| The net effect of the increased agro-processing
and market integration on the welfare of poor people is controversial
as it can be twofold. On the one hand increased commercialisation
shifts farm households away from traditional self-sufficiency
goals and towards profit and income-oriented decision making.
On the other hand the process may exacerbate poverty levels through
marginalization of the rural poor.
The increased commercialisation of agricultural
produce could also have various negative effects on the environment.
In particular, there are concerns over an increased intensity
of natural resources use, biodiversity loss through the genetic
erosion of local varieties and the intensification of chemicals
used for agricultural production.
The effects of increased commercialization on the
environment and on the welfare of small potato farmers are analysed
in an on-going research project implemented by FAO-ESA in two
Andean countries, namely Ecuador and Bolivia. The research project
focuses on both the input and output sides of the market for potatoes.
The project is co-funded by the FAO/Netherlands Partnership Programme and (FNPP) and the FAO/Norway Partnership Programme (FNOP) and it represents an outgrowth of two other major research efforts being undertaken by FAO-ESA:
"Using markets to promote the sustainable utilization of crop
genetic resources" (site under construction) and "Agricultural
Commercialization and Small Farmers".
Looking across countries at different stages
in the process of agricultural development offers a good way to
provide valid and comparable information on what can happen during
this process and how to respond. Ecuador and Bolivia are ideally
suited for such an investigation because of their many similarities,
such as in the make-up of their environment, population and agriculture
(especially for the importance of potatoes as a major staple crop),
but also because they are at different stages of agro-industrialization.
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