Resumen de Value creation for smallholders and SMEs in commodity supply chains
Agriculture remains the best opportunity to move out of poverty for an estimated 1.5 to 2 billion people worldwide who live in smallholder households. Many of them derive at least part of their livelihood from producing crops that enter commodity supply chains. About 90 per cent of smallholders engaged in supply chains operate in local and national markets; the remaining 10 per cent produce crops destined for export markets. The value created for smallholders from their engagement in those supply chains depends on many factors. This paper is intended to guide practitioners in understanding and evaluating some of the most important ones. It draws from 10 years’ experience of collaboration with companies to integrate smallholder commodity producers into mostly export agricultural supply chains. When successful, such integration increases their opportunities for making decisions on their production unit and in their households that affect their progress as producers and families. It argues that the extent of benefits to households and communities from smallholder inclusion in agribusiness supply chains depends on how well it reflects economic priorities, social structures, and gender dynamics in the producing communities and on how appropriately planned is the targeting of smallholders and their capacity building. The paper outlines enablers, inhibitors, and trade-offs when commodity companies interact with smallholders and SMEs.
