An exploration of the phenomenon of ‘crowding in’ on inclusive agribusiness initiatives: a study of 2SCALE’s program in Nigeria

“What you don’t know, you will not recognise” – African proverb While inclusive agribusinesses have been acclaimed to be able to achieve sustainable development in agriculture and food systems, paradoxically, not much research has been given to identifying the early signs through which it realises system change, to enable and deepen its impacts. Therefore, to further stretch the African proverb above, how can we act upon what we do not recognise? This question speaks directly to this exploratory study which seeks to understand the phenomenon of crowding in as a lens for identifying system effects from inclusive agribusiness interventions; on the premise that, if we can recognize it, we can act upon it. Using 2SCALE/Nestle inclusive agribusiness (IAB) partnership in the Nigerian dairy value chain as the case study, the study’s research question investigates the pathways through which crowding in could occur in an inclusive agribusiness initiative and the conditions that could facilitate crowding in. The theory of Institutional Isomorphism provides the framework for exploring the phenomenon of crowding in. The study examined the institutional pathways that could activate crowding in in an IAB environment and observed the following types of crowding in: competitive crowding in – actors seeking to gain competitive advantage through the opportunities created by the IAB; coercive crowding in – actors are nudged by subtle, direct, or indirect use of power to align to an IAB’s initiative; or normative crowding in, whereby actors conform to an IAB for social incentive. The study applies a qualitative case study approach. Data was gathered through field observation, participatory workshop, and key informant interviews. Participants were selected using the purposive sampling method in order to include actors that may have nurtured crowding in because of their role in the value chain development. Alignment to sustainable development, organized structure, wide scope of IAB operations, long track record of the partners, and IAB’s accessibility to the public were observed as conditions that facilitated crowding in on the 2SCALE/Nestle inclusive agribusiness initiative. To conclude, the study advocates for further studies to firmly conceptualize crowding in, to bring more value to inclusive agribusiness models as a practical tool for development.