Market access - banner

Market access

Poverty reduction through market participation

Reliable market access boosts productivity, increases incomes and strengthens food security. It can contribute to reducing poverty and hunger for producing families and their communities, if appropriate measures are taken to reduce market risks and unequal market power.

Many rural producers often face serious difficulties in accessing markets to sell their goods in the marketplace. They are constrained by their remote location, high transportation costs, limited knowledge, and the lack of business skills and an organization that could give them the bargaining power they require to interact on equal terms with other market intermediaries.

Agricultural and food product markets have changed significantly over the past 30 years. Modern value chains serving national and regional markets – particularly in urban areas – now complement traditional markets. Demand for high-value products continues to grow. All of this means more opportunities for smallholder producers, but also risks if they are pushed out of these markets.

It isn’t always easy to connect smallholders to markets, nor to ensure their produce meets market standards. Unequal distributions of power also mean small producers can earn significantly less than other actors, such as larger processors, retailers and exporters.

Selling more food at fairer prices

Increasing poor rural people’s access to markets is a top priority for IFAD. The proportion of IFAD-supported projects that include work on market access has increased dramatically over the years – from 3 per cent in 1999 to more than 75 per cent in 2014.

Better access to domestic and international markets allows small producers to reliably sell more produce, with better quality and at higher prices. This in turn encourages farmers to invest in their own businesses and increase the quantity, quality and diversity of the goods they produce.

Equitable, win-win partnerships

IFAD-supported projects work to increase greater market access and market development for the rural poor. Some of IFAD’s projects support infrastructure development to improve the physical access to markets. Others support segments of (mostly production, primary processing and marketing) or the entire value chain. These value chains are complex, involving not just producers but also input dealiers, traders, processors, retailers, and other service providers. Interventions at various links of the value chain have the potential to create income for the rural poor.

IFAD is dedicated to promoting a more systematic and pro-poor way of doing business with the private sector working in value chains. That is why we have developed the public-private-producers partnership (4P) approach, which ensures smallholder producers are equal and respected partners in value-chain partnership arrangements. 

In depth

In depth

Food loss reduction

Food loss has negative impacts on the livelihoods, nutrition and food security of millions of smallholder farmers. 

Projects

Projects

Viet Nam

Sustainable Rural Development for the Poor Project in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh Provinces (SRDP)

Argentina

Inclusive Rural Development Programme (PRODERI)

Madagascar

Rural Income Promotion Programme (PPRR)

Experts

Asset Publisher

James Marc de Sousa-Shields

Lead Regional Technical Specialist, Rural Finance, Markets and Value Chains

m.desousashields@ifad.org

Lorna Grace

Lead Regional Technical Specialist, Rural Finance, Markets and Value Chains

l.grace@ifad.org

Sauli Hurri

Senior Regional Technical Specialist, Rural Finance, Markets and Value Chains

s.hurri@ifad.org

Nadhem Mtimet

Senior Regional Technical Specialist, Rural Finance, Markets and Value Chains

n.mtimet@ifad.org

Stories and news

Stories and news

Meet the young entrepreneurs fighting to preserve and restore our biodiversity

March 2023 - STORY
Young people the world over know that conserving our biodiversity is key to eradicating hunger and achieving a healthy and sustainable food system. Here’s how they’re fixing our broken planet.

A digital divide is holding rural women back. Here is what we can do to change this

March 2023 - STORY
Many rural women are excluded from digital services. What is causing the digital divide and what can we do to end it?

From tulips to tomatoes: Technology empowers women in Asia

March 2023 - STORY
In Pakistan and Bangladesh women are harnessing technology to connect to the world and build a business, one click at a time.

Rural people in crisis: The latest news from IFAD

December 2022 - STORY
Rural people are still paying the highest price for the rise in food, fertilizer and fuel costs. The Crisis Response Initiative was set up as part of IFAD's ongoing efforts to build rural people's resilience to these shocks. Here are selected highlights on the crisis from our teams in the field.

Market Access View more link

Related publications

Related publications

Côte d’Ivoire: Making small-scale farmers resilient to climate change

April 2022
The Agricultural Value Chains Development Programme (PADFA) seeks to improve post-harvest activities (packaging, storage, processing and marketing) for rice, vegetables, and mango in Côte d’Ivoire.

How to do note: Market needs and emerging opportunities assessment in NUS value chains

March 2021
This How to Do Note is part of a series of five Notes that accompany the NUS Operational Framework.

How to do note: Promote neglected and underutilized species for domestic markets

March 2021
This How to Do Note is part of a series of five Notes that accompany the NUS Operational Framework.