Topic Guide: Leveraging the private sector to promote agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods

Abstract

For the benefit of Livelihoods Advisers in DFID, this Topic Guide sets out the issues arising when stimulating private investment and initiatives to the benefit of small-scale and informal farmers, fishers and herders. Four sets of questions are addressed, namely: What is known about agricultural growth that reduces poverty, hunger, inequality and conserves the environment? What are the respective roles of the public and private sectors for such agricultural development? To what extent do policies and investments need to distinguish between different households? (Section 2) How are recent DFID-supported initiatives to foster private investment and innovation in agriculture – such as TradeMark East Africa, New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, Financial Deepening Trust, LIFT Burma, AECF, FRICH, Katalyst, FoodTrade and SAGCOT – situated in relation to these roles? How much is known about the effectiveness of these and other initiatives to foster private investment and innovation in agriculture and natural resources in promoting development objectives? (Section 3) What needs to be done to ensure that these initiatives have development impact, and avoid potential pitfalls? (Section4) What should DFID advisers thus consider when assessing these and other possible initiatives? (Section 5) This peer reviewed Topic Guide has been produced by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by DAI (which incorporates HTSPE Limited) and IMC Worldwide Limited