Third International Conference on Linking Markets and Farmers:

Exploring Leading Practices to Foster Economic Growth in Rural India

New Delhi, India
March 11-15, 2007

Concept
The Third International Conference on Linking Markets and Farmers: Exploring Leading Practices to Foster Economic Growth in Rural India will explore innovative institutional arrangements and new business models for linking domestic and international consumer markets with producer organizations, rural entrepreneurs, and communities. Using a unique set of instrumental case studies of innovative business practices from across the world, the conference will provide a forum for discussion and debate on how to best organize the agri-food sector so that it reduces transaction costs, improves market efficiency and contributes directly to reducing rural poverty, increasing farm income and rural employment, and promoting sustainable development. An integral part of this process will be evaluating the role of public-private partnerships and industry in facilitating the establishment of alternative business models, driving technological advances and catalyzing entrepreneurial innovation within rural communities.

Speakers will present a range of case studies across commodities and products in different countries. These case studies will describe successful linkages of farmers to new markets, including problems they confronted and alleviated. All participants will have the opportunity to fully discuss various models, and draw lessons from successes and failures of the past and present experiments of linking farmers with the markets.

Opportunity
This invitation is for individuals or organizations, directly involved in projects or activities related to some aspect of innovative approaches and new business models for linking domestic and international consumer markets with rural entrepreneurs, producer organizations, and communities, to come to New Delhi and share these successful practices and/or lessons learned. Individuals will be chosen to either present their case study as a 15 minute presentation or as a poster. Individuals who are selected to present their case studies at this conference will be able to receive part or full travel grants through funding provided by USAID or one of the other co-sponsoring organizations to defray some of their expenses for attending the conference, such as airfare (least-cost economy class), hotel, meals, incidental expenses and conference fees. Note: only the presenting author will be eligible to receive travel grants.Also, no honoraria will be paid to any case-study presenter.

Presentations

Each individual selected to present a case study will be expected to prepare a 15-minute PowerPoint slide presentation for delivery in English at the conference, plus a 10-12 page, single spaced, case study that will be shared with the conference participants and made available on the conference’s website. It is planned that all PowerPoint presentations will be available on the conference website, so these case studies will be available indefinitely to government and development officials, as well as agribusiness professors and students who were unable to attend this conference.

Posters

Each individual selected to present their case study in poster format will be expected to prepare a poster that is no larger than 4 feet high by 4 feet wide, in English, to be presented during the Poster Session at the conference. Also required is a 10-12 page, single spaced, case study that will be shared with the conference participants and made available on the conference website.

Case Studies

The case studies should highlight successful examples, preferably from India and other developing countries, as to how producers were successfully organized and linked to markets, including such things as the business model used, how investment credit was secured and/or how farmers were trained to successfully supply these markets.

• Describe in detail how these supply chains were established or how specific problems, such as traceability or quality control, were addressed and solved.
• Identify specific problems that were confronted in developing these supply chains and describe how these problems were solved.
• How transaction costs are reduced and market efficiency is improved in new supply chains compared to the traditional ones.
• How production and market risks are reduced and shared by farmer and the firm in new supply chain
• Where appropriate, describe how this successful case or pilot project is being scaled up.

Case-study proposals should be submitted in one or more of the following areas of interest:

Diversification into Higher-Value Products and Markets

• Livestock Products, including dairy and meat products
• Fisheries, including aquaculture
• Fresh horticultural crops
• Natural Products, including herbs, medicinal and aromatic crops
• Organic food products
• Specialty products
• Biofuels
• Oilseeds and pulses
• Fiber

Enablers of Market Driven Innovations

• Technology as a Market Enabler
• Knowledge Transfer, including role of extension, ICT, NGOs, and private systems
• Efficient Market Exchange
• Infrastructure as a Market Enabler
• Physical Infrastructure, including cold chains, roads, ports and airports
• Social Capital, including women and farmer groups
• Resource Management
• Government as a Market Enabler
• Regulatory Reform
• Grades and Standards, including labeling, information disclosure, SPS and facilitated implementation
• Channel Partners as a Market Enabler
• Finance, including microfinance
• Input Suppliers

How to Submit Your Case-Study Proposal

Authors should submit by e-mail an abstract of less than 1,000 words [maximum of two pages, after the title page; single spaced, using12 pt Times Roman font, with 1-inch margins, either as a Word Document (doc) or in Rich Text Format (rtf)] in English outlining the elements of the proposed case study (or comparable paper) to be presented. The abstract should include information about the target group, the product or commodity concerned or the issue to be addressed (e.g., how a traceability system was established or how quality standards for a specific market were achieved), a description of the steps undertaken and the resulting outcome, plus any lessons learned. Preference will be given to successful cases/practices, but unsuccessful cases will be considered.

A separate first page of all submissions should include only:

• The title of the proposed case study, including the name of the country or case study setting.
• Each author’s full name, title, institution, full address, telephone number (including country and city codes) and Email address.

Please submit case-study proposals, including the separate page, should be sent in either Word (doc) or rich text format (rtf) to Megan Puzey, the Conference Coordinator, at: mpuzey@uiuc.edu

In general, all communications will be by e-mail.

The deadline for submission of case-study proposals is Friday, December 1, 2006.

All case study proposals will be screened by the planning committee. The lead author of the selected case studies will be notified of the committee’s decision via e-mail on or before Friday, December 15, 2006. A small number of proposals will be selected as alternates, in case some authors are unable to participate. Each lead author will be expected to send a confirming e-mail to the conference coordinator by December 22, 2006, indicating his/her agreement to meet the specified deadlines for (1) submitting a proposed case study, (2) preparing their PowerPoint presentation for presentation at this Conference, and (3) their agreement to have both documents, including their audio presentation, loaded on the Conference website. The author will also indicate in the email if he/she needs a travel grant to defray some of his/her expenses for attending the conference, such as airfare (least-cost economy class), hotel, meals, incidental expenses and conference fees. The authors will be informed by January 5, 2007, if they have received a travel grant and the expenses the grant covers.

Other Deadlines
All written case studies must be forwarded to the conference coordinator by February 5, 2007. All case study presenters should bring their PowerPoint presentations with them to the conference, either on a CD ROM or a flash drive.

Conference Format:

Four days (Sunday evening to Thursday), including one day of field trips.

• Inaugural Reception: Sunday evening

• Presentations: Monday/Tuesday

• Plenary sessions: Invited speakers
• Concurrent session on specific themes:
• Invited expert speakers from development agencies, NGOs, industry, government, and academia
• Selected case studies of leading business models from private and public sector

• Field trips to provide participants the opportunity to view relevant business models first hand

• Wrap-up to draw together leading practices and identify future opportunities and challenges

• Optional pre and post-conference sightseeing programs

Organizational Structure: The initiating organizers for the conference are the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the India, China and America (ICA) Institute, Atlanta; USAID, the World Bank, MART, International Food Products Research Institute (IFPRI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Important Dates:

Contact Address
Please submit case-study proposals, to Megan Puzey, the Conference Coordinator, at: mpuzey@uiuc.edu

Telephone Number: +1-217-244-1706; Fax Number: +1-217-244-1707
Mailing Address: 165 NSRC, 1101 W. Peabody Dr., Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Click here to download the Call for Papers / Proposals