Working With Smallholders

Working with Smallholders

Smallholder farmers are the stewards of more than 80 percent of the world’s farms. These small family businesses produce about one-third of the world’s food. In Africa and Asia, smallholders dominate the production of food crops, as well as export commodities such as cocoa, coffee, and cotton. However, smallholders and farm workers remain among the poorest segments of the population, and they are on the frontline of climate change. Smallholder farmers face constraints in accessing inputs, finance, knowledge, technology, labor, and markets.Raising farm-level productivity in a sustainable way is a key development priority. Agribusinesses are increasingly working with smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries to secure agricultural commodities. More productive smallholders boost rural incomes and economic growth, as well as reduce poverty. Smallholders also represent a growing underserved market for farm inputs, information, and financial services.Working with Smallholders: A Handbook for Firms Building Sustainable Supply Chains (thirdedition) shows agribusinesses how to engage more effectively with smallholders and to develop sustainable, resilient, and productive supply chains. The book compiles practical solutions and cutting-edge ideas to overcome the challenges facing smallholders. This third edition is substantially revised from the second edition and incorporates new material on the potential for digital technologies and sustainable farming.This handbook is written principally to outline opportunities for the private sector. The content may also be useful to the staffs of governmental or nongovernmental development programs working with smallholders, as well as to academic and research institutions.

Working with Smallholders

The world’s population is expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050. Meanwhile, concurrent rises inincomes and urbanization are driving increased consumption of meat, dairy, and biofuels.Meeting the demand for food, feed, and biofuel will require a global production increase of almost50 percent relative to 2012. Production in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa—where 95 percentof farms are smaller than five hectares—must double at a minimum.A key element of policies to increase food production will be promoting improved food quality,as the health costs of too much, too little, and the wrong types of food become increasinglyevident. Additional initiatives must address how to reduce food losses; globally, one-third of foodproduction is lost or wasted at different stages in the food chain each year. Climate change isbringing further stressors.These challenges also present opportunities. Around the world, 450 million smallholder farmersare plagued by low productivity and poor access to inputs, technology, knowledge, financing, andmarkets. Agribusinesses are increasingly working directly with smallholder farmers in low- andmiddle-income countries to help secure a sustainable supply of key agricultural commodities whileboosting rural incomes and economic growth. Sourcing directly from smallholders can expand afirm’s supply base, reduce margins paid to collectors and middlemen, facilitate improvements in qualityand yield, and deliver premium prices for a certified fair-trade or sustainably produced product.Smallholders also represent a growing market for farm inputs, information, and financial services.Agribusiness firms can help smallholders to increase productivity and improve crop quality; accessknow-how to mitigate social and environmental impacts; develop farm management skills and combinetheir production with other farmers to achieve sufficient scale to be effective market players;and meet the growing demand for safe, sustainable food by improving practices and introducingtraceability and certification systems.Working with Smallholders: A Handbook for Firms Building Sustainable Supply Chains shows howagribusinesses can develop more sustainable, resilient, and productive supply chains and illustratesthe substantial impact of doing so on development. The book compiles innovative solutions andcutting-edge ideas to meet the challenges, and it incorporates a diverse collection of hands-oncase studies from across the world that cover a variety of agribusiness sectors. This second editionbuilds on the lessons learned and provides updates in leading trends and technologies from thoseprovided in the first edition published in 2014.

Working with Smallholders