Agricultural technology commercialisation: stakeholders, business models, and abiotic stressors - Part 1

Leveraging informal lending mechanisms to facilitate technology transfer and microenterprise in developing countries

“…The FVC processes can be divided into the following phases: agricultural production, processing, storage, marketing, distribution and consumption. Numerous businesses, non-profit organizations and academic programs have emerged to develop innovative technologies that both improve the livelihoods of farmers and promote food security [27,28]. Yet these entities face enormous obstacles as they attempt to disseminate their products to the people who need them most [36].…”

“…They identify trustworthy brokers, work with market retailers, and sometimes combine their produce with other farmers in order to share transportation costs. However, valueadded products such as dried fruits or processed dairy may be difficult to sell locally and require more established institutions such as marketing agencies or corporate entities to access profitable markets [27,28]. The ability to find these market linkages is the fourth major barrier for smallholder farmers when establishing agricultural enterprises.…”