Framing smallholder inclusion in global value chains – case studies from India and West Africa

Abstract. A resurrected interest in agriculture has brought in its wake growing interest in smallholders in the global South by scholars, companies, governments and development agencies alike. While non-governmental organisations and development agencies see the potential to reduce poverty, companies look upon smallholder agriculture as a widely untapped resource for the sourcing of crops and as a sales market for agricultural inputs. While the important role of large corporate buyers of agricultural produce as lead firms in value chains is often discussed and emphasised, the power of providers of technology and agricultural inputs is being rather neglected. In this paper, we analyse two case studies of technology and input providers in agricultural value chains and their role in smallholder inclusion with the aim of finding out how such companies impact the governance of the value chains. To do so we combine insights from the value chain literature with the concept of framing/overflowing.