Publication: The Dynamics of Vertical Coordination in Agrifood Chains in Eastern Europe and Central Asia : Implications for Policy and World Bank Operations
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2005-06
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2012-06-22
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A major problem in the transition countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) during the transition was the breakdown of the relationships of farms with input suppliers and output markets. The simultaneous privatization and restructuring of the farms and of the up- and downstream companies in the agrifood chain has caused major disruptions. The result is that many farms and rural households face serious constraints in accessing essential inputs (feed, fertilizer, seeds, capital, etc.) and in selling their products. The problems are worsened by the lack of public institutions necessary to support market-based transactions, such as for enforcing property rights and contractual agreements. In the absence of appropriate public institutions, private contractual initiatives, often from large food and agribusiness companies, are emerging to overcome these obstacles. Large traders, agribusinesses, and food processing companies, often as part of their own restructuring or following foreign investment, start contracting with the farms and rural households and provide basic inputs in return for guaranteed and quality supplies. This process of interlinked contracting, called vertical coordination, is growing rapidly in ECA agriculture and rural areas. This report pinpoints unresolved issues related to efficiency, equity, and government policy. As a part of its analysis, the report identifies options for improved policies, institutions, and investments which Governments could make, and which the World Bank could support, in order to improve links in agricultural marketing and processing chains and increase access of farmers to input and output markets.
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“World Bank. 2005. The Dynamics of Vertical Coordination in Agrifood Chains in Eastern Europe and Central Asia : Implications for Policy and World Bank Operations. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8806 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication The Dynamics of Vertical Coordination in Agrifood Chains in Eastern Europe and Central Asia(Washington, DC, 2011)A major problem in the transition countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) during the transition was the breakdown of the relationships of farms with input suppliers and output markets. The simultaneous privatization and restructuring of the farms and of the up- and downstream companies in the agrifood chain has caused major disruptions. The result is that many farms and rural households face serious constraints in accessing essential inputs (feed, fertilizer, seeds, capital, etc.) and in selling their products. The problems are worsened by the lack of public institutions necessary to support market-based transactions, such as for enforcing property rights and contractual agreements. The objective of the study is to analyze Vertical Coordination (VC) in agrifood supply chains in ECA and to identify options for improved policies, institutions, and investments which Governments could make, and which the World Bank could support, in order to improve links in the agricultural marketing and processing chain and increase access of farmers to input and output markets. This is especially important in those countries where contractual arrangements are slow to develop. It is also important if farmers are to be lifted out of subsistence farming and into a modern agrifood economy.Publication The Role of Agriculture in a Modernizing Society(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)China's success in addressing food problems after adopting the reforms in 1978 has been nothing less than remarkable. Grain output (rice, wheat and maize) has almost doubled and most hunger has been eliminated. 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