Inclusive businesses in agriculture
This book (PDF) published by African Sun Media scrutinizes the concept of inclusive business and investigates how inclusive businesses work and who benefits from them. The book focuses on the South African agricultural sectors and relates to three ongoing restructuring processes in South Africa, e.g. land reform and the necessity to integrate smallholder and emerging farmers within commercial agriculture; broad market restructuring in the agricultural sector; and the need to go beyond the more basic inclusive instruments, such as contract farming. Inclusive business is hailed as a win-win scenario for the development of poor communities; however, its exact benefits for smallholders are not clear. This book aims for a thorough understanding of the range of inclusive businesses in agriculture by examining: the structures they implement, the actors involved, and whether they are effectively inclusive of smallholders. It presents a range of case studies and is therefore empirically based and practically oriented. By offering a critical assessment of inclusive businesses overall, it allows for a better perception of what works where, and under which conditions. It provides useful insights that will benefit smallholders, agri-businesses, support groups, policy makers and investors who are willing to promote more inclusive businesses, that foster a better integration of smallholders into commercial value-chains and a more equitable and sustainable agricultural sector.