The project will examine the asset-related determinants and the impacts of the participation of small farmers and small-farmer organizations in modern versus traditional market channels in Indonesia and Nicaragua. The research comprises: product value chain studies of beans and plantain in Nicaragua and mangoes and mangosteen in Indonesia; panel and cross-section farm household surveys of 3000 farmers between the two countries; and, case studies of small farmer organizations, retailers and wholesalers, and wholesale markets, and rapid rural appraisals. The outreach comprises stakeholder and policy workshops and learning alliances. The capacity building comprises degree training in the US and in the study countries, collaborative research, and rural training workshops; a key goal is to build on and up the unique research/training/development/outreach natures of the collaborating institutions, toward there being replicable, regional centers of excellence. The work is closely integrated with and informs immediate policy debates and development programs of host-country governments and USAID missions. The research is collaborative among the PI institutions (CAPAS [The Center for Agricultural Policy and Agribusiness Studies] at Padjadjaran University in West Java, Indonesia; Nitlapán, an Institute of the Central American University in Managua, Nicaragua; and, Michigan State University), and with Cornell as non-PI collaborators