Background

In 2014, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted the Principles for Responsible Investments in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) in order to provide guidance to all types of agricultural investment including fisheries, forests and livestock. In this context, FAO is promoting inclusive business models (IBMs) as one of the approaches that encourage the responsible integration of small-scale producers into markets with the underlying principle that they offer mutual benefits for farmers and the private sector.

Contract farming is often regarded as an inclusive business model because it engages small-scale producers with high-value agribusinesses. In principle, contract farming can improve family farmers' access to markets and boost their incomes while ensuring that agribusinesses have a stable supply of produce that meets their quality standards. However, there continues to be inadequate evidence supporting the claim that contract farming is a responsible business model. Furthermore, as with any contractual relationship, there are potential threats, and sometimes farmers find themselves on the losing side.

Seeking to address this issue, the Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS) and FAO will organize an “International Symposium on Contract Farming and Other Inclusive Business Models”. The International Symposium will be organized within the framework of the FAO Umbrella Programme Supporting Responsible Investments in Agriculture and Food Systems. It will attempt to gather evidence and debate on contract farming schemes and inclusive business models (IBM) in the Global South, while addressing the major issues of unequal power relations, conflicts between the firm and farmer and the implications of contract farming on food security and livelihoods of the farmers.

What: International Symposium on Contract Farming and Other Inclusive Business Models

When: 08-09 November 2018

Where: Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS), Harare, Zimbabwe