"Markets, small holders and empowerment"

lundi 7 mai 2012

Making markets work for smallholders is the topic of the April 2012 issue of: Capacity.org. The magazine includes interesting articles on how producers' organizations can be strengthend and empowered. The debates also raise the question on the role of agricultural cooperatives.

This issue of Capacity.org aims to refocus attention on the critical but largely neglected issue of producer agency: that is, the capacity of producers to make informed choices, and to act on those choices. Drawing on several detailed case studies - contract farming arrangements that benefit or exploit farmers; guidelines for addressing farm labour interests; and the role of women on small-scale farms - the journal's contributors offer practical guidance on how to strike the right balance between "economic and political empowerment."