The following policy report has been released by the Chicago Council:
Leveraging Private Sector Investment in Developing Country Agrifood Systems
Charlotte Hebebrand, Global Agricultural Development Initiative Policy Paper, May 2011
The for-profit sector is now a critical player in the shift from subsistence agricultural economies, where poverty and uncertainty perpetuate hunger, toward well-functioning commercial systems, where farmers can afford needed inputs and reach cash markets. Private-sector engagement is also essential for “scaling up” government-financed development proj¬ects, and for sustaining these projects after government funding is reduced or withdrawn.
This policy paper consists of four sections. The first reiterates the benefits of sound private-sector investment in sustainable food security; it also explains the paper’s primary focus on investments from transnational corporations (TNCs) and describes how TNCs approach decisions on investment allocations. The second section highlights examples of TNC investments that have simultaneously benefited smallholders in developing countries while creating profits—or the potential for profits—for the investors. The third section explores how the US government engages with TNCs and incentiv¬izes investments. The final section concludes with recommendations for TNCs, governments, and other players, with a view towards increasing TNC investments that both strengthen agricultural development and offer profits to TNCs.
Get the full report at http://bit.ly/mEHbOW
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