Building bridges between agribusiness and development
Aligning agribusiness and development means taking a holistic approach
Carlos da Silva, senior agribusiness economist, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, rural infrastructure and agro-industries division, Rome, Italy
Engage smallholders fairly: There are well known mechanisms to link smallholder farmers to agribusiness firms in fair and sustainable ways, such as contract farming (CF). Farmers can benefit from CF by having a guaranteed market outlet, access to technology and the possibility of pre-financing of farming inputs, among others. Firms also benefit by reducing the uncertainties related to procurement in agrifood markets. To help achieve positive outcomes for all engaged in CF systems, FAO created the contract farming resource centre and recently issued a publication outlining a number of guiding principles for responsible contract farming operations.
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