MARKET ACCESS AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Many rural producers often face serious difficulties in accessing markets to sell their goods in the marketplace. With modern value chains serving national and regional markets and demand for high value products rising, this complements traditional markets and expands the market scope for producers, transporters and other value chain actors. It also increases the risks if the actors are pushed out of these markets. Many producers are constrained by their remote location, high transportation costs, limited knowledge, and the lack of business skills and an organization that could give them the bargaining power they require to interact on equal terms with other market intermediaries. It is common knowledge that reliable market access boosts productivity, increases incomes and strengthens food security; and that it can contribute to reducing poverty and hunger for producing families and their communities, if appropriate measures are taken to reduce market risks and unequal market power. What should governments do to connect smallholders to markets? What should be done to encourage producers and other value chain actors meet market and value chain standards? How can information asymmetries and differences in power distribution among larger processors, retailers, transporters and exporters be reduced?