Inclusive agribusiness models in the Global South: the impact on local food security

Westen, Acm van; Mangnus, Ellen; Wangu, James; Worku, Senait Getahun

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2019.11.003

Cited by 29 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…This justifies their decision to work with smallholders with relatively higher production capacity. Indeed, as van Westen, Mangnus [124] indicates, businesses "work within bounded rationalities and market pressures may actually limit their horizon". This perspective implies that some of the shortcomings that prevent Makueni smallholders from being included in the initiative, particularly land and number of trees, are arguably beyond the scope of the inclusive features of the business.…”

Section: Variables Associated With Participation In the Businessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

2020

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Food and nutrition security remain at the top of development priorities in low income countries. This is especially the case for smallholder farmers who derive their livelihood from agriculture yet are often the most deprived. Inclusive agribusinesses have been championed as a key strategy to address local constraints that limit smallholders’ participation in regional and global value chains, thereby enhancing their livelihood, and food and nutrition security, accordingly. In this paper, based on a mixed method research approach, we explore the potential food and security contribution of inclusive agribusiness in Makueni county, Kenya. We focus on the smallholders’ constraints and needs, exploring the extent to which these are addressed by such purported pro-poor approach. First, using independent sample t-tests and a probit regression model, we explore who are able to participate in an ongoing intervention. We compare how participants and non-participants differ in terms of key socio-economic characteristics and establish which of these attributes are associated with successful integration into the business. Second, we again use independent sample t-tests to determine how the participants and non-participants compare in terms of their food and nutrition security. The household food and nutrition security is assessed with the conventional measurement tools: the household food insecurity access scale and the household food dietary diversity score. We find that participation in the inclusive agribusiness favors smallholder households with relatively higher production capacity in terms of better physical capital (land and number of mango trees, financial capital), access to loans, and human capital (age, education, and family size). Following income improvement, the participants’ household food security situation is significantly better than for non-participants. However, participation does not improve household dietary diversity, implying that improvement in income does not necessarily lead to better household nutrition security. To address the limitations of inclusive agribusiness, we propose policymakers and development actors to critically explore the contextual background prior to intervention design and implementation, and accordingly devise a broader approach for more inclusivity of the very poor and marginalized, and better food and nutrition security outcomes as a result. Given that not every smallholder could benefit from inclusive agribusiness for their food needs due to resource scarcity, alternative livelihood supports, including social protection programs and safety net plans, should be considered.

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Section: Variables Associated With Participation In the Businessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

2020

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“…This paper serves to enrich the existing knowledge and debate the role of the private sector in delivering societal development goals, specifically food security, for marginalized populations [2,5,89,[95][96][97][98]. It does so by expanding the discussion on the possibilities and improbability of inclusive businesses in solving smallholder-farmingrelated livelihood constraints, especially those most marginalized socio-economically and therefore most in need [8,99]. Concomitantly, and most importantly, it illuminates the importance of a food systems' approach, which puts food at the center of policies and development interventions that are designed and implemented with a view to addressing food and nutrition insecurity in smallholder communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering that inclusive businesses are profit oriented, it is understandable that not every smallholder can be reached, particularly those with very low production capacity, as doing so would raise the transaction costs, rendering the businesses unprofitable and unsustainable. As pointed out by van Westen et al [8], like any other business, inclusive business models 'work within bounded rationalities and market pressures'. Against this background, inclusive agribusinesses that 'integrate farmers into capital intensive markets' may not be the 'best solution' to addressing smallholders' livelihood issues [49].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Popular, and preferred over traditional development approaches such as aid and charity, the strength of the inclusive business approach is in the business models' potential to achieve commercial success while addressing social challenges [1,7]. Among smallholders, it is maintained that in the adoption of IBMs, private sector actors stand to gain from enormous opportunities in food value chains, in terms of production, distribution, and consumption, from enhanced smallholder agri-food sector growth, whereas food-insecure smallholders would benefit from improved capacity to address production constraints such as inputs, extension services, technology, and marketing [5,[7][8][9][10]. Through IBMs, it is presumed that smallholder food security would result from enhanced farm productivity (food availability) and income (food access).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The following contexts highlight the different areas of concern. First, due to competitiveness in the agri-food industry, IBMs may not adequately address constraints facing smallholder farming, leading to limited livelihood changes and/or exclusion of some smallholders Foods 2021, 10, 1785 2 of 17 in the businesses [8,[14][15][16]. Second, for the businesses' participants, the increase in farm productivity and income may not be sufficient to counter their households' food insecurity challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Need for a Food Systems Approach in Smallholder Food and Nutrition Security Initiatives: Lessons from Inclusive Agribusiness in Smallholder Communities

Wangu

2021

Foods

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Inclusive business models dominate current development policy and practices aimed at addressing food and nutrition insecurity among smallholder farmers. Through inclusive agribusiness, smallholder food security is presumed to come from increased farm productivity (food availability) and income (food access). Based on recent research, the focus of impact assessments of inclusive business models has been limited to instrumental aspects, such as the number of farmers supported, the training provided, and immediate farm outcomes, namely revenue. Furthermore, the assessments limit their scope to participating smallholders, while overlooking other community members. With respect to food and nutrition security, there is no acknowledgement of the diverse household needs that compete with the food requirements with regard to the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. Focusing on recent studies and reviews on the contribution of inclusive business initiatives to smallholders’ livelihoods and food security, the present review adopts a food systems approach for broader knowledge and insight analysis. It re-emphasizes that a food systems approach that provides a systemic and broader way of thinking about and working on food issues is critical for development initiatives aimed at ensuring that every person can meet their food and nutrition needs.

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Inclusive business for rural development: New typology and differentiated value creation in the agri‐food sector

Weng,

Schoneveld,

Pokorny

et al. 2023

Bus Strat Dev

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Inclusive businesses (IBs) resonate with policymakers seeking to leverage private capital in support of poverty alleviation and sustainable development. In the agri‐food sector, which represents the largest segment of the base‐of‐the‐pyramid (BOP) market and a key source of livelihood for the rural poor, there is limited evidence on their diversity and social value creation mechanisms. This prevents practitioners from identifying impactful IB types and design features. A statistical analysis of 46 cases in Tanzania and Ghana identified four IB types: (1) self‐reliant agribusinesses, (2) domestic plantation companies, (3) social enterprises, and (4) locally‐embedded Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Our findings suggest that socially‐driven and localized IBs hold high impact potential but require significant external support, while more self‐sufficient IBs adopt less socially innovative designs. This study demonstrates the utility of a data‐driven approach to capture the complexity of real‐world IBs, which yielded practical insights for more effective poverty alleviation through business means.

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Inclusive agribusiness models in the Global South: the impact on local food security

Cited by 29 publications

References 29 publications

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

The Need for a Food Systems Approach in Smallholder Food and Nutrition Security Initiatives: Lessons from Inclusive Agribusiness in Smallholder Communities

Inclusive business for rural development: New typology and differentiated value creation in the agri‐food sector

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