Smallholders and the Impact of the Agri-food Supply Chain

Abstract

As the main drivers of primary food production, smallholders play a central and indispensable role in the agri-food supply chain (AFSC). Their responsibilities extend far beyond cultivation to include the prudent use of resources, the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices, and adaptation to changing environmental and market conditions. As smallholders, they are responsible for the journey of food from field to fork, shaping the quality, sustainability and resilience of the entire AFSC. As well as producing a wide range of crops, their work includes soil health, water management and biodiversity conservation, which are critical to the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems. In addition, the decisions that smallholders make about seed varieties, farming practices and the management of climate challenges have a direct impact on food security by determining the availability, accessibility and nutritional value of the food they produce. However, smallholders are increasingly confronted with a variety of challenges that affect their work and the sustainability of agricultural production, and these challenges have a significant impact on the entire AFSC. This study will examine the key challenges facing smallholders in today's agricultural economy and the potential impact of smallholders on actors within the AFSC, and will explore possible ways to overcome these challenges from an expert perspective. In order to gain an overview of these critical issues, the study uses a qualitative approach to consider 17 expert perspectives from various actors in the agricultural sector gathered in January-March 2023. This included consulting firms, agricultural cooperatives and actors in the AFSC, from seed producers to retailers. This should ensure an integrative understanding of the challenges and enable the formulation of possible strategies to overcome them. The results reveal that smallholders are confronted with an immense amount of documentation due to the various regulatory requirements. This tends to overwhelm their knowledge and ability to deal with it, and ultimately confronts them with uncertainty about their efforts to provide the documentation. The question of how to implement digitalisation on the farm and how to deal with price pressures from the market are also major challenges for smallholders. At the same time, AFSC companies have recognised that smallholders can make a significant contribution to achieving company goals, and have taken strategic steps such as integrating smallholders into their own digital systems. In conclusion, in the immediate future, actors in the AFSC sector will seek to collaborate closely and support smallholders through knowledge sharing, digital integration and market- driven strategies to increase the sustainability and efficiency of food production.