Global Agricultural Value Chains, Standards, and Development

Understanding the development implications of agri-food value chains is crucial as they are a fundamental component of developing countries’ growth potential and could increase rural incomes and reduce poverty. This note reviews some of the implications of these global agri-food value chains for developing countries and global poverty reduction. I focus on five aspects: (a) smallholder inclusion in value chains; (b) impacts on smallholder income and food security; (c) technology transfer and access to inputs; (d) labor market effects and impacts on gender and rural poverty; and (e) the interaction between liberalization policies and value chains. I summarize key insights and provide references to a rapidly growing literature.