Small commodity producers in developing countries often find it difficult to go beyond sporadic sales to purely local markets. However, if these producers are to escape poverty, they have to be empowered to enter organized supply chains, linking them with consumers locally, regionally and internationally. Many conditions need to be met in order for this to be possible.
Who will take the responsibility for creating these conditions?
Governments and development partners certainly have important roles to play, but in an increasing number of cases commercial entities (such as commodity exchanges, processors, large buyers or fair trade organizations) have taken it upon themselves to organize the chain: they act as "anchors" for the full range of necessary services (such as information, quality control and finance).
These entities are building sustainable business models that are helping to lift farmers out of poverty. If Governments and development partners wish to leverage their own efforts on poverty alleviation through trade capacity building, they can benefit from a better understanding of the models that these commercial supply chain "anchors" are putting in place. On this basis, they can then design appropriate partnerships to support the wider implementation of such models.
| The Expert Meeting will examine the relevant issues in this regard and formulate proposals on how Governments and commercial entities can partner each other in building viable commodity supply chains for the benefit of marginal commodity producers in developing countries. |
