Report of INCLUDE’s working conference on building policy-knowledge communities on ‘productive employment in horticultural value chains’
To build policy-knowledge communities in Africa, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE) organised a two-day working conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference, held on 11-12 May 2015, brought together about 70 policy stakeholders, including Platform members, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from international development organisations and NGOs from Africa and beyond. A policy-knowledge communities on ‘productive employment in horticultural value chains’ was established. The conference was co-hosted by the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Kenya. An executive summary and a full report (PDF) on the working conference are available. Major policy questions on productive employment in horticultural value chains are how best to organize smallholder farmers integration into value chains? What modalities are most suitable for this? What are the best practices? Responding to the knowledge needs, INCLUDE studies are investigating new contracting models that smallholder farmers can use to access markets; setting up service centers to enhance farmers’ access to services in rural areas; and how policies influence development in horticulture among other focus areas.