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Enhancing Smallholder Competitiveness in the Face of
Globalization
| Principal Investigators: |
Alain de Janvry, University of California –
Berkeley, USA
Tomas Rosada, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala
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Problem & Objective
Smallholder farming has been the institutional structure for some
of the most effective historical contributions of agriculture to
economic development. Yet, this very social structure is under threat
as globalization, trade liberalization, and the development of integrated
value chains for food communities progresses. This project analyzes
three institutional innovation with potential of increasing the
competitiveness of the smallholder sector: fair trade, the linking
of insurance to credit, and the use of credit bureaus in microfinance
lending.
Research Context
Guatemala has an unusually large smallholder sector with a strong
indigenous base engaged in labor intensive non-traditional exports.
It is an excellent natural laboratory since it combines widespread
smallholder farming with a rapidly-growing high value export sector.
Policy Relevance
Results from this project will provide an unusual combination of
benefits: opportunities for collaborating institutions (including
fair trade agencies, producer cooperatives and microfinance lenders)
to improve their products and provide information for policymakers
to improve policy design.
Publications
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