Effective Market-Oriented Agricultural Advisory Services MOAAS involves advisory support for producers as well as for other actors in the value chains.

MOAAS include a highly diverse range of services ranging from technical know-how, understanding of markets, their requirements and business management to organisational development, and facilitation of change in value chains. This illustrates the diversity of advisory service needs for creating increased competitiveness among the diverse actors in value chains.

MOAAS are provided by very diverse types of service providers – public and private. Often MOAAS are embedded in business transactions or in marketing services provided by producer or value chain organisations.

MOAAS providers themselves need a steady flow of advice, access to uptodate knowhow and support to develop their capacities if they are to provide relevant services in dynamic market environments and maintain the quality of their services.

The full range of MOAAS services along value chains – including facilitation and brokering of linkages and changes in value chains, as well as back-up services (which are now frequently provided by externally funded actors) –must ultimately be provided by local actors.

Together these factors suggest that MOAAS should be designed as an integral part of the broader innovation systems that support the competitive strategies of producers and other value chain actors.