In commercial agriculture, contracts coordinate production and trade, linking input suppliers to producers, all the way to end buyers. A better understanding of these chains of contracts can enable development practitioners and policymakers to increase scope for rural producer agency.
Producers trading in informal agricultural markets in low- and middle-income countries make daily choices concerning their livelihood and marketing strategies. Different contexts present varying degrees of market power and knowledge asymmetries across value chains and trading relations.
New public policies and changing economic fundamentals have spurred private-sector investment in commercial agriculture in low- and middle-income countries – from production to aggregation, processing and distribution.
