Horticulture: Responding to the challenges of poverty reduction and global competition

Horticulture provides real opportunities for enhancing farm incomes and reducing poverty in the developing countries. Nevertheless, three trends challenge the ability of developing country producers to access global horticulture markets: the globalisation of sourcing horticultural products, concentration in developed country retailing, and the increasing scope and complexity of public and private standards. The problems arising from these trends are exacerbated by misguided interventions by development agencies that prioritise the goal of poverty reduction at the expense of business sustainability. Reconciling these goals requires new thinking about what types of horticultural production reduce rural poverty and what new market opportunities are developing in the global economy.