International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
The last several decades has been marked by profound changes in the nature of the global food system. Changes include (1) a massive increase in the volume of food moved across national borders, (2) the rapid rise of supermarkets globally, (3) economic concentration in the supermarket sector, (4) a decline in importance of spot markets and traditional food brokers, (5) the creation of a multiplicity of private standards, often built on top of public standards, (6) the rise of third party certification of food production and entire supply chains, (7) the development of new technologies designed to keep fresh products on the shelf twelve months a year, and to monitor products from farm to fork, (8) a shift toward non-price competition among supermarket chains, (9) greater differentiation of food products by class, and (10) the development of new forms of (contractual) relationships between supplies and buyers. These changes have occurred with amazing rapidity and have shifted power downstream to supermarket chains. These changes present new challenges and opportunities for smallholders. On the one hand, they can squeeze small producers out of certain markets, contributing to greater poverty and inequality. On the other hand, they can offer new sources of income and a marked improvement in the quality and safety of food.
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