Paper short abstract:

The paper critically examines narratives of cassava value chain development and agricultural commercialisation from an inequalities perspective using mixed-method evidence from Nigeria and Malawi from 2009 to 2014.

Paper long abstract:

Despite the fact that sub-national agricultural value chains include the majority of world's poor, and have been the object of much donor-funded work in poverty reduction, they are often overlooked by value chain and inequalities research, which has tended to focus more on international value chains and large private sector companies. This paper addresses this research gap with findings on cassava value chain development in Nigeria and Malawi using data from mixed-method, longitudinal panel interviews and a household survey from 2009 to 2014.

The findings demonstrate the complexity of cassava value chains and how market participation varies significantly by gender and other factors of social difference. This complexity reflects dynamic social hierarchies, related to the nature of cassava being a staple crop, which provides both opportunities and constraints for smallholder participation and benefit from particular markets. Socio-economic trends in cassava markets can also be explained by the key factors in smallholder decision making, including varying levels of women's agency, access to resources given their social conditionality, perceptions of value and livelihood uncertainty. Therefore recognising the importance of social relations and market 'embeddedness' is vital for addressing inequalities that are often overlooked in linear value chain approaches that simplify the context. In conclusion, the results from the study provide important reflections on value chain development and agricultural commercialisation narratives, which tend to reflect gendered and equality myths around poverty reduction.