Transforming developing country agriculture: Removing adoption constraints and promoting inclusive value chain development

For most poor countries of today, investing in agriculture and the associated sectoral linkages is the most promising strategy for sustained growth and poverty reduction. Yet, in these countries, investment in agriculture has generally been lagging relative to international norms and recommendations. We start from the premise that this has been due to lack of success in modernizing the operations of smallholder farmers (SHF) that typically constitute the core of the farm population. These farmers are linked to consumers through value chains that range from the most elementary (local spot markets) to the most advanced (contract farming and out-grower schemes). Current wisdom with cases of successful modernization of smallholder farming is that it requires asset building, productivity growth in staple foods (Green Revolution), agricultural transformation (diversification of farming systems toward high value crops), and rural transformation (value addition through rural non-farm activities linked to agriculture). … /… Key words: Constraints removal approach: constraints to modernization originating in credit, insurance, information, and access to deep markets. Inclusive value chain development approach: incentives to modernize originating in access to assets, contracts, producer organizations discipline, and value chain coordination.