This paper highlights a market information and linkage system (MILS) developed and tested by the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange Limited (KACE) that increases the efficiency of agricultural markets to work better for smallholder farmers and other small and medium sized agro-enterprises...

Livestock farming is an important facet of agriculture and livelihood in South Africa. It forms the essence of rural agriculture contributing food, socio-economic stability, employment and income. After the liberalization of the agricultural sector and phasing out of past protection mechanisms...

Managing food price instability is a long standing policy challenge, which, with mixed experiences of agricultural price policy reforms, has re-emerged as a contemporary policy issue. This is particularly true for Ethiopia, where managing food price stability continues to be a formidable policy...

This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets,...

The traditional way of information dissemination has been through people; the modern way is through the electronic media – improved information and communication technologies (ICTs). For effectiveness, modern ICTs should help women to improve on their income generating capacity. Issues of level...

Commercial rice imports have accounted for approximately 61%, food aid in rice accounted for about 2%, and domestic rice accounted for some 37% per annum of rice consumption in Ghana over the four years between 2000 and 2003. Compared to the 1990s, these figures show a gradual decline in the...

Rice sector contributes significantly to secure households with regard to their food needs but also to the creation of employments and income generation. The sector development and its evolution over the years have been marked by various policies and approaches. These development stages of the...

As part of a major effort to address soil fertility decline in West Africa, a project on Balanced Nutrient Management Systems (BNMS) has since 2000 been implemented in the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of Nigeria. The project has tested and promoted two major technology packages, including a...

A major problem confronting rural and emerging farmers is the marketing of their products. Most of the farmers encountered depend on the local or village markets which are often saturated or purchases are not backed by effective demand to make sales meaningful for the desired benefits. Small...

The rise of supermarkets, together with large-scale food manufacturers, has deeply transformed agri-food markets in many countries. This expansion has been evident in South Africa as well. Increasing attention has been and is being paid to the growth of supermarkets in countries outside of North...