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

May 16 (see Table 4.1.118).
The commercialization of yams, like that of sorghum/millet, is somewhat erratic due to the small
volume marketed. Fifty-three percent of the total is marketed between December and March, , but
sales in September are also significant.
Finally, cotton sales are also concentrated in the first few months of the year. Half of the total
volume is sold in January and another 39 percent in February. The concentration of sales during a
brief two month period puts a large burden on the transportation system. This is reflected in the
fact that the sales of maize, cowpeas, and yams during these months are lower than before and after
this period. In fact, 42 percent of the total volume of crop sales occur in January and February.
Types of buyers Traders are the dominant buyers of all the basic food crops. Sales to
friends, family, cooperatives, or other organizations are negligible. Traders purchase 87 percent of
the total marketed volume of sorghum/millet and more than 90 percent of the marketed surplus of
maize, cowpeas, manioc, yams, and other crops. Cotton is a major exception to this pattern.
Ninety-nine percent of the volume is sold through the official system, in which the groupements
villageois market the cotton to SONAPRA on behalf of farmers. The farmers in the sample report
that just 1 percent of sales are to traders. It should be noted, however, that sales to traders are
illegal, so farmers may be under-reporting this type of sale.
Location of sales The place where the transaction occurs varied widely by crop. Over
half of the sales of maize, sorghum/millet, and cowpeas take place at a market. In other words, the
farmer brings the product to the market to find a buyer. The remainder is sold either on the farm
(13-30 percent) or at the home of a friend or family member (17-22 percent).
In contrast, over three-quarters of the manioc and yams are sold on the farm. In other words, for
these two crops, the usual pattern is for traders to come to the farm to make the purchase. This
makes sense because the per kilogram value of these crops is lower than that of grains and legumes
so the farmer faces a greater risk in bringing the product to market without knowing that current
market conditions are.
Not surprisingly, most of the cotton (71 percent) is sold at the groupement villageois, with farmers
taking responsibility for getting the harvested cotton to the GV buying station.
16
Although manioc sales transactions were dispersed over the period February-May, many of
the larger manioc sales took place in April and May.
80