Charles Mpaka
MAPUTO, Mozambique – Lameck Samson, a farmer from Thyolo District in South Malawi cycled for two hours to sell his recently harvested two bags of maize.
When he finally reached the rural Luchenza Trading Centre trading – there was only one buyer.
Grace Mhango
And as more farmers kept arriving at the trading centre, the buyer realised he had it good. The man dictated that he would now pay less for the maize than he originally said. And the farmers had no option but to sell it to him at the reduced price.
Malawi may have had a bumper harvest for the past four years. But it doesn’t mean that the farmers are getting richer. It’s actually keeping them poor.
Buyers, like the one Samson met last week, know they can prescribe the prices of crops because there is now an oversupply of crops on the market.
That day, after Samson arrived at the trading centre, more farmers followed soon after. A steady stream of other small holder farmers filtered into the centre, keen on selling their maize. So the buyer brought down his price from about 20 cents per kilogram to 18 cents per kilogram. Then finally at the close of trade he was just paying 14 cents.
“I brought my maize here because I heard he was buying at K30/kg (20 cents),” a disappointed Samson said.
“This is the nearest market we have in my village. Now the price has changed, while I have been standing in the queue, to 25 kwacha/kg (18 cents). But I need the money because I have harvested 20 bags of sweet potatoes and I need to transport this to town to sell,” Samson said.
Smallholder farmers make up 81 percent of the agriculture sector in Malawi and most of them stay in rural areas. Some of them have benefited from the farm input subsidy programme.
But mostly they have been exploited. Not only are they victims of the private traders but they have also suffered the consequences of a malfunctioning government-run market.
State-run grain trader Admarc has been reeling with financial problems. The parastatal was intended to provide a market for small holder farmers. At one time they had access to markets in the deepest rural areas of Malawi. But now they have announced they would only buy limited amounts of crop because of an over surplus from last year.
But now it looks as if a deal between government and the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi (GTAP) will rectify the price undercutting.
“I am glad to say that we have put in place a strategy that will protect small scale farmers,” said GTAP chairperson Grace Mhango.
From next year, all private traders will have to register with government and the GTAP to allow them to purchase crops. Mhango said buyers will be awarded a licence – without which they will not be allowed to purchase crops from farmers. The purchase price of crops will also be regulated.
“We want to stop any unfair practices and any trader, including those that have not yet registered with us, found violating the terms set out will have their licences confiscated,” said Mhango.
She was speaking on the sidelines of the Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Network (FANRPAN) conference in Maputo.
“The association and government have agreed on the pricing. We will announce the prices before next season so that farmers can know in advance,” said Mhango.
Mhango said before the strategy is rolled put, GTPA and government will go on a public awareness campaign and will use the media to speak to traditional leaders and district assemblies about the new efforts to regulate private traders.
Victor Mhoni of Civil Society Agriculture Network, a grouping of 29 organisations working in agriculture in Malawi, welcomed the GTPA/government partnership.
“We think it is going to stop the attitude of private traders (solely) thinking about themselves,” Mhoni said.
He however wants Admarc to re-open its markets in rural areas. He said despite the agreement between GTPA and government, Samson and his fellow villagers will need a market in their area to sell their crops.
