This paper investigates the effects of network based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services. In the context of development economics, an innovative data collection approach is used to determine network based social capital. The approach originates from the field...

The purpose of this study is to assess the potential of clustering in the development of agriculture and rural communities in China. We shall examine in detail the food industry, which is the link in the food chain that propels the industrialization of agriculture, and identify instances of...

The impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on the poor in developing countries is still the subject of controversy. While previous studies have examined direct productivity effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and other GM crops, little is known about wider socioeconomic outcomes. We...

This paper presents an analysis of GlobalGAP adoption by small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers in Thailand focusing on GlobalGAP group certification, the costs and perceived benefits of GlobalGAP adoption, and the factors influencing standard adoption. GlobalGAP is the most important private...

This paper contributes to the existing literature on agricultural commercialisation by focussing on the channels through which households sell their crops, as well as considering the determinants of their participation behaviour. An important innovation of this paper is to look at both the type...

Edited volume of the contributions to the mini-symposium of the same title at the IAAE conference 2009.

Marketing boards and strategic reserves have re-emerged over the last decade as significant actors in grain markets in eastern and southern Africa, yet there is little empirical research regarding how their activities affect smallholder behavior. This paper uses panel survey data from 1997-2007...

This paper intends to contribute to the on-going debate about whether and how restructured agri-food markets can provide viable market opportunities for small-scale farmers in South Africa. It aims at analyzing contract farming from the small-scale farmer perspective and at better understanding...