Regional Markets

Regional Markets for Local Development
in inputs and equipment. Sustainable access to water for crops and pastures is another
key limiting factor for growth. NGOMA ensures that farmers groups are aware of
existing government funds that can be used to establish small-scale local storage centres
in remote areas. Smallholders, particularly those in remote areas, lack access to key
services, such as extension, input supply, veterinary services and credit. NGOMA provides
information to farmer group leaders regarding the various government devolved
funds—such as the Community Development Fund and the Road Maintenance Levy
Fund—which farmer groups can petition with specific development projects.
Advances in physical infrastructure (especially information and communication technology)
are making a big difference in the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Mobile telephone
use has continued to expand (current penetration rate stands at 77%), and two-thirds of
subscribers are taking advantage of mobile money transfers (CCK 2013). Most smallholders
can use mobile devices to exchange information on prices and production volumes,
or to make deals with local traders. The number of trips that traders need to
make to remotely located suppliers is thus reduced. Combined with the fact that several
farmers can coordinate and bulk their produce in a single shipment, the widespread use
of mobile phones has directly benefited farmers by reducing transport costs and effectively
increasing their profit share of farm gate prices.
Building the institutional infrastructure for farmers to connect with each other and
participate in decision-making is central to NGOMA’s approach. Starting with the
organisation at farmer group level and moving on up to county and national lobby
efforts, smallholders have enjoyed an effective channel for participating in nationallevel
policymaking processes. 7 For the first time in history smallholders played a direct
role in the formulation of national agricultural policy. The Ministry of Agriculture has
pursued a more participatory approach in their policymaking processes, reaching out
to these groups for consultation. Also, NGOMA was one of the several coalitions that
came together to form the Kenya Producers Coalition (KEPCO).
Producer and consumer prices
Dairy
Prices for raw milk dropped from KSH 20 to KSH 8–10 per litre during the late 1990s.
The steady recovery since the early 2000s was interrupted in 2008, due to Kenya’s postelection
crisis (which brought large-scale violence to key dairy regions) and the global
economic crisis. The prices of most dairy cattle feeds went up dramatically, in some
cases by more than 100% (FAO 2011).
7 Some examples include Kenya’s structural revitalization of agricultural policies, national food security and
nutrition policy, inclusion of the right to food in Kenya’s new constitution, as well as participation in the National
Agricultural Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP) and the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access
Programme (NAAIAP).
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