Managing the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa - PROFOR

other Asian countries will also enter these markets as their economies grow. China has formed
strong links throughout the miombo woodland region. In a repeat of the 1960s, when Tanzanian
hardwoods were exported in huge quantities to China after construction of the TanZam railway,
hardwoods are a major focus today. The fast-growing market for Mozambique log exports to
China has fueled a debate on the sustainability of the forest operations and highlighted extensive
illegal operations involving Chinese fi rms connected with Mozambican politicians (Mackenzie
2006). There is also an upsurge of illegal logging in southern Tanzania, with hardwoods also being
exported to China (Milledge et al. 2007).
Even within Africa, new trade links are being developed. South Africa is proving to be a particular
engine of growth, importing timber from other countries in the miombo region, as well as fi nished
products for domestic sale and export. One notable example is the woodcraft market, where
markets in South Africa are now selling large quantities of tree-based products from other countries
(Shackleton 2005a). This kind of regional trade integration is partly an outcome of improved
communication technologies.
New technologies and institutions are opening up market possibilities
Considerable advances in communication technology, in particular mobile phones and the Internet,
are creating new opportunities for improving the fl ow of information and strengthening links between
small-scale entrepreneurs and the markets (Duncombe and Heeks 2002; The Economist 2005;
Souter et al. 2005). The mobile telecommunications sector has grown in Africa by an average of 78
percent per annum over the last 10 years, which has had far-reaching economic and societal impacts.
The positive benefi ts of this technology for small-scale entrepreneurs have been well demonstrated.
A study from Ghana, for example, concluded that access to cellular phones had decreased informal
traders’ transaction and transport costs, creating higher profi t margins, increasing their effi ciency,
and enhancing trust within trade networks (Overa 2006). An International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) project in Tanzania has shown the effect of mobile telecommunications on
the bargaining power of smallholder farmers. In the past they had been hood-winked by truck
drivers about the market price of their products, but with the arrival of mobile phones they can now
independently verify this information. Additionally, small farmers have been able to link up directly
with buyers in Dar es Salaam and secure more favorable prices (IFAD 2006).
But what does this mean for forest product trade in the miombo region Anecdotal evidence
suggests that poor producers are using mobile phones to expand market opportunities. One such
example comes from Zambia, where rural honey producers have been able to quickly access market
information from urban areas and thereby plan more effi cient production.
Technologies are not the only thing behind expanding market opportunities. New marketing
institutions, such as clusters of common interest groups or small producers, and community
managed federations have also been helpful. Among other things, the federations link with major
buyers to provide increased scale of production\ and to act as a channel for applied research and
value addition training. These institutions offer great potential for strengthening the market position
of communities (see section 4.4.4).
32 MANAGING THE MIOMBO WOODLANDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA