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

The changes in the number and types of traders since 1995 are reported in Table 5.78. For the
majority of the EPAs (64 percent), the number of assemblers has not changed; in 21 percent of
the EPAs, the number of assemblers has actually declined. On the other hand, the number of
private crop wholesalers and retailers has increased in most EPAs, whereas the number of
ADMARC crop markets has not changed in most cases (81 percent of the EPAs). This indicates
that market reform has led to an increase in the number of private traders. This usually should
lead to greater market competition, better prices, and more market choices for producers and
consumers. In the input markets, the number of private retailers seems to have increased the
most, followed by private wholesalers. For most ADMARC input markets and the subsidiary of
input manufacturers, there are no changes since 1995. In all cases, it is the number of retailers
that has increased the most since the reforms. This is expected since retailing is an easy business
to get into and does not require a lot of capital, technical expertise, or business savvy as
wholesaling would.
5.2.7 Starter Pack Initiative (SPS)
The EPA survey indicates that, as expected, all the EPAs were included in the SPS during the
1998/99 season. About 93 percent of the households in each EPA were included in the SPS. This
is not surprising since the SPS was supposed to cover all farming households and some of the
households in each EPA may not be involved in farming. In 95 percent of the cases, both
fertilizer (urea or 23-21-0) and seed (mainly maize, groundnuts, and soybeans) were distributed
for free. In about 5 percent of the EPAs, only fertilizer was distributed. The quantities distributed
were about 15 kgs of fertilizer and 4 kgs of seeds.
5.2.8 Agricultural Productivity Investment Program (APIP)
About 97 percent of the EPAs were covered in the APIP, but only 10 percent of the households in
each EPA were part of the program. A higher percent of households in the Northern region were
included (19 percent compared to 8 percent of the households in the Center and 5 in the South).
The APIP is a more selective program; it only includes households who are interested in applying
for input on credit and who are eligible for credit (no history of loan default and demonstrated
ability to repay). Again, in 90 percent of the cases, both fertilizer and seed are distributed on
credit under the APIP. The average quantities given are 98 kgs of fertilizer and 10 kgs of seed.
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