Pluralistic Service Systems Market-Oriented Services for Reducing Rural Poverty

For smallholder agriculture to prosper and transform itself, access to rural services is essential. Rural services that enable smallholders to overcome constraints to increase their productivity, manage their farms as a sustainable business, link to inputs and outputs markets and act collectively to improve their livelihoods are a first line of action to reduce rural poverty. Undoubtedly, improving rural services has long been on the development agenda. Yet, ensuring equitable access to rural services remains a challenge that governments and their development partners need to address to improve rural livelihoods and overcome rural poverty. The pluralistic Market-Oriented Services (MOS) programme aims to address the critical role of rural services in enhancing agriculture-based livelihoods and reducing rural poverty . Emphasis is placed on advisory, financial and support services needed for smallholders to improve productivity, gain access to markets and increase their income to move out of poverty. This note outlines the conceptual framework for the pluralistic market-oriented services (MOS) programme, and briefly describes its objective, main dimensions and fields of action.