There is a growing thinking that gives high emphasis to better understand on how informal small-scale farmers make markets that work well for them. More than 90% of food in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to be produced by smallholder farmers. Globalisation, and particularly the food price crises of the past five years, has placed small-scale producers under the spotlight as part of the answer to creating a more sustainable food for the future.  

To create a better future for small-scale farmers there is a need to change the mindsets and answering question instead of thinking how to make the market work for the poor, we must look at how the poor make the market work for them. 

The widely advocated strategy for small scale farmers to respond this challenge is to connect them to modern market systems.  And how can small –scale farmers deliver these huge expectations in the face of modernization and globalization is the objective of this article. 

A global knowledge programme and associated learning network of producer’s leaders, researchers, private sector and civil society was established in 2009. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in collaboration with Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos), and integrated a global learning network, convened by Mainumby Ñakurutú in Bolivia produce a video that highlights main challenges that faces small-scale producers in the modern markets. The video has highlighted Five key massages that come out of the above network.

Key Massage one– the need to understand whether the majority of small –scale farmers including the new generation are in a position where  the network want them to be. 

Key massage two– Value chains and inclusive businesses have a lot of promises for the 10% at the top of producers pyramid those who with better assets. But what about the 80-90% of small-scale farmers who are not formally organized? 

Key massages three- Small scale farmers are actors who manage wide portfolio of economic activities both informal and formal markets and in urban and rural spaces despite the limited assets.  Small-scale farmers are active economic actors. Development programmes need to stop looking at small-scale farmers as beneficiaries or victims. They need to look them as very active agents who make their own decisions and make-up their own strategies even in a very changing and under varied circumstances of agricultural systems and rural economy. 

Key massages four– Agencies should be treated outside the formal economic and political institutions. The Smallholder agency and informality are closely interrelated. 

Key massage Five– Policies, businesses and development programmes focusing only on small-scale farming capacity to cooperate to compete and supply modern markets miss this understanding of how the poor make markets work for them.

Therefore, to get the future right for the smallholders we must change the mindsets and answering question instead of thinking how to make the market work for the poor it is better to look at how the poor make the market work for them.

To view the video click the link below.

http://www.iied.org/small-producer-agency-globalised-market

Highly related to that IIED in collaboration Hivos, and integrated a global learning network, convened by Mainumby Ñakurutú in Bolivia produced a report in July 2013 – “Meeting small-scale farmers in their markets: understanding and improving the institutions and governance of informal agrifood trade”.

The full version of the report can be downloaded here:http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/16548IIED.pdf?