The “First Kilometre” is a metaphor for reaching, interacting with, listening to, learning from, empowering and enriching smallholders. It is chosen to counter the “top-down” connotations of the more common “last mile” vocabulary.

Research on the topics covered here provided background for the WorldAgInfo Design Team on existing information systems for large and smallholder producers, and a beginning understanding of how they might be improved. While the issues involved are wide-ranging and incredibly complex, focus areas were identified where the Design Team would benefit from more in-depth research. Information gathered informed and helped shape the deliberations of the two workshops.

The Design Team commissioned research analysts to survey the literature, understand the issues of institutional context, and inventory what is happening on the ground. Each review resulted in an approximately 10-page report with a narrative review and list of citations. Eleven areas were surveyed, with an emphasis on successes, failures, scalability, incentives, sustainability and replicability.

Additional materials and an archive of the project web site can be found on the Internet Archive here.