Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

With regard to cotton marketing, almost all the villages in the North and Center report that the GVs
handle all of the cotton marketing in the village. In the South, however, 60 percent of the villages
say that the GVs does not really monopolize cotton marketing. Some of this may refer to legal
sales of cotton directly to Sonapra or a cotton gin, while others may refer to illegal sales of cotton to
traders (see Table 4.2.17).
In villages with a GV, the GVs tend to dominate the delivery of fertilizer, seed, and pesticides in
the village. Village leaders report that “all” the inputs purchased in the village are delivered by the
GV (see Table 4.2.18).
When asked about changes in the volume of crops marketed by GVs and changes in the quantity of
inputs distributed by GVs, a large majority of villages reported increased quantities. Over 80
percent of the village leaders said that the quantities of maize, other food, and cotton had increased
since 1992. Similarly, over 80 percent reported that the distribution of fertilizer, seed, and
pesticides/herbicides had increased (see Table 4.2.19 and 4.2.20). These results mirror aggregate
data that show impressive growth in cotton production and fertilizer use.
Groupements feminins
The groupements feminins (GFs) are less widespread than GVs, although at least one GF
can be found in about three-quarters of the villages in each region. The number of GFs per village
does not seem to vary much from one region to another, unlike that of GVs (see Table 4.2.21).
The GFs are involved in marketing tubers and cassava flour (in 38 percent of the villages), rice (11
percent), vegetable oil (42 percent), and other crops (73 percent). Unlike the GVs, very few GFs
are active in the distribution of inputs. Also unlike the GVs, a large proportion (66 percent) of GFs
carry out some form of agricultural processing. The marketing of tubers and cassava flour is
particularly common among GFs in the South, as is agricultural processing (see Table 4.2.22).
Unlike GVs, which dominate cotton marketing and input distribution, the GFs play a smaller role in
the agricultural markets of the village. For example, the GFs handle half or less of the villages
marketed surplus of each of the commodities listed above (see Table 4.2.23).
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