ICRISAT - ICRISAT: Medium Term Plan 2010-12 - 2010-12

Universities, SRI (China), FCRI (Thailand)] and final users namely, NARES, NGOs, seed and
grain suppliers, input suppliers, grain storage agencies, credit agencies, poultry feed
manufacturers, farmer and poultry federations and finally farmers. The outputs include the
coalition building itself, improved crop production technologies, higher yields, innovations in
input supply and marketing chains, dissemination and scaling out of the coalition approach.
These outputs lead to outcomes at the farmer level such as access to cheaper credits, market
intelligence, reduced risk and use of quality inputs. The outcomes ofr the other stakeholders
involved in this activity included availability of grain to the end users (eg. poultry industry),
credit uptake and assured grain quality. The impact felt at the community level were both
socioeconomic in nature and also environment. Increase in income, better health and
education for children and reduced use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides are some of them.
Output 8: Policies and strategies that enhance agricultural diversification into high
value products (e.g., legumes, livestock, biofuels, vegetables, etc) to harness
emerging demand opportunities and facilitate agribusiness enterprises developed
and promoted
Production and marketing risks are recurrent in the Semi-Arid Tropics. Agricultural
diversification is an essential risk coping mechanism that allows consumers to smooth their
consumption and ensure a consistent supply of a portfolio of products by producers. Limited
diversification into high value crops where countries have comparative advantages has
constrained the competitiveness of SAT agriculture and the opportunity to gain from trade.
Agricultural diversification towards high-value commodities can be a potential tool for poverty
alleviation in developing countries. To harness this potential the following elements are critical
to scaling-up diversification are: (i) production base that can deliver high value marketable
surplus, (ii) physical infrastructure (roads, electricity, communication, refrigerated transport,
cold chains, etc.) that can facilitate commodity flows between production and markets, (iii)
efficient interactions between key supply chain players to reduce transaction costs (iv)
investment in product processing and conservation for value addition, and (v) an enabling
regulatory and legal framework to enhance the capacity of the public sector and encourage
private sector investment in agribusiness.
Diversification of agriculture towards high-value agriculture will impact various stakeholders
(including farmers, processors, traders and consumers) on the supply chain for high-value food
commodities. At the upstream farmers will be benefited in terms of enhanced income and
employment opportunities and become more competitive. At the down stream consumers will
benefit in terms of improved product quality and value, better availability and lower prices of
these commodities. Other stakeholders like traders and processors will also benefit from
reduced transaction costs and can exploit higher margins for their activities and services. On
the whole impact of high-value agriculture will be felt economy-wide in terms of enhanced
opportunities for income and employment for rural workers.
In dynamic development, adaptive responses between producers and policy makers are
necessary, to enhance communication among the value chain players. This will allow
identification of key challenges in agricultural production, processing and marketing, and how
strategically best to address them, e.g., better coordination of supply and demand, regular
volumes of sales, quality requirements. Improved communication will support further product
diversification and capturing new market opportunities, e.g., niche and export markets. It will
also contribute to identify future research needs that respond to the identified challenges, and
enhances technology transfer and adoption.
Harmonization of policies and decision making processes will enable poorer farmers in
producing high value products, improving livelihoods and environmental benefits. It also
includes the question on nexus between high value products, market development and
development. This will ensure integration of pro poor product and market development
approaches, e.g., protection against market risk, safety net strategies, smart subsidies and
ICRISAT MTP 2010-12 21