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Moderated conference on rural advisory services for family farms: 1-18 December 2014

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Sat, 13 Dec 2014 06:42:54 +0100
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This is Rachel Zedeck, again. Good morning from chilly Kabul. 

In response to Dr. Chander (Message 69): The propagation of inappropriate technologies or practices is not unique to India…Rather than focus on the technologies, I would ask where is the influence of both the private sector and free market economics on rural economic development strategies? Yes, big agri producers often learn because they have the capital to make mistakes but they also have access to expert advice from input suppliers. 

In response to Dr. Deogratias Lwezaura (Message 71)… HALLELUJAH! Excellent feedback on motivation and scale of farmer led adoptions. I would also reference access to finance. We expect farmers to adopt, scale and then replicate within their community but finance models for most of the emerging markets are either not mature or affordable. And should thresholds of adoption be measured in percentages or in finite numbers which should eventually create a tipping point within local and eventually national economic development? In reference to women, access to credit is even more challenging without the same collateral of land or livestock in their own names. 

Yes, farmers are now the intended receptacles for any and all economic and/or social interventions but who should be implementing these programs with the experience to both support and respond to the needs of these communities. My concern is that these and other discussions exclude the private sector. Even if we only focus on knowledge transfer of legitimate research and production methods, if you are in a country with 20-30 million smallholder farmers, no team of government researchers or local NGOs is going to effectively replicate distribution of these materials. The private sector … aka companies seeking sustainable revenue are critical to the introduction, adoption and scale of any techniques or technologies in rural communities. The private sector is a reasonable conduit to the working capital needed to fund inventory, human resources, distribution, finance and of course marketing/education campaigns.  If Coke and P&G can successfully penetrate the most rural markets, then why is the private sector still not the best link between the science and practical implementation and impact? (*no, this was not intended to spark a conflict especially about corporate governance vs government corruption or intrusion of big multinationals – just offering examples of familiar brands). 

Rachel Zedeck
Director, Sustainability Programs 
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kenya Mobile  +254 (0) 729 498179  
Afghanistan Mobile  +93 (0) 788 662982 
Skype: Rachelz007 
Email: Rzedeck (at) controlunion.com 
Control Union Inspections (Pvt) Ltd.  
Certifications & Commodity Inspections www.controlunion.com

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