mwadime a4 nh-ispc
DESCRIPTION
Joint A4NH/ISPC workshop on nutritionTRANSCRIPT
Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets: Considerations for Diet
Diversification
Robert Mwadime
USAID|Community Connector Project, Uganda
Goal of the Farmer-Market Linkage
1. Having diversified diets, lower priced quality foods for consumers (mainly urbanites)
2. Improve diets of the producers? Reducing poverty among producers/poor?
How smallholder farmers can effectively supply domestic markets to increase availability, affordability and quality of diverse nutritious
foods
Smallholder farmers are different
• Distance to markets
• Awareness and backgrounds of farmers
• Economic wellbeing and interaction with financial services
• Some farmers do the selling themselves
• Other sources of livelihood
Markets are different
• Local (sub-regional markets)
• Schools and hospitals, [army] (in locality)
• [Small] Towns in the [country] regions
• Large towns (Outside or supermarkets)
• Industry
• Export
• Contract/ guarantee
• Quality control from growing to delivery (including certification)
• Provide services/inputs
• Collect at/near the farm gate
• Pay-on-delivery [cash?]
Farmers verses Markets
Producer’s objectives Markets’ Objectives
• Market the produce (exposure to markets?)
• Meet the “buy-basket” of the consumers—diversify products
• Make money (prices of goods) • Make money (after all costs)
• Means of employment (gender, cultural, issues)
• Continuity in supplies offered
• Stabilize consumption • Have enough supplies
• Risk mitigation • Timeliness of delivery
• Meet customer quality (+food safety) expectations
Food diversity?: Use the value chain approach
Input Suppliers • Technology
• Extension
• Inputs
• Finances
Producers • Adoption/use • Labor/husbandry • Post-harvest
handling
Buyers • Bulking •Quality •Delivery/transp.
Marketers •Mix of products • Pricing • Packaging •Quality
Consumers • Tastes and use •Demand
5 Main considerations in CC activities
1. Land sizes (small and poor quality) –mainly rain fed and production hazards
2. Remoteness of areas: limited markets and alternatives for income generation
3. Time for women –and their workload
4. Gender control of resources and sources of information
5. Peoples’ expectations and aspirations for “wealth”
Promotion of participation: Choice of Commodity
• Small number of farmers participate (Farming as a Business)
• Commodities and varieties:
• High market demand (even local market)
• Less perishable
• Bulkable
• Not additional workload for women
• High value (require little land sizes; many cycles; or can be intercropped, etc.)
• Require lower financial investments
Promotion of participation: Choice of Commodity
Examples in CC intervention areas:
Business Commodities Nutrition Commodities
• Passion fruits • Amaranth + traditional vegetable
• Irish potato seed, and other seedlings
• Papaw tress + Avocado tree
• Onions • Pumpkin
• Groundnuts
• Apiary (bee keeping)
• Local chicken
• Sheep/goats---calliandra as hedge crop • Promotion: Silver fish (mukene)
Poor farmers cannot be faithful to buyers unless they have other sources of income
• Cash economy?
• Link them to savings (saving with a purpose; quick access)
• Alternative sources of income
Farmers choose to work with APEF (Agricultural……)
• Buy, bulk and sell different agricultural commodities
• Buyers of onions
Process of getting products to APEF markets
Suppliers of different products
Buyers
Smallholders producers
with supplies
Bulking and sorting
Transporting
In Markets
Sorting, warehousing
packaging
Consumers
Cash Buying
• Quantities • Cash buying • Quality • Timeliness (markets don’t want to warehouse; pay after 60 days)
CC supported APEF to:
• Identify and train/certify bulkers/buyers
• Organize community bulking,
• Transport from farms,
• Packaging and storage
Farmers and consistency of supply
Farming is risky
• Quality of inputs
• Access to financial services
• Seasonality/climatic/production hazards
• May produce “wrong variety” for the market
Marketing risks?? E.g. failure of markets
Prices of “essentials” rise the demand for none essentials drop