Regional Markets

Regional Markets for Local Development
populations. Training producers in the development of marketing and advertising strategies
is crucial for opening up these local market opportunities (Sandifolo 2011b).
Food quality
Preserving and improving food quality is particularly challenging due to the specificities
of cassava. The sun-drying process, often carried out in inadequate conditions,
results in the accumulation of the fungus that produces aflatoxins. Also inadequate
soaking and processing of the root may lead to dangerously high levels of cyanide.
These health aspects play an important role in the decision-making process around
the investments made and the actions taken to support either HQCF VC. Wide
application of improved drying solutions (especially for artificial drying technologies)
that were developed under this project will not only provide for more marketable
cassava products, but also ultimately for more nutritious and healthy ones. Food
quality in general will be improved when the successful example of this policy of
food commodity development stimulates processing industries to upgrade within
their respective sub-sectors.
Infrastructure and governance
Working with farmer groups rather than individuals increases project efficiency and
reduces transaction costs. Collective action amongst smallholders in the form of producer
groups (formal or informal) is an important element for enabling economies of scale in
cassava production, increasing the effectiveness of capacity building activities, increasing
the bargaining power of smallholders, and reducing the transaction costs of trading cassava
(Posthumus 2010). The groups also receive training in group dynamics and management,
to improve group functioning and increase their effectiveness. Farmers who are
trained, organised and empowered should be able to supply raw materials to a VC in a
consistent and cost-effective way. Because smallholder farmers produce at the small-scale
level, the investor has to deal with many suppliers, increasing the costs of sourcing raw
materials and also the associated risks (the quantity and quality of the raw materials, the
timing of the transaction, the costs of transport and logistics etc.). C:AVA seeks to reduce
these costs by linking farmer groups and associations to investors, and helping stakeholders
assure a stable supply of quality feedstock. It is crucial to have the right information
(e.g., on the raw material supply, markets, and technical information—such as agronomy
and processing technology) at the right time, to facilitate the engagement of private sector
investors in VC development (Sandifolo 2011a). For durable involvement of end users, it
is important to maintain regular contacts with the end use markets, especially during the
initial stages of setting up the new VC (Sandifolo 2010a).
Producer and consumer prices
If farmers grow high-yield cassava varieties they can obtain a considerable gross margin
(about USD 100 per ton HQCF), assuming typical market prices for cassava roots
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