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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Tag: Markets & Value Chains

A soybean warehouse in Latur

Soybean Value Chains and Market Efficiency: Lessons from a Field Visit to FPOs in Latur

In a recent visit to Latur, a district in Maharashtra, India, we gained an understanding of the marketing channels and infrastructure available for local soybean producers. In India, Latur is a significant agricultural hub for soybean cultivation, with the second-highest…
A man harvesting coffee beans

A Tale of Two Aggregation Models: FPO Promotion in India and Mexico

This is the first in a series of blog posts exploring the experiences of farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and FPO promotion in India and Latin America. The next post will examine soy bean value chains and FPOs in Maharashtra, India.…
A pile of discarded vegetables

The First Step to Reducing Food Loss and Waste Is Deciding What It Is

As it makes its journey from the farm to consumers’ plates, around a third of the total food produced in the world is lost or wasted. Reducing such waste is key to efforts to achieve sustainable food systems, but before…

Can We Agree on a Food Loss and Waste Definition? An Assessment of Definitional Elements for a Globally Applicable Framework

Abstract Recent strategies for achieving sustainable food systems have called for reducing food loss and waste (FLW), most notably Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3. This review aims to compare FLW definitions that are relevant to SDG target 12.3 and opportunities to harmonize the FLW definition. Using the FAO...
farmer with wife collecting fresh raw egg plants in baskets from his green farm

TCI Awarded a New Grant from Walmart Foundation to Enhance Its FPO Database

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) is embarking on the next phase of its project to support smallholder farmers in India through the promotion of effective farmer producer organization (FPO) models. The centerpiece of this effort is the…
A farmer tending to blue agave plants

Report Explores Evidence on FPOs and Other Farm Aggregation Models

The average size of farms in developing countries of the world is 2 hectares or less. Smallholder farmers who rely on agriculture as their primary source of income often live in poverty. By joining together with other smallholders, farmers can…
Cover of "Aggregation Models and Small Farm Commercialization"

Aggregation Models and Small Farm Commercialization: An Annotated Bibliography of Relevant Literature

Smallholder aggregation models around the globe have the potential to contribute significantly to agricultural growth and productivity by facilitating improved access to credit, inputs, markets, and information. Aggregation models, including farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and cooperatives, are institutional arrangements by which small and marginal farmers,...
A woman harvesting strawberries

FPOs or Bust: Farm Aggregation Review Finds Newer Models Are the Most Successful

As demand for high-value, diverse agricultural products rises throughout the developing world, smallholder farmers face pressure to either commercialize or exit the farm sector altogether. Farmers that can scale up their operations have a significant opportunity to improve their livelihoods.…
A farmer sowing rice

Maharashtra Leads the Way in FPO Promotion

This blog post is part of a series exploring India’s small farm aggregation landscape using TCI’s Database for Indian Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). Part of the FPO Hub within the TCI Center of Excellence, the first-of-its-kind database brings together comprehensive…
food policy cover art

Aggregation Models and Small Farm Commercialization – A Scoping Review of the Global Literature

Abstract Aggregation models where small farms jointly access credit, inputs, information, and product markets are not new to global agricultural systems. For over a century, agricultural cooperatives worldwide have tried rectifying small farm disadvantages in market access. In the last two decades, newer aggregation models...