Facilitating Smallholder Farmers’ Market Access
In the OIC Member Countries
64
products imported into the US were also high for all categories, except for fish and
fisheries products, which was medium. 130
Improving consumers’ and producers’ awareness of food safety risks and of strategies to
minimize those risks would have important benefits. Several exporters, food processors,
and farmers catering to export supply chains have been trained in GAP and GMP and have
received HACCP and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification. But
efforts to improve agricultural and manufacturing practices need to be mainstreamed and
not confined to export supply chains. In addition to assuring distant buyers and
consumers that the food products they are about to buy are safe, these quality
management systems serve as early warning systems. As such, they can reduce post-
harvest losses and benefit businesses by identifying shortcomings in production processes
and increasing consumers’ confidence in their products.
Lessons for OIC countries
The Bangladesh case study reveals how improvements in policies and infrastructure
(roads, electricity, and telecommunications), together with growing urban demand,
provide powerful incentives to encourage domestic investment at critical junctures in
staple food value chains. Markets for two important staples—rice and potatoes—are being
transformed. Value chains have undergone a process of disintermediation, in which
farmers increasingly bypass village traders to sell directly to wholesalers and realize
higher margins. The case study emphasizes the importance of agricultural R&D in raising
yields and capturing traits (such as better storage quality) that increase marketability. The
study also demonstrates the outsized role of telecommunications in modernizing
marketing and widening participation in value chains.
130 UNIDO, NORAD AND IDS. (2010).