%0 Journal Article
%T Middlemen and Smallholder Farmers in Cassava Marketing in Africa
%A Enete
%A AA.
%J Tropicultura
%D 2009
%I Agri-Overseas
%X Cassava is a basic food staple and a major source of farm income in Africa. Efficiency in cassava marketing is therefore a very important determinant of consumers living cost and producers' income. Exploitation of one marketing agent by another in the course of product distribution could contribute to increased marketing costs and hence inefficiency. The paper examines the extent to which the widely held view that middlemen exploit farmers through monopsony purchases and usury apply to cassava farmers. The paper is based on primary data collected within the framework of the collaborative study of cassava in Africa (COSCA). The result of the analysis fails to support the view that middlemen generally engage in monopsony purchases of cassava products, because farmers had on average, higher volume of cassava products for sale in the market than middlemen. Prices of cassava products appeared more stable in Nigeria than in the other countries, because of the more elaborate involvement of middlemen, which encouraged competition. The intermediaries between the farmer and the consumer were at most three in each of the countries ¨C the processor, the semi-wholesaler and the retailer. Cassava farmers and traders combined the role of the processor apparently because of the low development stage of mechanized processing technology. For both farmers and middlemen, transactions in cash were the predominant practice, followed by delayed payments. Advanced payment was non-existent except in Uganda. Marketing margins, though generally high, decline with good market access conditions. And the margins for granules were substantially lower than those of dried roots not only because of substantial differences in processing resource demand but also because of differences in marketing costs. This suggests that investments towards improving market access conditions, and in cost saving processing technologies for the production of granules are needed for the improvement of cassava marketing efficiency and development.
%K Food
%K marketing
%K Middlemen
%K Smallholder
%K farmer
%K Africa
%K Sub
%K Saharan
%K Nigeria
%U http://www.tropicultura.org/text/v27n1/40.pdf