Growing business with smallholders is a real opportunity for agribusiness companies. With the world population set to rise by 2 billion by 2050, there is a pressing need to meet increased demand for agricultural products. Food production alone needs to grow by 50% above current levels to meet increased demand.

Smallholders can be important business partners to meet this demand. With 500 million farms worldwide, they cultivate most of the agricultural land in developing countries, and bear great potential to increase productivity. Increased market opportunities for smallholders will also open up significant markets for input providers.

The new practitioner guide "Growing Business with Smallholders" provides company representatives with practical guidance on how to develop successful business with smallholders.

The launch event of the guide was held on November 19th, 2012 and hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Berlin.

A 2-day workshop held on November 19th and 20th, 2012  brought together agribusiness practitioners to reflect upon and refine their business models.