Agricultural markets are about more than buying and selling commodities. They are about the relationships between producers and consumers, and all the other actors in a value chain. They are also important for our relation with the food we eat.
Globalisation has had far-reaching consequences for these relations, with products travelling long distances and with many new stakeholders getting involved. It has deeply influenced the way we produce and what we eat. At the same time, domestic markets in developing countries are changing drastically due to rapid urbanisation, the emerging retail sector, and vastly improved communication facilities.
Arguing that producers benefit from these changes, the idea of using value chains to connect small-scale farmers to global markets has become hugely popular. Yet, as a recent study by IIED and Hivos shows, an apparent consensus about the benefits of “inclusive businesses” has been reached without a strong body of evidence about the number of smallholders that might be involved, or the impact this will have on reducing poverty and food security.
This issue of Farming Matters presents a small sample of the many experiences in (re)creating and (re)vitalising local markets. These experiences generate substantial employment, and also build local food security and food sovereignty. Yet, they are often overlooked by policymakers and mainstream development experts who view them as “niche” initiatives, supposedly irrelevant for larger development processes. There is work for researchers here: by analysing, aggregating and systematising this variety of experiences and quantifying their impact, they would help policymakers to see the real strengths and weaknesses of localisation.
These new ways of connecting farmers and consumers are neither about (inclusive) global value chains, or traditional local markets. They are about a new business model which is local in focus but global as a phenomenon. Producers, middlemen and consumers build new arrangements through farmers’ markets, vegetable boxes, meat contracts, or by cleverly using the available ICTs to benefit local producers and local consumers. Many of these are small initiatives, but they have a snowball effect. Supporting such initiatives may be one of the best ways to invest in the future of family farming and in the future of the planet.
Edith van Walsum
director ILEIA
