Regional Markets

Regional Markets for Local Development
in Zimbabwe reveals the direct effect of physical infrastructure on pricing. During the
2009–2010 season, producer prices in Honde (a community accessible by a tarred road)
were more than twice the producer prices in Rusitu (which only has gravel road access).
In the FoSHoL case, poor road infrastructure was a key bottleneck to providing farmers
with the new seed varieties and ensuring seed quality control in remote villages. In
another case, RUDI’s baseline survey recommended different strategies for transporting
produce from the different intervention areas. The easy access to frequent transport
opportunities and the cheaper backhaul rates make truck transport an easy choice in
Mbeya. In Ifakara, on the other hand, larger traders transport their rice laboriously by
train, as the town lies at the end of a long, poorly maintained dirt road.
Processing capacity is another crucial element, especially as it enables smallholders to
move up the chain by engaging in value addition. The groundnut case in Senegal and
C:AVA in Malawi focus on building up local processing infrastructure. With direct
support, the women’s groups are encouraged to establish small-scale processors among
their members. This capacity enables smallholders to produce dry, shelf-stable products.
One of the reasons for the poor quality of coffee produced by small-scale farmers
the Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania was the handling and processing stage. The coffee
beans were dried in a dusty and dirty homestead environment, causing an unpleasant
odour. In response, TechnoServe constructed coffee processing centres that meet adequate
hygienic standards in a number of villages. TechnoServe further trains farmers
on improved coffee production techniques, and disseminates price information and
marketing options to link smallholders with other actors in the coffee value chain. In
another case, FoSHoL established a seed processing centre near the smallholder communities,
to facilitate the dissemination of the improved rice varieties.
Storage capacity is also important for local and regional markets, not only for distant,
export markets. Enhanced storage life was mentioned in a non-food commodity
case, cotton production in Zimbabwe. Through a warehouse system (including both
physical infrastructure and financing) farmers had the opportunity to keep new cotton
seed varieties of better quality and thus increase their production. NGOMA, because
of the network and lobby focus of its activities, invested less directly in infrastructure.
Nevertheless, by organising farmers they were able to help secure needed investments,
for example, by having two milk cooler plants built. Towards the more extreme side of
the continuum, TAHA allocates part of its fund to infrastructural development. The
association has contributed to the improvement of roads, storage and freight facilities,
mostly for their export-oriented, large-scale members. Technological support to
improve the processors’ operations is provided as well. Small-scale producer members
also benefit from this set-up, but reap limited benefits due to their limited production
in absolute terms. Most farmers supported by TAHA reside in the Arusha and
Kilimanjaro regions, which already have very decent road and airport infrastructure.
154