The Future of Smallholder Farming in Eastern Africa - Uganda ...

on behalf of the large-scale millers. Whereas assemblers are found in large numbers
in the maize surplus areas, a few operate periodically in the deficit areas, where they
purchase maize from the relatively smaller proportion of farmers with surplus
production in these areas.
2) Wholesalers: Wholesalers are traders who buy maize from surplus districts (usually
from assemblers) and transport the grain to deficit areas where they sell to
disassemblers, retailers, or millers. Most wholesalers are also integrated backward
into assembly; they purchase most maize in the postharvest months directly from
farmers. Some of the wholesalers are involved in other businesses and join the maize
trade only at the peak-harvesting season. In the peak harvest season, most
wholesalers prefer to sell maize to the large-scale millers, who have the ability to buy
large volumes and pay immediately. It also takes less time to sell to the millers than it
does to sell directly to the retailers.
3) Disassembers (bulk breakers): Disassemblers buy maize from large-scale wholesalers
in the deficit areas and break down the volumes for resale to smaller-scale retailers
and final consumers. Disassemblers are usually local traders who normally operate in
local shops and open-air periodic markets. Most of the disassemblers are also
involved in maize retailing to consumers. Disassemblers also assemble maize during
the short harvest period in the generally deficit areas in which they operate.
Assemblers in the surplus regions likewise turn into disassemblers during the slack
maize harvesting season, when some farmers run out of maize and begin purchasing
for home consumption.
4) Retailers: These are market players who buy and sell maize in small quantities and
directly sell to consumers for home consumption. They normally use gorogoros
(two-kilogram tins) and are mainly found in deficit regions with a few of them in the
low-income residential urban areas. The retailers in the surplus regions are
sometimes overshadowed in business by the assemblers, who take over disassembling
and retailing activities during slack period. In the deficit regions, these retailers
purchase maize from disassemblers or directly from wholesalers.
5) Posho Millers: This category of traders is involved in the processing of maize grain
into whole maize meal. Posho millers employ a simple hammer-milling technology
where the germ and the bran of the maize grain are milled together with the kernel
into flour. Posho millers specialize in custom milling whereby the customer provides
the grain. Most posho millers in the maize-surplus regions do more custom milling
than production milling. Investment in posho milling has expanded rapidly in the
postliberalization period, and over the past decade posho millers have acquired a
significant proportion of the Kenyan maize meal market in urban and rural graindeficit
areas (Mukumbu and Jayne 1994; Jayne and Argwings-Kodhek 1997).
6) Large-scale millers: Large-scale millers are processors who deal with large volumes of
maize and do their own packaging. These millers are characterized by large-scale,
capital-intensive roller-milling technology. Most of the large-scale millers are
concentrated in the maize-deficit urban areas of Nairobi, Thika, Mombasa, and
Kisumu, with only a few of them in the surplus urban areas of Kitale, Nakuru, and
Eldoret. As shown in Figure 1, most millers acquire maize from wholesalers, farmers,
and NCPB stores depending on the season. To cope with interseasonal variation in
supply, millers have hired storage facilities, including NCPB silos where maize is
stored. Of the total maize consumed in Kenya, three-quarters is in milled form (World
Bank 1990). After milling, the main product, flour, and two by-products, germ and
bran, are produced. Flour (sifted maize meal) is consumed mainly in the urban areas.
Posho (whole maize meal) is consumed mainly in the rural areas and in the lowincome
urban areas. The large-scale millers have a wide network of wholesalers and
retailers who distribute flour to the final consumers. The by-products are sold either