Building bridges between agribusiness innovation and smallholder farmers: A review

The mergers of some of the world's largest agribusinesses have led to speculation about what sort of global citizens the new companies will become and whether vulnerable rural populations, especially smallholder men and women farmers, will be negatively impacted. As innovation leaders in the agriculture industry, these new companies will be expected to play key roles in finding solutions for major agricultural challenges facing the world today. The private sector has a unique voice and responsibility to help bridge the innovation gap and ensure that good science reaches those countries where public investment in agricultural research is a low priority. In this paper, we review the obstacles facing agriculture over the next few decades, the role of agricultural innovation in overcoming those obstacles, and the need for greater public funding for agricultural research. We discuss how science-based solutions that drive revenue for industry can also advance agriculture in developing economies. Expediting agricultural innovation as well as increasing access to those benefits requires a different way of thinking about the sharing of technology to improve the lives of smallholder farmers and create a more equitable playing field for women in agriculture.