Global value chains in the agrifood sector

This paper discusses agriculture and poverty reduction in the context of globalisation. Taking the global value chain perspective (GVC), it analyses the trends in agribusiness and their consequences for strategies to eradicate poverty through increasing export growth. The paper looks at inter-firm linkages in global agribusiness, thereby placing agricultural production and processing in developing countries in the context of broader agribusiness and agrifood systems. <br /><br /><br />The paper focuses on two issues, the first being the importance of standards, which, by definition, operate at multiple points along the GVC and are created, adopted, applied and verified by different actors. They impact in two particularly direct ways:&nbsp; the extent and codification of information required to sustain transactions their impact on supplier competence. The second issue is the importance of increasing concentration, relating to input supplier concentration; production concentration; processing; and consumer outlet concentration. In terms of the value chain, concentration matters for two reasons: concentration at one point of a value chain, often leads to concentration at other levels concentration at particular points in the value chain creates oligopolies and inequalities in market power.<br /><br />A value-chain analysis of the impacts of global concentration and the evolving global-standards environment highlights a number of challenges and opportunities for multiple actors involved in value-chain development. These challenges raise a number of policy issues for developing country governments and other agencies concerned with export agribusiness, which have been grouped in three broad areas: ensuring the continued access of agribusiness producers to global markets and supporting the competitiveness of the sector increasing revenues from agribusiness, particularly through adding value to exports enhancing the poverty alleviation impact of export agribusiness. <br />