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Obert Chifamba

Agri-Insight

THE push by the Government to establish transformative linkages for sustainable marketing of commodities produced in communal areas is an acknowledgement of the need to invest in infrastructure, strengthen business services and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

 This is coming on the backdrop of robust extension systems to upgrade production and market performance.

Government’s decision stems from the realisation that most farmers, especially smallholders, were not getting the corresponding high value from their produce while middlemen who operate at the agriculture produce markets are the ones reaping huge profits yet they would not have invested anything in the process of production.

As a matter of fact, smallholder farmers have not been accessing foreign markets amid revelations that in most developing countries, 80 to 90 percent of agricultural produce is sold informally through transactions at the farm gate, roadside sales, village and rural assembly markets, and urban wholesale and retail markets.

A document prepared by USAID (Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and the Implications for Extension and Advisory Services, 2014) states that “prices for agricultural commodities are typically based on a combination of supply and demand, trader cartels and customer loyalties. 

“Having few regulations and often no taxation, these markets are the most accessible to smallholder farmers. No grades and standards, means flexibility in value propositions and often low post harvest losses. 

“These informal markets therefore attract the bulk of smallholder farmers’ produce, from high volume, low value grain and pulse crops to higher value fruits, vegetables and meat products. However, they are often controlled by cartels of traders who limit competition, enforce arbitrary stall fees, and make choices that favour their allies and relatives” and do not consider the plight of the farmer.

Generally, smallholder farmers usually face many challenges that include finding buyers, high transportation costs, lack of negotiating power and drops in prices or price ceilings at some point during the marketing season. 

The intervention by Government and other concerned parties is therefore meant to help farmers identify and attract larger buyers, access larger markets, negotiate stronger prices, and reduce transaction costs to enhance economies of scale. 

Sometimes contract arrangements help shift sale of yields from highly volatile, informal markets to a more consistent market that is guaranteed while certifying smallholders facilitates access to unchanging, premium prices in commercial markets, regardless of local market fluctuations.

Additionally, these interventions also help strengthen the consistency and quality of smallholder yields by incorporating the value chain and designing inclusive business models, alongside increasing market accessibility, which brings more stability, encourage good agricultural practice, and help farmers escape the risk of price volatility. 

If implemented properly, such initiatives can contribute to higher, steadier incomes for smallholder farmers and more economically stable communities.

In a recent interview, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Vangelis Haritatos, conceded that orderly marketing of agriculture produce was important in empowering farmers and uplifting their livelihoods.

“Marketing is an important component of any produce. In Zimbabwe we can produce anything but the challenge is marketing. We need to bring the market closer to farmers. 

As Ministry we are trying to develop better linkages between the markets and farmers so that they get the value of their produce,” he said.

The Deputy Minister also acknowledged that smallholder farmers were falling victim to middlemen who took their produce at non-viable prices and later re-sold them at higher prices, which literally means that farmers just get a token of appreciation for their toil and for delivering the produce to the middlemen.

 Most of them come from as far afield as Murehwa, Macheke, Mutoko, Mhondoro, Chihota and Goromonzi to name just a handful of the areas. 

On arrival at Mbare Musika they are literally bombarded by the middlemen who then take over the transactions, with the farmer not anywhere near the price negotiations.

The farmers will only be informed of a price that they should take or leave. 

In most cases they will have to take what is on offer because if they do not, they face the risk of failing to secure bulky buyers, which will force them to stay for another day and pay again to use the market. 

The middlemen are pocketing the bigger chunk of the money while the farmers, who are the producers that bear all the expenses, are left with very little to show for their efforts. 

The middlemen later re-sell the produce at exorbitant prices to consumers who naturally end up disgruntled and in most cases boycotting the commodities and looking for other sources. 

Consumers end up importing cheap products from regional countries as the middlemen would have created false shortages through their atrocious prices that push people away. 

In a way, the middlemen also end up causing food insecurity among locals yet the food will be available but inaccessibly priced.

Government’s coming into the fray is essentially an effort to bridge the gap between the markets, which is the consumer and the farmer. 

The move will help bring market intelligence to the farmers, which will help them make informed decisions on the type of crops to grow versus the appropriate quantities to produce for the targeted markets.

It is refreshing to note that several ministries have joined forces to ensure that smallholder farmers are linked to viable markets where they are guaranteed of competitive prices some of which are arrived at through negotiations. 

Under such circumstances the farmers get the opportunity to factor in their costs of production, which will allow them to remain in business. 

Ministries of Transport and Infrastructural Development and Women’s Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development are working hand in hand with Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to find ways of improving marketing of agricultural produce.

The collaboration of the ministries is an economic principle of matching supply with demand and will help solve some of the challenges being faced by the farmers at the moment, the unavailability of transport and the bad state of roads that is making it difficult for them to access markets.

 The Ministry of Transport will, therefore, witness first-hand how the poor state of roads is killing agriculture along the value chain and then move in to address the matter. 

Besides linking farmers with local markets and facilitating the availability of fundamental infrastructure like roads and holding facilities, Government is also linking farmers with international markets.

 The recent signing of the citrus phytosanitary protocol between Zimbabwe and China will broaden the export destinations for the fruits and remove over reliance on South Africa and the European market.

 The phytosanitary protocol requires that a cold chain system for the export of fresh citrus fruits to China be put in place like any other country including the European Union for the management of False Codling Moth and other pests.

This therefore means that farmers will now start exporting citrus fruits direct to China and there will be no middlemen to fleece them out of their hard-earned cash.