"Empowering Producers in Commercial Agriculture (EPIC)"

EPIC aims to empower rural producers and their wider communities to influence public decisions and private sector conduct in favour of bottom-up, locally beneficial and more sustainable investments in commercial agriculture. Increased private sector investment in commercial agriculture – from production to bulk purchasing arrangements, to processing and distribution – has created both risks and opportunities for rural livelihoods in low and middle-income countries. 

Developing value chains and linking farmers to markets could transform the livelihoods of millions of rural people, expanding choice and creating income-generating opportunities. But there are also concerns about top-down approaches, unequal negotiating power, unfair business relations and social differentiation among rural people...Yet interactions between governments, companies and rural people in low and middle-income countries usually involve imbalances in capacity, resources, influence and negotiating power. There is a need to develop, use and upscale innovative legal and other empowerment approaches that strengthen the position of rural people, particularly in their supply chain relations.

Empowering Producers in Commercial agriculture (EPIC) responds to this challenge. Led by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), EPIC will support rural producers, their organisations and their wider communities to make informed choices, seize opportunities, address risks and shape their own future.