Agriculture development through multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing countries: A systematic literature review

CONTEXT
Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs), which involve the collective action of various institutions such as governments, private companies, NGOs, and donors, have become a popular approach for developing agricultural value chains to improve the sustainability of food systems. However, the growing body of literature presents a range of terms, concepts, and definitions related to MSPs, potentially causing confusion and obscuring the distinctions between different types of partnerships. While the potential benefits of MSPs have been extensively explored in the literature, there remains a need to investigate their realized impacts across regions to enable a more robust synthesis.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on MSPs in agricultural development, specifically examining the various concepts employed and assessing their realized impacts on farmers, focusing on developing countries.

METHODS
We systematically reviewed the literature on MSPs and identified 147 studies dealing with a different type of MSPs and 79 studies reporting the impact.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
We found that twelve terms have been used to describe MSPs. However, a single MSP initiative may be referred to by different names in various documents, indicating a lack of consensus on the defining characteristics of such partnerships. Positive impacts were reported on farmers' economic, social, and technological aspects, as well as environmental adaptation practices to address climate change. Nevertheless, the reported impacts tend to focus primarily on economic, technological, and social dimensions while giving less attention to environmental aspects.

SIGNIFICANCE
This paper presents, firstly, a comprehensive overview of the diverse practices of MSPs in developing countries. Secondly, it analyses the contributions made by MSPs across various commodities and regions in the development of agricultural value chains.