Linking small-scale cassava and sweetpotato farmers to growth markets: Experiences, lessons and challenges

Urbanisation and changing patterns of consumer demand are providing cassava and sweetpotato farmers with new opportunities for raising their incomes. However, these farmers, especially those located in remote areas, face many challenges in realising these opportunities. The paper presents six cases where interventions by R&D institutions have supported - or are currently supporting farmers in establishing or strengthening their links with growth markets. From these experiences, the following lessons have been learned: a) success depends on there being a well-identified demand for the product, b) a facilitator is required to help initiate contacts and build trust among production to consumption chain actors, c) the identification of a chain champion, usually from the private sector, who has vision and drive, is crucial for the longer term sustainability of relationships, d) traders and processors are key actors whose organisation and support are as important as the organisation of farmers, e) rural agro-enterprises require effective financial and non-financial support services for them to grow, and f) an enterprise's capacity to innovate is critical for maintaining competitiveness and adapting to changing market conditions. Most R&D institutions need to strengthen their competence and capacity to facilitate and support smallholder farmers in the identification of appropriate market opportunities and in establishing relationships with the most important supply chain actors and service providers that can help their enterprises grow.