Agriculture

In an ever-evolving global market, the symbiotic development of new varieties of horticultural products in response to shifting international value chain priorities has become a pivotal factor in the expansion of the food industry. However, with rapid changes in product cycles and value chain processes, there are still significant gaps in how low and middle-income countries (LMICs) adapt and benefit from these innovations. Understanding these challenges, especially in the fruit sector, is crucial to unlocking the full potential of breeding and product development worldwide.

On March 19, 2024, at the Clarion Hotel in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, the Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT convened a workshop focused on the interoperability of traceability systems and their importance in complying with the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-Fee Products (EUDR). This workshop, which was arranged by the Alliance team and titled “Common Interests and Joint Solutions for EUDR Compliance: A Roadmap Towards Interoperability of Traceability Systems”, gathered 33 stakeholders from various institutions involved in the coffee sector and agricultural supply chain

Agrifood value chains are an integral part of food systems, moving food from farms where it is produced to retailers where it is sold to consumers. Agrifood value chains can be quite simple—consumers can buy directly from farms at farmers’ markets, for example—or they can be quite complex, involving processing steps on multiple continents before products reach retailers. Yet research often sets aside these distinctions and depicts agrifood value chains as highly stylized and simple—typically as a simplified series of steps involving traders, aggregators, processors, and/or wholesalers between farms and retailers. The most common method for studying multiple intermediary actors within agrifood value chains—“stacked surveys” that randomly sample respondents within each of these steps—follows this simplified approach.

One of the emerging developments in agrifood systems worldwide is the rise of enterprises which provide farmers with “outsource” agricultural services. These services are emerging in various agricultural operations traditionally carried out by farmers themselves. But what has driven this growth? And how might they impact the future of farms?

Agrifood systems represent a substantial source of employment for a diverse range of supply chain actors. In recent years, we have learned a lot from the rapid rise in innovations on what is needed to build more inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems that can lift people out of poverty and provide better job opportunities. Yet there are still critical gaps in knowledge to address before we get there.