March 2021 agricultural “platforms” in a digital era

AGRICULTURE-SPECIFIC VS. 
GENERAL MARKETPLACES
This research focuses on Digital Platforms that are 
operating directly in smallholder agricultural markets, 
but it is important to acknowledge the existence of 
more generalized marketplaces serving rural users. 
As e-commerce marketplaces continue to evolve 
in emerging markets, a number of these are active 
across multiple sectors and in a number of product/
service categories. For example, Rural Taobao in 
China is a general e-commerce Platform that defines 
its brand in terms of connecting with rural areas, 
but not exclusively around agriculture. A number 
of agriculture-related products and produce are 
traded on Rural Taobao alongside other product 
categories. Similarly, in the taxonomy above, most 
insurance or transport and logistics marketplaces are 
sector-agnostic. As providers continue to refine their 
Platforms, they will be faced with a key question: Should 
we focus exclusively on agricultural goods and services 
or broaden to include other sectors and categories?
Understanding market
positioning and the participation
of smallholder farmers
It is useful to distinguish between different 
types of product and service marketplaces in 
order to reach a more nuanced understanding of 
where they play, through what business models, 
and why. With the exception of marketplaces 
involving access to agricultural supplies, product 
marketplaces tend to play further down the 
value chain, facilitating access to local buyers, 
wholesalers, retailers, and/or direct consumers. 
Hybrid integrated marketplaces, on the 
other hand, often play across the entire value 
chain, complementing access to markets with 
supporting services, such as trade finance or 
storage. In contrast, service-only marketplaces 
operate further upstream, focusing on pre-
and post-production-related services, such as 
mechanization, transport, and insurance.