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

Suppliers The GV representatives were asked to name the most important supplier of each
type of input. The GVs obtain fertilizer from more than a dozen different suppliers, the most
important of which are SONAPRA (30 percent of the GVs) and NACSON (14 percent). Pesticides
are also purchased from a wide range of suppliers. In contrast, SONAPRA is cited as the most
important source of herbicides by more than three-quarters of the GVs and as the source of cotton
seed by 95 percent of them. The USPPs are cited as the most important source of processing
equipment for 62 percent of the GVs (see Table 4.3.19).
The level of satisfaction is relatively high (at least 80 percent) for suppliers of fertilizer, herbicides,
cotton seed, and other inputs. On the other hand, just half of the GVs reported being satisfied with
their pesticide supplier (see Table 4.3.20).
About 10 percent of the GVs reported obtaining inputs from outside the cotton system, meaning
from an organization other than SONAPRA or the designated input suppliers. Even among these
GVs, the outside sources accounted for just 20 percent of the input purchases (see Table 4.3.21). In
most cases where a GV purchased from outside the system (17 out of 19), the supplier was another
GV. The GVs said that these transactions were necessary because the quantity ordered was not
sufficient for their members or the inputs were not available on time.
Types of inputs Generally, 85-90 percent of the members of the GVs order fertilizer,
pesticide, and cotton seed. In Zou, the proportion was just two-thirds, but in the other departments
it was generally over 90 percent. Herbicides are purchased by just 8 percent of the GV members
(see Table 4.3.22).
The average quantity ordered was 417 kilograms of fertilizer per farm ordering fertilizer. This
mean is affected by a few large values, however (see Table 4.3.23). In half of the GVs, the average
quantity was less than 270 kilogram per farm, but the average was over 1000 kg/farm in thirteen
GVs and over 3000 kg/farm in four GVs. It is interesting to note that all thirteen of these GVs were
in Zou. These large quantities do not seem to be caused by large farms: the four GVs with more
than 3000 kg/farm of fertilizer orders report just 110-250 hectares of cotton cultivation. Another
possible explanation is that fertilizer is being used on other crops grown by GV members or that
members are selling some of the fertilizer.
The quantity of cotton seed ordered per farm is largest among the GVs in the north (99 kg in
Atacora and 64 kg in Borgou) and smallest in the south (16 kg in Mono/Ouémé). This reflects the
123