Enabling rural innovation in Africa: an approach for empowering smallholder farmers to access market opportunities for improved livelihoods

The aim of this paper is to link smallholder farmers to markets. The approach used is entitled: Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI). In line with the livelihoods approach, ERI focuses on strengthening the smallholder&rsquo;s capacity, it focuses particularly on resource poor farmers and how they can achieve access to the market. The paper provides a general overview of the approach, the guiding principles, conceptual framework and steps in the ERI process. This form of investment in human capital formation is now seen as key to support sustainable livelihoods through agricultural market development for the rural poor. <br /><br />ERI assesses institutional and social innovations necessary for pro-poor market development; incentives for farmer reinvestment in technology and NRM as well as equity and distribution benefits from farmer market linkages. ERI attempts to support an entrepreneurial culture in rural communities. This is based on a logic that encourages farmers to &ldquo;produce what they can market rather than trying to market what they produce&rdquo;. <br /><br />Presenting examples from eastern and southern Africa, the authors take a strong gender focus. They demonstrate where participatory approaches for linking farmers to markets have resulted in gains for women&rsquo;s bargaining power and access to household assets. However, different kinds of enterprises and farmer to market models result in varying outcomes for women&rsquo;s empowerment as well as food security. <br /><br />A less successful example is demonstrated by the intra politics of farmers&rsquo; organisations, where expanded market access may serve to reproduce inequalities of class and gender within them. <br /><br />The authors explore in detail the ERI&rsquo;s five key components: participatory market research farmer participatory research and its links to natural resource management social and human capital gender equity participatory monitoring and evaluation. The authors conclude that participatory approaches for linking farmers to markets empower smallholders in a variety of ways, and particularly increase the bargaining power of women, and translate into tangible household benefits. These impacts are in broad terms and include household income, changes in social capital, changes in intrahousehold decision-making towards more shared decision making, skills in analysing and understanding markets, in conducting experimentation and in taking on leadership positions in projects.