Contract farming as part of a multi-instrument inclusive business structure : a theoretical analysis

Contract farming (CF) agreements are presently being restructured to form part of more complex Inclusive Business (IB) set-ups. Additional instruments, alongside CF, are implemented to overcome the challenges of CF and to adapt to the policy environment in which the different stakeholders operate. This paper develops a theoretical framework that gives insight into how these complex entities are structured and operate in a developing country context. This theoretical analysis takes a holistic approach by adopting elements of existing theories to form a new critical research paradigm: (i) Resource Dependence Theory to incorporate the wider operating environment in which the two cases operate, (ii) Transaction Cost Economics to explain the internal efficiency of the different models, and (iii) Agency Theory to account for the safeguard mechanisms. This new framework is then tested on two complex IBs that aim to integrate smallholder farmers into the commercial value chain, but which have each implemented a different institutional set-up developed around CF arrangements. It finds that a high dependence by the offtaker in the first case study stimulates a higher level of commitment and investment by this stakeholder in the contract arrangement. In turn, this increases the asset specificity aspect, which then requires safeguards to ensure the smallholders adhere to the contractual agreement. A higher dependency in this particular study also resulted in a higher number of smallholders being engaged in the contract, requiring mechanisms to efficiently monitor and coordinate them.http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ragr202018-11-10hj2017Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Inclusiveness revisited : assessing inclusive businesses in South African agriculture

Inclusive businesses are complex partnerships between commercial entities and smallholders/low-income communities, to include the latter in commercial agricultural value chains. IBs offer income opportunities for both partners, but are also regarded as empowering the smallholders/communities. To date, IB inclusiveness has been assessed mainly through basic quantitative measurements. However, these measures neglect the complexities of the overall value creation process, and of the inclusion of the beneficiaries within this process. This paper aims at providing a more holistic methodology by assessing the level of inclusiveness based on four dimensions: ownership, voice, risk and reward. Case studies in South Africa show that inclusion of low-income communities lags behind the intended level. Lack of financial resources and skills, reinforced by power imbalance, result in smallholder ownership being limited to land, the community’s voice being compromised, risk being transferred to the smallholder communities and rewards being disappointing for the beneficiaries.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cdsa202020-03-06hj2018Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous exchange of mimicry adaptations among species

The evolutionary importance of hybridization and introgression has long been debated. Hybrids are usually rare and unfit, but even infrequent hybridization can aid adaptation by transferring beneficial traits between species. Here we use genomic tools to investigate introgression in Heliconius, a rapidly radiating genus of neotropical butterflies widely used in studies of ecology, behaviour, mimicry and speciation. We sequenced the genome of Heliconius melpomene and compared it with other taxa to investigate chromosomal evolution in Lepidoptera and gene flow among multiple Heliconius species and races. Among 12, 669 predicted genes, biologically important expansions of families of chemosensory and Hox genes are particularly noteworthy. Chromosomal organization has remained broadly conserved since the Cretaceous period, when butterflies split from the Bombyx (silkmoth) lineage. Using genomic resequencing, we show hybrid exchange of genes between three co-mimics, Heliconius melpomene, Heliconius timareta and Heliconius elevatus, especially at two genomic regions that control mimicry pattern. We infer that closely related Heliconius species exchange protective colour-pattern genes promiscuously, implying that hybridization has an important role in adaptive radiation. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited

Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous exchange of mimicry adaptations among species

The evolutionary importance of hybridization and introgression has long been debated. Hybrids are usually rare and unfit, but even infrequent hybridization can aid adaptation by transferring beneficial traits between species. Here we use genomic tools to investigate introgression in Heliconius, a rapidly radiating genus of neotropical butterflies widely used in studies of ecology, behaviour, mimicry and speciation. We sequenced the genome of Heliconius melpomene and compared it with other taxa to investigate chromosomal evolution in Lepidoptera and gene flow among multiple Heliconius species and races. Among 12,669 predicted genes, biologically important expansions of families of chemosensory and Hox genes are particularly noteworthy. Chromosomal organization has remained broadly conserved since the Cretaceous period, when butterflies split from the Bombyx (silkmoth) lineage. Using genomic resequencing, we show hybrid exchange of genes between three co-mimics, Heliconius melpomene, Heliconius timareta and Heliconius elevatus, especially at two genomic regions that control mimicry pattern. We infer that closely related Heliconius species exchange protective colour-pattern genes promiscuously, implying that hybridization has an important role in adaptive radiation.Heliconius Genome Consortium... S.W. Baxter... et al