Best-fit approaches to building the capacity of smallholder farmers: cases of public-private partnerships in the fresh tropical vegetable value chain in the Philippines and Cambodia

The cases described here represent an innovation introduced by a private seed company, in partnership with international development organizations, national and subnational government agencies and civil society organizations. The innovation relates to how the capacity of smallholder farmers in the Philippines and Cambodia can become active participants in a commercial vegetables value chain. The approach is an integral part of a new business model developed in response to the changing landscape of the vegetable seed industry in Southeast Asia and towards fulfilling the company's corporate social responsibility. The model offers a potential best-fit approach that can be adapted towards the common goal of reducing poverty in rural areas in an era where smallholder producers find it difficult to adjust to the demands of globalized vegetable value chains.