In the light of the results reported above, the following policy recommendations to governments can be suggested:
• Governments should provide infrastructure facilities and public utilities to enhance the efficiency of producers and market stakeholders;
• Access to financial facilities at the village level should be improved to encourage greater participation of rural households in high-value agricultural production;
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Introduction
• Improving extension services is also essential to provide information to growers so that they are fully aware of market opportunities as well as the most efficient techniques of production, crop establishment and management, transportation and storage;
• Governments must provide an enabling environment and support for small farmers to group together in order to avail some of the economies of scale that larger farmers have when dealing with buying agents;
• It is essential for governments to provide a conducive environment for private sector investment. Amending current laws regulating the marketing of agricultural products can go a long way towards encouraging private sector investment into food marketing. Several national governments have achieved a great deal of success on this front, but more effort is required;
• Governments need to work with the private sector to develop standards for food safety and higher quality. Setting mandatory safety standards for fresh fruit and vegetable will enable organized retailing and other agribusinesses to set up their own robust quality assurance schemes for fresh produce, which are stricter than the government standards. It is very important for the private sector to meet such quality requirements to be competitive;
• Investments into post-harvest management and agroprocessing at farmers’ level should be encouraged. Historically, post-harvest management has not been given much attention in government extension programmes. In a changing market, post-harvest management needs to be an important part of government extension programmes if farmers are to be able to participate in modern value chains and meet the quality requirements of supermarkets and other industrial buyers. Similarly, governments should create an appropriate enabling environment to encourage agribusinesses to invest in improving their supply chains: for example, lower import taxes for reefer trucks and other logistical equipment will encourage more investment in this area;
• Developing linkages between small farmers and their customers is essential. The government sector, donor groups and NGOs can facilitate the development of linkages between small farmers and supermarkets through supporting marketing extension services. It is important to initiate projects with public–private partnership, encouraging the involvement of small farmers in modern value chains by providing training in post-harvest management and links to input supply and credit providers. The supermarkets are at the stage where they are setting up farmer linkages. Initiating such projects will ensure the participation of small farmers in modern value chains.