By helping farmers improve the quality and safety of what they grow, process and sell, CABI helps create sustainable value chains and breaks down barriers to trade
The challenge
With global population growing fast, and food demand expected to double by 2050, creating sustainable food value chains and breaking down the barriers to trade has never been more important.
While small-scale farmers in developing countries produce most of the world’s food, they often face hurdles accessing information and technologies to supply lucrative local, national and global markets. Young people in particular can benefit from new opportunities in agricultural trade.
Providing solutions
By combining our expertise in value chains and trade with our knowledge of crop health, development communication, digital development, invasive species, and publishing, we have helped private and public sector partners improve market access.
We have successfully increased value chain efficiency and helped people working in the food supply chain improve their safety compliance for the benefit of consumers by sharing information, skills and technologies. We help farmers meet Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, so that they can protect their produce from contaminants such as diseases and pests and export to markets.
Our knowledge of crop production and processes has helped smallholders produce better harvests and yields, and our expertise in invasive species and pest management has helped strengthen countries’ plant biosecurity.
By working with our donors and partners, we help poor and vulnerable rural communities produce food safely and sustainably, connecting them into value chains and boosting their livelihoods.
Our value chain and trade expertise in more detail
Horticulture is an important source of income for many farmers. We help smallholders access value chains by building their knowledge of integrated crop management.
Palm trees produce a variety of commercial products including coconut oil and dates. We help farmers address the specific issues associated with growing palm trees and access export markets.
Tree crops, such as cocoa, produce a variety of commercial products. We help farmers address the specific issues associated with growing tree crops and access export markets.
Lead contact
For more information and enquiries about our expertise in value chains and trade, please get in touch.
Neil Willsher
Global Director, Value Chains & Trade
T: +44 (0) 1491 832111 E: n.willsher@cabi.org
Stories of Impact
Read about the variety of work CABI delivers, and the difference we make
Related Projects
Explore our recent projects from around the world
Rapid appraisal of the financing landscape for the coffee sector in Africa
The coffee sector in Africa provides a vital source of income for many smallholder farmers and accounts for a large proportion of export income for many countries. However, access to finance for production, in-country processing and marketing of coffee is one of the main challenges limiting the transformation of the African coffee sub-sector into a vibrant and resilient industry. CABI is undertaking a study aimed at finding ways to overcome these challenges by determining the best models for financing the micro and small to medium enterprises, and individual smallholder producers of the African coffee value chains.
Researching and analysing the Kenya livestock value chain
The livestock sector in Kenya is vital to people’s livelihoods. Many households depend on it for income through the sale of animal products, employment, as a source of food, and it also contributes significantly to the national gross domestic product. However, the production and productivity of the sector are below potential due to process and technological under-developments, weak market infrastructure and organization, inadequate resourcing and climate change shocks. To help improve the productivity and resilience of the sector, this project is seeking to identify opportunities to strengthen value chains in the sector through investments, trade and collaborations with the United States agricultural sector.
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