Why is the BBA important?

1. Why is the BBA important? Alan Rennison Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 11 October 2013

2. Overview of the Foundation and our work in the Ag Policies space • Foundation belief: Every person deserves the chance to live a healthy, productive life • Ag Development goal: Sustainable smallholder productivity growth • Ag Policies goal:Address policy and institutional constraints that limit sustainable productivity growth in staple and livestock value chains BMGF’s Ag Policies investment areas 5. Monitoring & priority setting 1. Data & statistics 4. Cost-effective policy implementation 2. Policy research & analysis 3. Deliberation & policy selection BMGF’s Ag Policies grantees

3. Why does BMGF invest in policy?: Good policy and regulatory environments facilitate sustained smallholder productivity growthWell designed policies facilitate smallholder access to: (i) improved inputs and knowledge; and (ii) output market opportunities Inputs market Outputs market Supply-side Demand-side Supply-side Demand-side Neighboring farmers Smallholder farmers Urban and rural consumers Seed companies, agro-dealers Local processors and other agribusinesses NGOs NGOs Government Government Ag policies and regulations should facilitate: Smallholder access to safe, efficacious inputs and improved farm practices Smallholder incentives to participate in efficient markets and trade Investment in local agribusinesses that supply inputs and knowledge to farmers Investment in local agribusinesses that buy raw produce from farmers Improved targeting and efficiency of ag expenditure allocations Stable and more predictable food prices

4. Why is BBA important? It informs policy decision making, in particular around commercial ag involving smallholdersBBA draws upon and complements indicators from a number of other important data sets • BBA enables: • Assessments of the extent to which national policies and regulations adhere to CAADP • Benchmarking and cross-country comparison of key ag indicators • Focused and detailed policy dialogue and analysis • A basis for national-level policy and regulatory reform • A basis for improved donor investment targeting • A private sector ‘voice’ in the ag policy debate BBA complements:

5. Why is BBA important? It helps to identify policies and regulations that facilitate or deter private sector investment in smallholder agWe focus on local SMEs because of their crucial role in the inputs and outputs markets that smallholders participate in DISCOVERY MARKETS Basic research Adaptive Research Input production Input delivery On-farm production Post- harvest Trading Processing Domestic Markets International Markets Local SME agribusinesses Seed companies ‘Outgrower’ farms Traders / retailers Commercial seed farms Aggregation businesses Importers / exporters Input wholesalers Fertilizer blenders Agri-vets Agri-processors Variety registration and release: Excessive requirements Industry structures: Government monopolies, Government producer/regulator conflict Examples of policies and regulationslimiting private investment in ag SMEs Certification, grades and standards: Excessive requirements, weak enforcement, lack of regional harmonization Import / export procedures: Excessive requirements and non-tariff barriers Ad hoc implementation: Uncertain timing and duration of active policies and regulations, inconsistent economic rationale