Chapter 7 Public–Private Partnerships for Agricultural Transformation – Trends and Lessons from Developing Countries

This chapter examines the potential of public–private partnerships (PPPs) to contribute to the achievement of rural transformation objectives in the agriculture sector of developing countries. The chapter draws on the findings from a recent publication by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2016) that analysed 70 case studies of agri-PPP projects from 15 developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. A typology of four common project types was identified: (i) partnerships that aim to develop agricultural value chains; (ii) partnerships for joint agricultural research, innovation and technology transfer (ITT); (iii) partnerships for building and upgrading market infrastructure; and (iv) partnerships for the delivery of business development services (BDS) to farmers and small enterprises. Findings suggest that while positive contributions to agricultural transformation objectives exist, there remain several outstanding issues associated with the impact of agri-PPPs on poverty reduction and inclusion which still need to be addressed. Weaknesses were also identified in the governance mechanisms that support these partnerships, with limited assessment of value-for-money versus opportunity cost when considering the public benefits delivered. Interest in and support of agri-PPPs is growing in many developing countries, however, there remain many unanswered questions about the practicalities of designing and implementing such projects. The findings from this study make a contribution towards closing this knowledge gap by documenting useful insights for policy-makers on the potential benefits and limitations of agri-PPPs and differences in approach when compared to traditional PPPs.