Regional Markets

4 Opportunities for development
• The value chain power analysis needs to be strengthened in any intervention, in order
to improve regulation and facilitation of inclusion, policy and practices, productivity,
social and economic justice, and finally sustainability.
• National policies are a crucial regulatory tool, which should be adjusted to accommodate
and develop regional value chains and markets, in addition to supporting largescale,
export-oriented agricultural production.
• Local and regional food commodity chains are a very important aspect of agricultural
and rural development policies. More than is the case with niche export markets,
they have the potential to improve production and productivity of large numbers
of farmers, the share of value added obtained by farmers, and the development of a
commercial environment in which farmers can continue to provide produce to the
consumer while sustaining their families.
• Temporary public support given to various (locally determined) types of private value
chain services can allow private actors to take up the responsible role of processor and
trader profitably, without monopolising the value chain too much.
• Building on this model in light of the field experience from the cases, we propose a
wider focus in considering food commodity markets. A reductionist approach often
adopted for export niche or cash crop value chains seems inadequate for larger food
commodity chains. The value chain models previously developed for niche crops may
be too limited, not adequately capturing the complexity of food commodity value
chains nor the potential to engage larger numbers of poor producers.
References:
KIT, Agriprofocus, IIRR (2012) Challenging Chains to Change. Gender equity in agricultural value chain
development. KIT Publishers, Amsterdam.
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