IIED/Hivos provocations

The latest ‘provocation’ from IIED and Hivos, held in The Hague last week (24 May), began by asking what the development community can do to support rural youth. And for consultant Felicity Proctor, the answer is clear: “we need to move from agriculture and talking about food security and productivity to enterprise, business and a decent living for many of the rural populations.”

The increased mobility of rural youth today means fewer farmers tomorrow, which could potentially both radically change the profile of small-scale agriculture and national and global food systems.  

This seminar is the sixth in a series being initiated by the IIED /HIVOS Knowledge Programme: Small Producer Agency in Globalised Markets.

At the latest provocation from IIED and Hivos, held in Brussels last week (22 June), a group of around 60 policymakers, academics and development practitioners gathered to discuss, among other things, the role of CSR in achieving development goals such as poverty reduction and the empowerment of small-scale farmers.

Discussion at the latest of the IIED-Hivos ‘provocations’ in Brussels last week (22 June) suggests that the first step in assessing how ‘pro-poor’ business contributes to development and smallholder empowerment, is to understand what we mean by the word ‘inclusive’.

The fifth in a series of seminars on markets and small-scale farmers took place in Brussels, Belgium on 22 June 2011. View video and reports from the event

Across the developing world, food systems and supply chains are changing — exports are rising, particularly in fresh foods, supermarkets are playing an increasingly important role and there is a growing number of standards for safety, ethics and environment.