Do benefits of expanded midstream activities in crop value chains accrue to smallholder farmers? Evidence from Zambia

The rapid expansion of food supply chains across Africa has created huge market opportunities for farmers. The rise of numerous enterprises engaged in food processing and trading in the ‘midstream’ of value chains is promising. The extent to which economic benefits, including poverty reduction, of the recent expansion of these non-contract opportunities in Africa is inclusive of smallholder farmers is uncertain. Liverpool-Tasie of MSU will present the results of a study from Zambia - where a growing demand for meat has stimulated growth of the soybean industry - on the income and poverty effects of smallholder engagement with soybean traders and processors in non-contractual arrangements.

SPEAKER:

Saweda Liverpool-Tasie is a Michigan State University Foundation Professor in the department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. Her current research focuses on emergent issues related to smallholder productivity and welfare within dynamic and transforming food markets in sub–Saharan Africa and alongside poorly functioning markets in the region. The Biden administration recently appointed her to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD).  

Webcast