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Smallholder Food Marketing Behaviour: Exploring the Role of Informal Credit and Traders in Stabilization of Food Crop Prices
67-82Views:252Many farmers in Africa sell their produce at low prices immediately after harvest because they need cash. They could solve temporary liquidity constraints by use of credit and store their produce to sell when prices are high. However, due to various reasons such many poor farmers have been excluded from formal financial services. In response, the informal financial market has expanded, but the question why informal credit has not facilitated storage to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities remains largely unanswered. To answer this question, we investigate the role of informal credit markets and traders in stabilizing seasonal food crop prices. Our analysis is based on a household survey data, and in-depth interviews with key players in the informal credit market and grain traders in rural southwestern Uganda. We find that community-based self-help savings and credit associations provide credit for the majority (62%) of farmers. Informal credit still excludes the very poor and is not sufficient to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities. Thus, poor farmers continue to ‘sell low and buy high’. The study also addresses a related fundamental aspect of food marketing: why is there no competition between traders bidding up prices after harvest and eliminating seasonal price fluctuations? We analyse traders’ costs and profit structure in the study area, and shed some light on imperfections in the grain market and the barriers that limit competition between traders. We find that grain trade is not highly competitive. High transaction costs and limited access to credit are the main barriers limiting competition. Supporting community-based self-help savings and credit associations to raise their portfolio can enable more farmers to borrow at the same time. Investing in infrastructure, organising and supporting small scale farmers to bulk their produce might lower transaction costs, promote competition and dampen price fluctuations.
JEL Classification: D53, O13, O16, Q12, Q13
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DO MULTIPURPOSE COOPERATIVES HAVE ADDRESSED THEIR MEMBER’S AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT MARKETING CHALLENGES OF SMALL HOLDER FARMERS IN ETHIOPIA?
Views:233Multipurpose cooperatives offer a powerful tool for enhancing the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, particularly in developing economies. By joining forces, these farmers gain greater collective bargaining power, allowing them to negotiate better prices for their crops and increase their incomes. In developed countries as well, farmer cooperatives play a central role in streamlining production and marketing activities for family farms. They act as a crucial bridge between farmers and markets, ensuring smoother exchange and coordination within the agricultural sector. However, despite their significant contributions, multipurpose cooperatives also face challenges that influence them to play a significant role of agricultural product marketing. The aim of this study was to examine the benefits and difficulties associated with members of a multipurpose cooperative participating in the sale of agricultural products in the Kersa district of Jimma Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. For this study, four multipurpose cooperatives were chosen using a two-stage sampling technique, resulting in a sample size of 196 cooperative members. Quantitative data was collected through a structured questionnaire from primary sources, while qualitative data was collected through focus groups and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics such as mean, chi-square, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were used to analyze the data. The result showed that 66.36% of cooperative members were participants, whereas 33.64% were non-participants. Multipurpose cooperatives are serving as the primary source of agricultural inputs. However, the output marketing activity of the sampled multipurpose co-operatives in the district is not as remarkable. The study suggests that local cooperative agencies should encourage more members to participate in selling their crops through the cooperatives
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LAND CONTROL AND POVERTY STATUS OF FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA
Views:285Poverty is pervasive among the majority of farming households in Nigeria, particularly affecting small-scale farmers. Having gained access to land, control over the land held is very important in improving the quality of life as it plays a vital role in poverty reduction among small scale farmers. This study examined the relationship between land control and poverty status of farming households in Nigeria. The Nigeria General Household Survey (GHS) 2018 was used. Analytical tools used include descriptive statistics, Land Control Index (LCI), Ordered probit regression and Logit regression models. From the results, majority of the Nigerian farmers were male (84.6%) with a mean age of 50±15years, and 81.1% were married, having a mean household size of 7±4 persons. The mean farm size held by the households was 4.42±14.9ha. Farming households had access to the highest proportion (62.79%) of their plots by inheritance, still showing the dominance of inheritance as a means of land access in Nigeria. Also, households had access to 11.80% of the plots by outright purchase, 11.20% by rent in cash or kind (farm produce), and 0.64% by sharecropping; these underscore the growing rural land market in Nigeria. Majority (88.8%) of the households had no control over all the plots of farmlands held (LCI=0) while 6.03% had total control of the plots of farmlands held (LCI=1). This implies that majority can only carry out farming activities (having use right) on the farmland and did not possess legal documents for the land (not able to dispose of the land). The mean household expenditure on food and non-food were ₦8,609.37 and ₦12,587.08, respectively. The mean total expenditure was ₦18,809.20(±10444.45) and the poverty line was ₦8,433.34. The poverty incidence was 41.03%; 41.03% were poor while 58.97% were non-poor. Location of household in the rural sector, especially in the North East, South West, and South East, was significantly positive in determining the level of land control by farming households at 1%. At 10% level of significance, low land control (HCI≤0.25) and medium land control (HCI=0.51-0.75) would significantly increase the likelihood of the household being non-poor by 27.4% and 33.6%, respectively. Land control positively influences the poverty status of the farming households in Nigeria; farming households with low land control can increase their chances of being non-poor. Rural farmers should be encouraged to obtain legal documents on their land to facilitate higher level of control.
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TODAY'S CONSUMERS ON THE MARKET IN CSÍKSZEREDA (MIERCUREA CIUC)
Views:211Due to the geographical situation of Harghita County, farming mostly in small agricultural areas encourages farmers to engage in more integrated agricultural activities. As a result, more and more farmers who are open to development are starting to appear on local markets with processed products. The traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation on small local farms is similar in families living in each area and therefore socially reinforcing. Older farmers in our countryside have mostly shied away from the new knowledge of the mega-manager, but their younger, more highly skilled counterparts are more willing to open up to new knowledge.
The demand for local products with a historical basis has been gradually increasing in recent years. To save costs, they also sell their products at the market themselves. In order to meet today's consumer needs, in addition to the production, processing and packaging of raw materials, producers must also think about branding, logistics and design. Customer relations and quality communication are essential for a well-functioning business (PG Balogh et.al, 2021)
In Harghita County, farmers running a traditional small-scale farm mostly face marketing problems. At the same time, the demand for high quality products produced in a sustainable way is increasing.
The aim of our empirical study is to investigate the expectations of consumers visiting the Traditional Products Fair in Csíkszereda (Miercurea -Ciuc) using artificial intelligence methods. These habits have their origins in the market habits of the past centuries, therefore, our research tries to reveal the atmosphere of the markets of the past.
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Effect of Training on Small-Scale Rice Production in Northern Ghana
13-20Views:343Training in modern farming methods enables farm households in developing countries to improve agricultural productivity. Notwithstanding the efforts of governmental and non-governmental organisations to provide farmers with agricultural training, productivity remains low. The existing literature provides little empirical evidence of the effect of training on agricultural productivity in Ghana. This study therefore seeks to bridge this gap by investigating small scale rice farmers’ participation in agricultural training programmes and its effect on productivity in northern Ghana. A treatment effect model was used to account for sample selection bias. The results indicated that participation in training increased with the number of extension visits, group membership, access to credit and the degree of specialisation in rice production. Furthermore, total output and labour productivity both increased with participation in training but the relationship with land productivity (yield) was insignificant. On average, participation in training was associated with 797kg increase in rice output, while labour productivity increased by 7.3kg/man-day. With the exception of farm capital, all the production inputs had a positively significant relationship with output suggesting sub-optimal use of capital in production. The study concludes that farmers’ training needs are not adequately being met while inadequate capital is constraining farm output. Increasing access to extension service and involving farmer-based organisations in the design and implementation of training programmes will enhance participation and farm performance.
JEL Classification: C21, D24, Q12
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