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

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3.3.6.2 Awareness <strong>of</strong> the Liberalization Policy<br />

This study further seeks to <strong>in</strong>vestigate what traders know about the liberalized maize market.<br />

About 89 percent <strong>of</strong> the respondents said they were aware that the maize market had been<br />

fully liberalized, whereas 11 percent were not aware. This awareness by sampled districts is<br />

shown <strong>in</strong> Table 18.<br />

Table 18--Traders’ awareness <strong>of</strong> the liberalization <strong>of</strong> the maize market<br />

District<br />

Traders report<strong>in</strong>g they are aware <strong>of</strong><br />

liberalization<br />

Traders report<strong>in</strong>g they are not<br />

aware <strong>of</strong> liberalization<br />

Number % Number %<br />

Trans Nzoia 52 96 2 4<br />

Mbeere 55 93 5 7<br />

Nairobi 52 86 8 14<br />

Migori 48 80 12 20<br />

Total 207 88.5 27 11.5<br />

Source: Authors’ survey, 2001.<br />

As the table shows, awareness <strong>of</strong> maize market liberalization is highest <strong>in</strong> Trans Nzoia (the<br />

major maize-produc<strong>in</strong>g district) and lowest <strong>in</strong> Migori (a m<strong>in</strong>or maize-produc<strong>in</strong>g district). Of<br />

the 207 traders who responded to the question whether the liberalization policy is good or<br />

bad, 86 percent said that the policy is good and 14 percent said that it is bad. Those <strong>in</strong><br />

support <strong>of</strong> the liberalization policy said that the free market enables them to move maize with<br />

few hurdles and that maize from farmers has become very cheap. Liberalization has enabled<br />

surpluses to f<strong>in</strong>d markets far and wide. In addition, many traders have entered the market,<br />

thereby alleviat<strong>in</strong>g the problem <strong>of</strong> unemployment. Farm <strong>in</strong>puts, especially fertilizers, have<br />

also become readily available, and there is healthy and stiff competition among the traders.<br />

Those that did not favor the liberalization policy reported that market conditions were<br />

unpredictable, mak<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess decisionmak<strong>in</strong>g difficult. <strong>The</strong>y were particularly unhappy<br />

with the high price fluctuations that have been engendered by the policy.<br />

About 60 percent <strong>of</strong> the traders who responded to the question <strong>of</strong> government commitment to<br />

liberalization (n = 198) believed that the government is committed to the liberalization policy,<br />

whereas about 40 percent said that the government is not (Table 19).<br />

Table 19--Traders’ assessment <strong>of</strong> government commitment to liberalization policy<br />

District<br />

Traders who believe the government is<br />

committed to liberalization<br />

Traders who believe the government is not<br />

committed to liberalization<br />

Number % Number %<br />

Migori 44 88 4 8<br />

Trans<br />

45 85 7 13<br />

Nzoia<br />

Nairobi 21 36 37 64<br />

Mbeere 9 22 31 76<br />

Total 119 60.1 79 39.9<br />

Source: Authors’ survey, 2001.

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