882019 Collective Action Newsletter June 2010

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Updates rom agricultural research in Arica

Issue No 20

June 2010

COLLECTIVE ACTION NEWS is a periodical e-publication

of the CGIARrsquos Regional Collective Action in Eastern and

Southern Africa hosted at the International Livestock

Research Institute and the World Agroforestry Centre

both of which are supported by the Consultative Group

on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Newsletter team

Kate Longley Evelyn Katingi Yvonne Otieno and Steve

Staal

Questions comments feedback Please email

YOtienocgiarorg

copy 2010 Copyright and Fair Use

ILRI and World Agroforestry Centre encourage fair use

without alteration of these materials for non-commercial

purposes Proper citation is required in all instances

Information owned by other providers and requiring

permission is marked as such Website links provided

by our sites will have their own policies that must be

honoured The information provided by ILRI and World

Agroforestry Centre is to the best of our knowledge

accurate although we do not guarantee the information

nor are we liable for any damages arising from its use

Visit our websites

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Collective Action News

Newsbytes

This document has been produced with the nancial assistance o the European Union and with the technical support o IFADThe views expressed herein can in no way be taken to refect the ocial opinion o IFAD and the European Union

In May 2009 150 of the worldrsquos leading market expertsgathered in Nairobi Kenya to consider how governmentsdonors and other stakeholders could improve Africarsquos nationaland regional agricultural markets Their goal was to identify andrecommend priority actions for achieving more efcient andeffective markets that would contribute to poverty reductionand economic development throughout the continent

The Conference organized by the Alliance for a GreenRevolution in Africa (AGRA) and the International LivestockResearch Institute (ILRI) comprised a wide range of representatives from the African agricultural value chain

Participants considered interventions that have improved Africanmarkets as well as actions and policies that have underminedthem Overall the experts concurred that no single institutionor group of special interest stakeholders could resolve the arrayof problems aficting Africarsquos agricultural markets Participantscalled for a range of efforts that would dramatically scale upproven interventions and test new ideas and approaches thatwould unleash the capacity of African agriculture to improvelivelihoods and drive economic growth

Among the many recommendations made for priority action was the need to encourage innovations that improvemarket efciency and more fully integrate small-scale agro-entrepreneurs into marketing processes Anotherrecommendation was to support the provision of nancial services to small-scale agro-enterprises and smallholderfarmers ndash especially women ndash and the channeling of ldquosmart subsidiesrdquo for farmers and small agro-businesses throughprivate sector input suppliers in order to create market demand

The assembled market experts also agreed that policy makers should subject their existing and planned investmentsto impartial and independent analyses of anticipated returns in order to reduce transaction costs for smallholderproducers and market intermediaries

Interventions that help level the playing eld and provide for more secure transactions for sellers and buyers werealso considered a high priority as was increased technical skills training in post-harvest value addition for thecommodities for which African producers have a comparative advantage

The conference participants also noted growing evidence that informal market systems managed by small-scaleplayers can be upgraded signicantly through improvements in technical post-harvest and marketing skills andassistance in establishing effective certication systems

A general consensus was reached that the traditional heavy reliance on policy change as the main instrument forimproving markets should be reduced in favor of pursuing a more diverse strategy with a focus on investments Whilethe policy environment remains critical recent evidence suggests that market-oriented investments by a variety of actors ndash small-market players charities and donors large-scale private sector organizations and governments ndash can

stimulate changes in behavior and performance and ultimately improve market opportunities in many settingsWhile some existing policies may continue to undermine market development many conference participants feltthat identifying examples of successful investment initiatives might be the best way to stimulate needed policychanges

In closing the conference AGRA President Dr Namanga Ngongi stressed the importance of bringing together asimilarly diverse group of experts to clarify what needs to be done next when and by whom in order to developAfricarsquos local national and regional markets Concrete actions that will promote the ability of these markets toabsorb the fruits of smallholder productivity increases are essential he noted The right actions by key players acrossthe continent will reinforce the growing momentum for a uniquely African Green Revolution he said and in sodoing help increase food security and reduce poverty for millions

For further information please contact Steve Staal sstaalcgiarorg

The Regional Collective Action Flagship Program on Markets and Institutions played a central role in the development

implementation and reporting of this conference Representatives from CIAT CIMMYT ICRAF ICRISAT IITA IFPRI ILRI not only presented papers at the conference but contributed to development of the conference structure chaired the parallel

sessions and acted as reviewers of the conference papers in preparation for the proceedings The Regional Collective Action

Coordinator at that time Ravi Prabhu also facilitated key parts of the conference

Come participate at FARArsquosGeneral Assembly with usThe forthcoming GeneralAssembly of the Forum forAgricultural Research in Africa(FARA) which starts July 19 haspresented us with an excellentopportunity to showcase theOngoing Research Map as oneof CGIARrsquos innovations to thehundreds of participants fromAfrica and beyond If yoursquore

aiming to increase the visibilityof your research work leavedigital footprints while atthe same time contribute toinformation and knowledgesharing in the CGIAR addyour projects to the list of 300and more projects alreadyavailable Please visit http ongoing-researchcgiarorg formore

Farming Matters MagazineFarming Matters (formerlyLEISA Magazine) is always up

to date with local experienceson small-scale farming aroundthe world news internationaldebates opinions andbackground information onsustainable family farming Thelatest issue lsquoMoney Mattersrsquoincludes articles on contractfarming in Zambia value-chainnance and ldquothinking beyondcreditrdquo Go to wwwileiaorg

Developing Africarsquos Agricultural Markets