Policies enhancing agricultural value chains in developing countries: An Evidence Gap Map

Strengthening agricultural value chains (AVCs) and ensuring continuous supply of food is of upmost importance especially for developing countries where food security and malnutrition remain vital threats. However, effective and efficient coordination of AVCs in developing countries continues to remain an issue due to capacity constraints and inefficiencies of interventions. An Evidence Gap Map (EGM) is used to systematically retrieve, organize, and map existing knowledge on AVCs and identify gaps in the literature that will suggest future areas for effective policy interventions. The marginal increase in knowledge of a project focusing on an area of a knowledge gap may be larger than that of a project which focuses on an area with many studies. A total of 4745 studies were retrieved from a systematic search, however only 165 studies meeting inclusion criteria are included in EGM. Most policy interventions address inputs supply stage of value chains with specific focus on subsidies and agricultural loans. Governance and issues related to gender, poverty and social groups are underexplored. Most frequently mentioned outcomes subcategories were yield, agricultural profits, family income, and technology adoption. Outcomes related to risk management and product movement in time and space had the smallest frequency of occurrence. As noted, underexplored areas provide opportunities for future research. [Display omitted] •Evidence shows that most of the interventions were implemented in the inputs stage of the value chain.•Gaps in the literature exist in outcomes related to risk management and product movement in time and space.•In resource limited settings, policymakers should prioritize enhancing market access, production, and post-harvest handling.