"The Andean highlands are home to some of the poorest rural households in South America. Native potato varieties and local knowledge for their cultivation and use are unique resources possessed by farmers in these areas. As the forces of globalization and market integration penetrate the Andes,...

Innovation in the food and agriculture sector is frequently short-circuited by a lack of trust and communication between actors in the market chain. To overcome these problems and stimulate innovation, the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) brings together small farmers, market agents,...

The Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) was developed originally to foster pro-poor innovation in potato market chains in the Andean highlands of South America. After promising results in Peru and Bolivia, two questions emerged: (1) Could the PMCA be successfully used to stimulate...

Participatory approaches are frequently recommended for international development programs, but few have been evaluated. From 2007 to 2010 the Andean Change Alliance evaluated an agricultural research and development approach known as the “Participatory Market Chain Approach” (PMCA). Based...

La evaluación horizontal es un método flexible de evaluación que combina la autoevaluación y una revisión externa por "pares". Hemos desarrollado este método para utilizarlo en una red regional en los Andes que desarrolla nuevas metodologías de investigación y desarrollo (I + D). La...

Horizontal evaluation is a flexible evaluation method that combines self-assessment and external review by peers. We have developed and applied this method for use within an Andean regional network that develops new methodologies for research and development (R&D). The involvement of peers...