As an innovative business model, contract farming has the potential to contribute to sustainable development of agribusinesses and agrifood value chains, particularly in developing countries. It can be employed to improve smallholder producers’ access to market and productive resources, strengthen the competitiveness of producers and agribusinesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and foster a transparent market environment.

The primary objective of the contract farming model agreement is to promote responsible contract farming and good practices in contract development. It has been developed based on a contract farming pilot in Lesotho, jointly facilitated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition (MAFSN) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).