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

Retailer (open-air market) 21 13 7 14 55 23.5
Posho miller 2 9 11 11 33 14.1
Wholesaler (open-air market) 12 5 0 6 23 9.8
Bicycle trader 2 7 9 5 21 9.0
Transporter 3 6 4 7 20 8.5
Lorry trader 3 5 0 3 11 4.7
Large-scale miller 0 5 0 0 5 2.1
Others (such as donkeys, 0 0 0 3 3 1.3
oxcarts)
NCPB depot agents 0 2 0 2 2 0.9
Total 60 60 54 60 234 100
Source: Authors’ survey, 2001.
The results of the trader survey show that during peak purchase months, wholesalers buy
maize mainly from the maize-surplus districts of Trans Nzoia, Malava-Lugari, Uasin Gishu,
Nandi, and others and sell it in the high-demand deficit districts of Nairobi, Siaya, Kiambu,
Kisumu, and the Ukambani districts of Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni. It should be noted
that the large-scale maize-growing areas are in the Rift Valley Province and have one harvest
season, whereas in some parts of Kenya maize is harvested twice in a year. This difference
affects the dynamics of supply and demand and may be the cause of interseasonal commodity
flow reversals.
In the peak harvest season, most large-scale farmers and wholesalers prefer to sell maize to
the large-scale millers because of their ability to buy in large volumes and pay promptly.
Traders also report that it takes less time to sell to millers than it does to sell directly to
retailers. Informal interviews also revealed that wholesalers favor selling to the millers
mainly because the transaction costs per unit sold are very low compared with selling to
other potential buyers.
The stationary open-air market traders operate in the local periodic markets at a small scale,
with stocks ranging between one and four bags. Most of these traders are women and are
constrained from holding larger quantities by lack of cash. These traders bulk-break maize,
and the unit of measurement is the gorogoro (2-kilogram tin). The going price of one
gorogoro at the time of the survey was approximately Ksh. 20, and 40 gorogoros made up
one 90-kilogram bag. The storage charges levied by the local market authorities provide a
major disincentive for these traders to hold their stocks inside the market.
The mobile traders and transporters carry out the functions of bulk building (assembling),
storing, transporting, and distributing maize. They include bicycle (bodaboda) traders, lorry
traders, donkey traders, and handcart traders. The lorry traders who own trucks ferry maize
from surplus to deficit areas, thereby functioning as wholesalers and distributors.
Some private traders rent or own stores in towns and rural shopping centers. Farmers usually
deliver small quantities of maize to these stores as the need for cash arises. The turnover for
such traders is in the range of 2,000-4,000 bags per year. Storage is limited to the length of
time it takes to find a buyer. If no buyers are forthcoming, the store owner hires a lorry to
deliver the maize for sale either to NCPB stores or to other traders in deficit areas some
distance away.
Maize milling accounts for the majority of maize processing and is the most organized
market for maize in the private sector. The number of millers has increased with the advent