Service Delivery: How to design an effective service sector to drive sustainability in smallholder dominated sectors

Reports/papers (non-specific)
PDF (1.21 MB)
16585IIED.pdf
Language:
English
Published: April 2015
ISBN: 9781784311612
Product code:16585IIED

Many agricultural sectors are dominated by large numbers of small-scale farmers. Small farmers in developing countries typically have very low incomes, cannot invest in their farms and have no access to quality extension services, inputs or finance to increase their productivity and crop quality. As a result, farm productivity and crop quality are low and market access is limited. Sustainability performance also tends to be low on these farms.

Achieving sector-wide sustainability requires investments in technical assistance, inputs and finance –what we refer to as service delivery – that support farm and sector quality. Farm quality means that: farmers, and their workers, earn a decent living; are adaptive, resilient and innovative; produce at optimum productivity and product quality levels; and that farming has a positive social and environmental impact.

This paper explores what effective service delivery looks like; discusses the common approaches to service delivery and their effectiveness; discusses the tools that can be used when designing service delivery to promote farm quality; and proposes possible options for sustainable financing of service delivery in sectors dominated by unorganised small-scale farmers.

Cite this publication

Blackmore, E., Vorley, B., Molenaar, J., Gorter, J., Heilbron, L., Simons, L. and Dallinger, J. (2015). Service Delivery: How to design an effective service sector to drive sustainability in smallholder dominated sectors. .
Available at https://www.iied.org/16585iied