Frequently Asked Questions
Markets and value chains are important for food security and economic development because they connect farmers, businesses, and consumers, helping food move efficiently from production to consumption while creating jobs, incomes, and economic opportunities. A value chain includes all the steps involved in producing, processing, transporting, selling, and consuming food. Research by IFPRI shows that stronger food markets and more inclusive value chains can improve farmer livelihoods, increase employment in food processing and logistics, support economic growth, and expand access to nutritious foods. IFPRI’s work helps governments and development partners identify policies and investments that strengthen market systems and ensure that economic benefits are shared more broadly across rural and urban populations.
Markets and value chains are important for food security and economic development because they connect farmers, businesses, and consumers, helping food move efficiently from production to consumption while creating jobs, incomes, and economic opportunities. Research by IFPRI shows that stronger food markets and more inclusive value chains can improve farmer livelihoods, increase employment in food processing and logistics, support economic growth, and expand access to nutritious foods. IFPRI’s work helps governments and development partners identify policies and investments that strengthen market systems and ensure that economic benefits are shared more broadly across rural and urban populations.
Public investments that improve infrastructure, market information, agricultural research, and farmer access to services generally generate the largest and most lasting improvements in agricultural markets. Research by IFPRI indicates that the greatest benefits often come from combining physical infrastructure with policy reforms and institutional improvements. Investments that strengthen regional trade, encourage competition, improve food safety systems, and expand access to finance can make agricultural value chains more efficient, inclusive, and resilient. These investments help smallholder farmers connect to markets, support economic growth, and contribute to long-term food security.
IFPRI helps governments develop market-based solutions to food security challenges by providing data, policy analysis, economic modeling, and evidence on what kinds of investments and policies improve the performance of food markets and value chains. Governments use IFPRI’s evidence to inform decisions on infrastructure investments, agricultural market reforms, trade policies, social protection programs, and food system strategies. IFPRI’s analytical tools, including economic modeling and foresight analysis, help policymakers assess how factors such as climate change, population growth, agricultural productivity, and market developments may affect future food security outcomes.
Value chains influence nutrition outcomes by affecting the availability, affordability, safety, quality, and diversity of foods that people can access and consume. IFPRI research examines how food systems and value chains can deliver better nutrition outcomes alongside economic growth. By analyzing food prices, market access, supply chains, and consumer behavior, IFPRI helps governments and development partners identify investments and policies that improve both food security and nutrition. Evidence suggests that strengthening food value chains can contribute to healthier diets when investments prioritize efficiency, food safety, and access to diverse and nutritious foods.
