Agricultural commercialization remains a widely pursued approach in development projects to improve food security in low-income countries, although there is no clear scientific evidence for it. This study examines the impact of agricultural commercialization on the food security status of crop-producing households in the regions of Vietnam in the 1990s. We used the food system framework including output and input markets. We explore three indicators of commercialization: Cash crop production share (CCPS), crop output market participation share (COMPS), and crop input market participation share (CIMPS) based on fertilizer use. For food security, we looked at caloric intake and dietary diversity (Food Variety Score). We use a balanced panel data sample from the Vietnam Living Standards Survey (VLSS) of 1992/93 and 1997/98. We apply four specifications for all combinations of commercialization indicators and food security indicators for seven regions: OLS 1992/93, OLS 1997/98, pooled sample, and difference estimator. The results show that the effect of commercialization on food security is widely heterogeneous. It depends upon the commercialization indicator and the region in Vietnam. In general, there is no clear evidence for the direction of commercialization on either caloric intake or dietary diversity; however, it is clear that the impacts are generally more positive for southern regions than for northern regions of Vietnam.

The study assess the competitiveness of the fruit and vegetable sector and suggests specific recommendations for further development. It also provides insights in market, trade and investment opportunities. A focus is applied to a limited number of crop specific case studies. In Uganda the production of fruit and vegetable is gaining importance. Despite agricultural practices being weak, farmers in Uganda can make a reasonable profit margin from their farm plots. In addition, key performances indicators of Uganda compared with Kenya show that most products for the domestic and regional markets are very competitive in terms of quality, price and yield.

Many sources indicate that smallholder tree-crop commodity farmers are poor, but there is a paucity of data on how many of them are poor and the depth of poverty. The living income concept establishes the net annual income required for a household in a place to afford a decent standard of living. Based on datasets on smallholder cocoa and tea farmers in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya and literature, we conclude that a large proportion of such farmers do not have the potential to earn a living income based on their current situation. Because these farmers typically cultivate small farm sizes and have low capacity to invest and to diversify, there are no silver bullets to move them out of poverty. We present an assessment approach that results in insights into which interventions can be effective in improving the livelihoods of different types of farmers. While it is morally imperative that all households living in poverty are supported to earn a living income, the assessment approach and literature indicate that focussing on short- to medium-term interventions for households with a low likelihood of generating a living income could be: improving food security and health, finding off-farm and alternative employment, and social assistance programmes. In the long term, land governance policies could address land fragmentation and secure rights. Achieving living incomes based on smallholder commodity production requires more discussion and engagement with farmers and their household members and within their communities, coordination between all involved stakeholders, sharing lessons learnt and data.

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