Building markets holistically started in Albania. IFDC staff who worked there remember literally creating the fertilizer market from scratch to feed the fledgling agriculture sector. That experience gave a rare insight into the holistic needs of a growing economy. Albania (see IFDC Magazine 39.2) was a great success, and the experience of building the sector helped IFDC realize, as is said in a promotional video at the time, “If it can be done in Albania, it can be done anywhere.” That optimism created CASE.
CASE integrates farmers into value chains organized around specific crops or commodities. A value chain links the numerous steps that a product takes from the farmer to the ultimate consumer. In these commodity value chains, IFDC not only helps strengthen and professionalize smallholder farmers but supports growth in the agro-input, processing and marketing industries that facilitate agribusiness expansion.
