Value Chains

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Value Chains

Brother or bully: Leaders squabble over big business’ role in alleviating global hunger

The G8’s goal to increase private sector investment in Africa could offer new solutions to global hunger or it could be the new face of a failed solution.

Value Chains

Free trade between the U.S. and EU could change the dynamic of value chains in Africa

A free trade agreement between the U.S. and EU could provide a much needed economic boost, but not for banana farmers in Ghana

Value Chains

Why don't more NGOs use the ‘making markets work for the poor’ approach? 5 questions for Emma Proud

"Direct delivery" development is simple. Livestock are sick; let’s distribute vaccinations. People need more food; let's train farmers.

Value Chains

Interview: Helping coffee farmers turns competitors into colleagues

We talk with Green Mountain Coffee about their new hunger-busting coalition with Starbucks, Counter Culture, Farmer Brothers, S&D Coffee, and Sustainable Harvest.

Social Enterprise

5 Questions: Making markets work for the poor in rural Georgia

In the Samstkhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, Mercy Corps is taking a different approach to improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers: not through charity, but through market-based interventions.

Value Chains

Two companies making trade fairer without 'fair trade'

When fair trade farming didn’t pay enough for one farmer to make ends meet, he started a new coffee company to take control of the production process and boost profits.

Value Chains

Quotable: Land O'Lakes seeds economic opportunity and peace through dairy farming

How do you boost farmers in post-conflict regions like Sri Lanka? Jon Halverson of Land O'Lakes discusses how the U.S. dairy co-op blended commercial and development work in an interview on DevEx.

Social Enterprise

TOMS Shoes and conscious consumerism’s 3 biggest sins

Many social enterprises exist to improve the lives of the poor, but if your business requires an endless supply of poor people, it might be time to rethink your strategy.

Value Chains

Pairing risk reduction with income generation makes communities more resilient

People earning money are more likely to protect their homes, land and life before disaster strikes, rather than only responding after traumatic events occur.