World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development

The World Development Report, 2008, calls for greater 'investment in agriculture in developing countries. The report outlines that the sector must be placed at the center of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger in 2015 are to be realised.'

Of particular relevance to the work on New Business Models is chapter five which recommends that "the government and the private sector can help smallholders expand and upgrade their range of assets and practices to meet the new requirements of supermarkets and other coordinated supply chains. The options include public good investments to increase farmers' productivity and connectivity to markets, policy changes to facilitate  trade and market development, and public private efforts to promote collective action and build the technical capacity of farmers to meet the new standards."

The full text of the WDR report is available here:
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2008/0,,menuPK:2795178~pagePK:64167702~piPK:64167676~theSitePK:2795143,00.html