Programs focused on developing community-level management skills and human capacity can increase the opportunities for small farmers to benefit from market participation. Using a framework that links the concepts of collective power and agricultural development, and drawing upon evidence from Mali, Mozambique, and Cameroon, the authors differentiate three types of approaches to capacity building. Contract/Business programs such as out grower and cash-crop schemes facilitate farmer access to goods and services required for production and marketing of a target commodity. Project/Technology programs, usually mediated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focus on the promotion of improved technology. Process/Human Capacity investments also facilitate technology adoption and marketing, but focus initially on the development of foundation skills and social capital, including assistance for collective self-help, literacy programs, marketing activities, and decentralized development planning. Although the latter programs tend to be slower in producing tangible results, the skills emphasized often determine the ability of a community to access inputs and market production beyond the life of a project. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.