sustainable in 2025. This implies that the whole cacao value chain, from producer to supermarket, will have to be fully certified. The question arises what objectives should be met, e.g. ecological sustainability, poverty reduction or fairness in trade. Various standards organisatio...
Book on Value Chain Finance
In large parts of the world, small-scale farmers, traders and processors are constrained in their business operations due to a lack of finance. Farmers want to be paid immediately, but traders do not have the ready cash to buy their produce. Traders need working capital so they can buy and transport produce, but lack the collateral to get loans. Processors cannot get the money they need to buy equipment or ensure a steady supply of inputs.
Presentation by PhytoTrade @ Hivos
On Monday, February 15th, Gus le Breton, CEO at the Hivos partner PhytoTrade Africa gave a public presentation on a new biobased produce that PhytoTrade wants to bring from the very rural areas of Africa to the world market: Baobab Superfruit. The meeting was attended by about twenty people from various academic institutes, companies and organisations that are all active in the promotion of sustainable economic development and the access of the poor to the market.
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Changing perspectives in Latin America
Changing perspectives in Latin America Small producers in globalised markets