ÿ Inclusive business is hailed as a win-win scenario for the development of poor communities; yet there is little insight into how these inclusive businesses work and, more importantly, for whom. This book aims for a thorough understanding of the range of inclusive businesses in agriculture by examining: the structures they implement, the actors involved, and whether they are effectively inclusive of smallholders. It presents a range of case studies and is therefore empirically based and practically oriented. By offering a critical assessment of inclusive businesses overall, it allows for a better perception of what works where, and under which conditions. It provides useful insights that will benefit smallholders, agri-businesses, support groups, policy makers and investors who are willing to promote more inclusive businesses, that foster a better integration of smallholders into commercial value-chains and a more equitable and sustainable agricultural sector.

Inclusive Businesses (IBs) are considered to be an essential tool for reducing rural poverty and stimulating overall development. These businesses are described as sustainable and equitable commercial operations that link low-income communities and smallholder farmers with agribusinesses in order to facilitate the former s market integration. Being innovative partnerships between these actors, they provide a structure to share in the value creation and allocation within the IB. Participation in an IB allows the beneficiaries to gain from aspects such as market access, skills development, jobs, and monetary income. Although often promoted based on anecdotal evidence, IBs are little analysed and understood from a conceptual perspective, nor are they scrutinised when implemented in the field. This study aims to address these facets. As such, the focus is two-fold: to provide a conceptualisation of the institutional set-ups of IBs, and to posit a methodology to assess the inclusiveness of these IBs when implemented. Combining the organisational structure with the inclusiveness obtained allows for an understanding if and how these business partnerships can contribute to the intended rural transformation in developing countries. Findings are based on extensive fieldwork and assessments of 14 IBs in primary agriculture in South Africa. This study proposes a new, flexible typology for the institutional set-ups of IBs to accommodate the complex structures observed in the field. These hybrid arrangements are presented as unique combinations of five standard instruments that act as building blocks: collective organisation, equity, lease/management contracts, mentorships, and supply contracts. These combinations allow to overcome the shortcomings of each instrument. A holistic framework, based on elements of Resource Dependence Theory, Transaction Costs Economics and Agency Theory, explains why and how actors interlink these instruments into complex organisational structures. Results show that multiple-instrument IBs do achieve improved access of low-income communities and smallholder farmers to commercial value chains. But, IBs struggle to overcome the power asymmetry between the actors, allowing the commercial partner to control the structure and management of the IB in order to reduce its uncertainty pertaining to this enterprise. IBs thus bring the risk of increased corporate control over resources owned by smallholders and poor communities. The inclusion of the beneficiaries in the value creation and allocation processes of the IB is assessed based on four dimensions: ownership, voice, risk and rewards. The study firstly shows that a distinction is required between the level of inclusiveness that is envisaged in theory, and which depends on the instruments implemented, and the level achieved in the actual implementation of the IB which - as the results show - often lags behind the intended inclusion. Secondly, it finds that whereas IBs as business projects can achieve positive results, this does not necessarily reach the individual beneficiaries. The assessed IBs are dynamic in their set-up, however, and allow for adaptations to overcome these issues. The State, which plays an important role through establishing a stimulating policy framework and financial contributions, together with third party engagement, can counter the potential corporatisation under IBs emphasising that IBs alone cannot constitute the expected panacea for agricultural transformation and rural development.

Governments, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and the private sector have increasingly embraced value-chain development (VCD) for stimulating economic growth and combating rural poverty. Innovation for Inclusive Value-Chain Development: Successes and Challenges helps to fill the current gap in systematic knowledge about how well VCD has performed, related trade-offs or undesired effects, and which combinations of VCD elements are most likely to reduce poverty and deliver on overall development goals. This book uses case studies to examine a range of VCD experiences. Approaching the subject from various angles, it looks at new linkages to markets and the role of farmer organizations and contract farming in raising productivity and access to markets, the minimum assets requirement to participate in VCD, the role of multi-stakeholder platforms in VCD, and how to measure and identify successful VCD interventions. The book also explores the challenges livestock-dependent people face; how urbanization and advancing technologies affect linkages; ways to increase gender inclusion and economic growth; and the different roles various types of platforms play in VCD.

Most studies of doing business at the "bottom of the economic pyramid" focus on viewing the poor as consumers, as micro-entrepreneurs, or as potential employees of local companies. Almost no analysis focuses on the poor as primary producers of agricultural commodities a striking omission given that primary producers are by far the largest segment of the working-age population in developing economies. Making Markets More Inclusive bridges the management literature with original research on agricultural value chains in developing and emerging economies. This exciting work is the first to delve into the skills, capabilities, strategies and approaches needed for inclusive value chain development. McKague shows how NGOs and companies can connect poor producers in developing economies with the right markets to better create social and economic impact. He also analyzes one of the leading agricultural value chain initiatives in the world, which is being replicated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in several different value chains in Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, India, and Mali. Want more? Check out these compelling videos, which provide a glimpse into the stories and examples used throughout the book. Video Trailer for Making Markets More Inclusive. Farmer Training. Kallani Rani increased the productivity of her cows, become a cattle feed seller in her village (Chapter 6), and opened a fresh milk canteen in her local market (Chapter 7). She now trains other women farmers and works to improve opportunities for women in her community (Chapter 5). Animal Health Care Services. Asma Husna trained to be an animal health worker with CARE to provide important animal health services and education to local farmers on a fee-for-service basis (Chapter 6). Cattle Feed Shops. Fulera Akter started a business as a cattle feed seller after demand for nutritional animal feed grew due to farmers' improved knowledge of nutrition (Chapter 6). Savings Groups. Coauthor Muhammad Siddiquee, the Coordinator of Agriculture and Value Chain Programs at CARE Bangladesh, discusses the value of farmer savings groups (Chapter 6). Milk Collection. Sarothi Rani became a milk collector to earn an improved income for her family and provide an important service to other dairy farmers in her community (Chapter 7). Digital Fat Testing. Introducing digital fat testing machines into the dairy value chain helped reward farmers for making investments in producing higher quality milk, as well as ensuring transparent and timely payments (Chapter 7). Microfranchising. Supporting agricultural input shop owners with training, relationships to suppliers, common branding, and standardized customer services improves the productivity of smallholder farmers and the profitability of shops (Chapter 12). Bangladesh Dairy Value Chain Learning. Reflections from some of the 40 CARE staff from 17 countries who came to Bangladesh to learn from the experience of the dairy value chain project (Chapter 15).

A training package including a facilitators's manual and series of PowerPoint presentations, developed to support design and implementation of small-holder-based market-linkage initiatives using the Inclusive Business Models (IBM) approach.

Examines a range of business models that can be used to structure agricultural investment in lower- and middle-income countries.