The project will examine the asset-related determinants and the impacts of the
participation of small farmers and small-farmer organizations in modern versus
traditional market channels in Indonesia and Nicaragua. The research comprises: product
value chain studies of beans and plantain in Nicaragua and mangoes and mangosteen in
Indonesia; panel and cross-section farm household surveys of 3000 farmers between the
two countries; and, case studies of small farmer organizations, retailers and wholesalers,
and wholesale markets, and rapid rural appraisals. The outreach comprises stakeholder
and policy workshops and learning alliances. The capacity building comprises degree
training in the US and in the study countries, collaborative research, and rural training
workshops; a key goal is to build on and up the unique
research/training/development/outreach natures of the collaborating institutions, toward
there being replicable, regional centers of excellence. The work is closely integrated with
and informs immediate policy debates and development programs of host-country
governments and USAID missions. The research is collaborative among the PI
institutions (CAPAS [The Center for Agricultural Policy and Agribusiness Studies] at
Padjadjaran University in West Java, Indonesia; Nitlapán, an Institute of the Central
American University in Managua, Nicaragua; and, Michigan State University), and with
Cornell as non-PI collaborators