Improved management of agricultural supply chains affects the livelihoods and wellbeing of many different groups of people. Most obviously, it affects the different actors in the chain itself, and especially those most dependent on the produce or product, including producers, traders and processors. It also affects those actors who provide services to the chain, including input suppliers, equipment makers, credit providers, and research and development (R&D) institutions (e.g. extension, informationand facilitation services). These effects can be beneficial — improved and/or more secure income, reduced use of pesticides, better food quality — but negative effects can also occur, for example, if some actors are excluded from the improved chains, or if increased market power for some actors results in reduced income for others.Analysis of the balance of positive and negative outcomes from improving supply chains depends on a consideration of the wider context in which the chains are operating, and especially as regards the: rural community within which production occurs, and the impact of improving this supply chain on other agricultural and livelihood activities, and on the natural environment over time; structure, conduct and performance of the wider market for the produce/products to which the chain adds value, especially considering changes in concentration within the subsector and of market power along vertically integrated chains (e.g. in the case of traders and retailers); overall impact on target (urban) consumers (considering food cost, quality and safety, and availability). Mechanisms for enhancing the benefits that accrue to smallholder producers, including gaining access to specialised markets through alternative trading schemes,are discussed. Examples of strengthening agri-food supply chains in both Asia and Latin America, with which the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has been involved, are presented to illustrate these issues.
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