The Hidden Middle—the segment of agrifood systems that connects farmers to consumers through aggregation, storage, logistics, and processing—has long been overlooked in both research and policy. Yet this is where most value addition, employment, and efficiency gains actually occur. When midstream actors function well, food systems are more resilient, markets are more stable, and small producers gain predictable access to buyers and inputs. When they do not, costs rise, losses increase, and opportunities for inclusive growth dissipate.

Over the past decade, a growing body of literature has sought to understand and strengthen this midstream segment. The systematic review underlying this Policy Brief analyzed more than 550 publications authored by 17 leading scholars, extracting and classifying over 3,500 policy recommendations. The analysis reveals a remarkable level of coherence among authors: despite differences in discipline or geography, the research community converges on a shared “theory of change” for the Hidden Middle. The literature emphasizes that midstream transformation cannot be achieved through isolated interventions, but rather through bundled interventions that reduce costs, lower risks, and enable coordination across firms, markets, and territories.