In large parts of Africa, smallholder farmers face serious difficulties in selling the produce that they have grown with so much effort and care. At the same time, the people who specialize in marketing the produce are treated with great suspicion, not only by farmers themselves, but also by extension officers, development practitioners, policymakers, researchers and consumers. Ask them what they think about traders, and the words “manipulation”, “exploitation” and “speculation” soon crop up.
This book argues that the lack of market access for smallholders in Africa is closely related to this limited respect for the role of traders. Faced with adverse policies and popular attitudes, traders cannot run their businesses properly. More respect and support for traders would enable them to develop markets, find new customers, add value to products, invest in new businesses, and improve the efficiency of the food distribution system. This would generate demand for more and better farm products, and thus help to improve the incomes and livelihoods of the rural population. Traders can multiply development, not only for their own benefit, but also for that of farmers and consumers.
Based on case studies and written in easy-to-understand language, the book is richly illustrated with line drawings.
This book was made possible thanks to funding from Cordaid, ICCO and Oxfam-Novib. Under the coordination of KIT and IIRR, the book was written by more than thirty traders, farmers and professionals from Africa, Europe and the USA, and edited by Paul Mundy.