Study prompts major business interventions for small-scale farmers

Farmers   courtesy:bbc.co.uk

THE report of a three-year study into the ways small scale farmers operate in three continents of the world has call for a major rethink of development and business interventions for small scale farmers.

The study that was conducted in Africa, Asia and Latin America revealed how mainstream efforts targeted at making markets work for poor farmers can fail to operate in line with the attitude of the farmers themselves towards trying to make their markets work.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement that most small-scale farmers do combine farming with other activities and trade more in informal than formal markets.

A principal researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and co-author of the report, Bill Vorley said the interventions that aim to upgrade small-scale farmers into high-value, formal supply chains and modern markets only benefit 2 to 10 per cent of the farmers.

This, Vorley explained is in contrary to the expectations of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), policy makers and donors as policies tend to ignore the potential of informal market in favour of formal structures.

“Informality has its downsides,” Vorley said that it can also bring small-scale farmers great benefits in terms of market access, flexibility and even market power.

The report also confirms that rather than being a problem that needs to be fixed, informality can provide the space for small-scale farmers’ agency to find and build flexibility, and resilience in a globalising world.

NaijaAgroNet gathered from the report that the dynamic local, national and regional markets in developing countries do give small-scale farmers options that are beyond the ones offered by high-value and modern global supply.

The report also has it that policies and development interventions is needed to support potential small-scale farmers, as the shift to agriculture would not only lead to increased agricultural productivity and improved consumption but also increase youth employment.

Commenting on the study report, a co-author and senior researcher at IIED, Ethel Del Pozo-Vergnes called on concerned stakeholders to understand and support the strategies that small-scale farmers are already using, that the combine formal and informal ways to make markets work do for them.

Staff writer/DSBNews 
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