For decades, weaknesses in postproduction food management, enterprise development and marketing have been a major constraint to agricultural growth and trade, and its potential to reduce poverty in developing countries. Since the early 1990s, the Natural Resources Institute has played a leading role in helping to develop food marketing and trading systems in collaboration with international and southern partners. This addresses the issues facing farmers, processors and traders in remunerative markets through taking a systems-based approach which involves key public and private sector partners and service providers from all points in the market chainn. Our multi-disciplinary approach combines traditional areas of expertise in post-harvest management including product handling, storage and processing, with areas of increasingly strategic importance such as supply chain management and livelihoods development in a market economy.

NRI’s work in Food and Trade is undertaken through the following programme:

• Agriculture trade and Standards
• Enterprise Development
• Agricultural Markets
• Agriculture Trade and Finance
• Rural Finance
• Food Safety and Quality