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Leveraging institutions for collective action to improve markets for smallholder producers in less-favored areas

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  • Shiferaw, Bekele A.
  • Obare, Gideon A.
  • Geoffrey, Muricho
  • Silim, Said

Abstract

Using survey data from the community, producer marketing groups (PMGs) and farm households in Kenya, this paper investigates the potential of rural institutions (farmer organizations, their rules and enforcement mechanisms) for remedying pervasive market imperfections and facilitate access to new technology in rural areas. Qualitative and quantitative analyses show that while the functioning of markets is constrained by high transaction costs and coordination failures, PMGs present new opportunities for small producers through vertical and horizontal coordination of production and grain marketing. They pay 20 to 25% higher prices than other buyers and facilitate the adoption of improved varieties that help increase marketable surplus. Their accumulated assets and traded volumes are influenced by participatory decision making, member contributions and initial start-up capital. While participation declines with farm size, the associated benefits depend on marketed amounts. Moreover, the time lag to payment for deliveries makes PMGs less attractive marketing channels for the poor. The success of such groups requires policy support, increased capital access, rural finance and market information.

Suggested Citation

  • Shiferaw, Bekele A. & Obare, Gideon A. & Geoffrey, Muricho & Silim, Said, 2009. "Leveraging institutions for collective action to improve markets for smallholder producers in less-favored areas," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afjare:56941
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.56941
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    Cited by:

    1. Momanyi, Denis, 2016. "Analysis of the Marketing Behavior of African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables Among Smallholder Farmers in Nyamira County, Kenya," Research Theses 243443, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    2. Herbert, Ainembabazi & Asten, Piet & Vanlauwe, Bernard & Ouma, Emily & Blomme, Guy & Birachi, Eliud & Manyong, Victor M. & Macharia, Ibrahim, 2015. "Improving the adoption of agricultural technologies and farm performance through farmer groups: Evidence from the Great Lakes Region of Africa," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 210939, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Meilin Ma & Richard J. Sexton, 2021. "Modern agricultural value chains and the future of smallholder farming systems," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 591-606, July.
    4. Phakathi, S. & Sinyolo, S. & Fraser, G.C.C. & Marire, J., 2021. "Heterogeneous welfare effects of farmer groups in smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 16(1), March.
    5. Malan, Benoît & Saitone, Tina L. & Sexton, Richard J., 2015. "Marketing Cooperatives in Developing Countries: Who Joins Them and How Can They Do Better?," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205522, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Verhofstadt, Ellen & Maertens, Miet, 2013. "Cooperative membership and agricultural performance: Evidence from Rwanda," Working Papers 157389, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    7. Mwangi, Backson & Obare, Gideon A. & Murage, Alice, 2014. "Estimating the Adoption Rates of Two Contrasting Striga Weeds Control Technologies in Kenya," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 53(3), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Linking Smallholders to Markets: Determinants and Impacts of Farmer Collective Action in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1255-1268.
    9. Wollni, Meike & Fischer, Elisabeth, 2012. "Commitment in Collective Marketing Relationships: Evidence from Coffee Cooperatives in Costa Rica," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126884, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Nkhoswe, James & Bader, Sumeya & Nyauchi, Elizabeth & Lemma, Yordanos & Ong’ondo, Geoffrey & Geremew, Akewake, 2023. "Sustainability of the Sub-Saharan African Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chains: A Review of the Roles and Challenges of Youths and Women in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(12), pages 1643-1674, December.
    11. Okello, Julius J. & Kwikiriza, Norman & Kakuhenire, Rogers & Parker, Monica & Schulte-Geldermann, Elmar & Pambo, Kennedy, 2015. "Micro and meso-level issues affecting potato production and marketing in the tropical highlands of Sub-Saharan Africa: The known and the unknowns," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205464, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Biggeri, Mario & Burchi, Francesco & Ciani, Federico & Herrmann, Raoul, 2018. "Linking small-scale farmers to the durum wheat value chain in Ethiopia: Assessing the effects on production and wellbeing," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 77-91.
    13. Salimata Traore, 2020. "Farmer organizations and maize productivity in rural Burkina Faso: The effects of the diversion strategy on cotton input loans," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 1150-1166, August.
    14. Ellen Verhofstadt & Miet Maertens, 2014. "Smallholder cooperatives and agricultural performance in Rwanda: do organizational differences matter?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 39-52, November.
    15. Blekking, Jordan & Gatti, Nicolas & Waldman, Kurt & Evans, Tom & Baylis, Kathy, 2021. "The benefits and limitations of agricultural input cooperatives in Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    16. Otieno, Zipora & Okello, Julius J. & Nyikal, Rose & Mwang'ombe, Agnes & Clavel, Daniele, 2011. "The role of varietal traits in the adoption of improved dryland crop varieties: The case of pigeon pea in Kenya," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 6(2), pages 1-18, September.
    17. Sibiko, Kenneth W. & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Weather Index Insurance, Agricultural Input Use, and Crop Productivity in Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 256214, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    18. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Smallholder Farmers and Collective Action: What Determines the Intensity of Participation?," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 108551, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    19. Kiprotich Sigei, Geoffrey, 2014. "Determinants of Market Participation Among Small-Scale Pineapple Farmers in Kericho County, Kenya," Research Theses 243452, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    20. Kenneth W. Sibiko & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Weather index insurance, agricultural input use, and crop productivity in Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 151-167, February.
    21. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Smallholder Farmers and Collective Action: What Determines the Intensity of Participation?," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Berlin 2011 28, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    22. Tina L. Saitone & Richard J. Sexton & Benoît Malan, 2018. "Price premiums, payment delays, and default risk: understanding developing country farmers’ decisions to market through a cooperative or a private trader," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 363-380, May.

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