Conference report: CFS High-Level Forum on Connecting Smallholders to Markets

The Forum, held at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy on 25 June 2015, brought together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss policy implications, challenges and lessons learned from concrete examples of how farmers have found opportunities to engage in beneficial and sustainable linkages to markets. This contributed to reaching a common understanding of such opportunities and challenges and the potential contribution the Committee on World Food Secuirity (CFS) could make in addressing them and identified broad recommendations on areas for priority action to strengthen smallholder access to markets.

A great variety of approaches and contexts were presented, introduced by panellists and key note speakers (see the agenda for the Forum) and discussed by the full plenary. These demonstrated different ways that smallholders operate and have been able to successfully establish and strengthen linkages to markets. Thechallenge is to draw lessons with broader applicability.

It was emphasized that smallholders are essential for achieving food security and nutrition but also that their contribution goes far beyond, to include rural poverty reduction, and the conservation of natural, social and cultural capital. It is important that they are considered as key actors for their contribution to food security and nutrition when dealing with access to markets.

The lessons that were presented, the key messages that were shared and the comments that were submitted are synthesized:

1. Collective action, smallholder organizations and cooperatives are a crucial link that facilitates access of smallholders to markets. 
2. Financial and non-financial services and linkages in value chains are particularly important for smallholders. 
3. Partnerships with the private sector can have positive impacts on smallholder families and communities, when they aim to give a “hand-up” instead of a “handout” through community-led initiatives towards self-sustainability. These partnerships must keep smallholder livelihoods at the centre of their strategies. 
4. The role of governments, and public governance, by investing in physical infrastructure, research and transfer of knowledge and technology directly applicable by farmers, and developing policy frameworks, has been stressed as a critical issue.

On the conference website, a summary of the proceedings cover the main deliberations while a background document is available in English, French and Spanish.