Walmart doesn’t usually do things by halves, and its plan to source from a million small-scale farmers around the world by 2015 is an extraordinary target (page 4).

Giving an update on the progress of the challenge, the retailer’s direct farm head in South Africa, Kobus Pienaar, revealed that many of the farms applying to join the programme did not even have such basics as electricity or running water. Getting them up to standard to fit into a supply chain as slick as Walmart’s is a herculean task.

Nevertheless it’s a laudable plan, and it gives a further boost to smallholders who previously had little opportunity to sell their produce to major supermarkets. In the past certification schemes such as GlobalGAP and even Fairtrade were criticised for being too inaccessible to smaller operators, and they have responded by developing specific modules to make it easier for such producers to qualify.

With food insecurity a topic moving ever closer to the top of the agenda, every resource, however small, will need to be tapped into. Moves such as this are therefore very welcome.