journal article

Rapid transformation of food systems in developing regions: Highlighting the role of agricultural research & innovations

by Thomas Reardon,
Echeverria Ruben G.,
Julio A. Berdegué,
Bart Minten,
Lenis Saweda Liverpool-Tasie,
David Tschirley and
David Zilberman
Citation
Reardon, Thomas; Echeverria, Ruben; Berdegué, Julio; Minten, Bart; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda; Tschirley, David; Zilberman, David. 2019. Rapid transformation of food systems in developing regions: Highlighting the role of agricultural research & innovations. Agricultural Systems 172(June 2019): 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.01.022

Developing regions' food system has transformed rapidly in the past several decades. The food system is the dendritic cluster of R&D value chains, and the value chains linking input suppliers to farmers, and farmers upstream to wholesalers and processors midstream, to retailers then consumers downstream. We analyze the transformation in terms of these value chains' structure and conduct, and the effects of changes in those on its performance in terms of impacts on consumers and farmers, as well as the efficiency of and waste in the overall chain. We highlight the role of, and implications for agricultural research, viewed broadly as farm technology as well as research pertaining to all aspects of input and output value chains.