ABSTRACT
While some agriculturally-based rural households are autarkic, most are linked to markets. The focus of research and development efforts has, hence, broadened from a concentration on building up farmers’ production capabilities to include facilitating farmers’ access to markets (Shepherd, 2007). A component of ‘making markets work for the poor’ includes interest in how market access can contribute to both agrobiodiversity conservation and to farmers’ livelihood security. The focus is more on underutilized plant products (including landraces of commodities such as potatoes and maize) which are locally valued and which also have public value in terms of: (1) their contribution to agricultural agrobiodiversity; (2) the opportunity they provide for future generations to generate income; and (3) the maintenance of tradition and culture (Gruère et al, 2006).
