Smallholder Cash Crop Production Under Market Liberation

Pro poor' economic growth is widely recognized as an important means for reducing poverty in developing countries. Agricultural intensification, together with increased integration in input and output markets, is a key aspect of this approach. This book uses a new institutional economicsperspective to review the effects of market liberalization on services to smallholder farmers. In many parts of the world, particularly in Sub-saharan Africa, the private sector has failed to fill the gaps left by the collapse of state supported input and credit supply systems. Using case studiesfrom Ghana, Tanzania and Pakistan, the book investigates the difficulties facing the private sector in supplying inputs and credit and the conditions required for sustainable private sector investment to the benefit of rural people. The analysis has important lessons for donor and government policymakers and for companies wishing to make commercial investments. It is invaluable for researchers, academics and development agencies concerned with rural and agricultural economics and development.