Behind the Market - GOV UK...market prices – what any given produce is being bought for on that day. However, mobile phones are expensive and often not an option for small-scale

Behind the MarketInterviews conducted in Kenya, Uganda and India illustrate the outcomes of five contrasting strands of research

Behind the market 9/9/05 4:15 pm Page 1

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Name of foreword authorJob title for the above

Behind the Market


Written and Edited by: Georgina SmithPhotography by: Philip BarnettDesigned by: The Clocked Work Design Agency, UK.

This publication is an output from the Crop Post-Harvest Programme (CPHP) funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), for the benefit ofdeveloping countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID.

Published September 2005

ISBN 0-9546452-6-X

Sometimes it ishard to see howresearch is

relevant todevelopment.

The impacts of scienceon poverty – especiallyin the short term – canbe rather subtle.Changes in attitudes,skills/knowledge andrelationships, withinindividuals andorganisations, may bethe first signs thatresearch is having animpact on poverty.

Such ‘invisible’ changesare often the precursorto longer-term, visibleimprovements in

people’s livelihoodoutcomes. Contrary towhat is often assumed,they can bedemonstrated and, tosome extent, measured.

The pathways of changethat connect science topoverty reduction arecomplex andunpredictable. Thatsaid, it is possible tomanage these pathwaysto some degree. In ourexperience, researchimpacts are most likelyto be seen when:

• The project has beencorrectly identified,the team hasunderstood the root

cause of the problem,and the research isaddressing theproblem rather thanits symptoms. A‘bottom-up-meets-top-down’ approachto problemidentification can bemore effective thaneither participatoryrural appraisal ortraditional needsanalysis byscientists.

• Potential users ofthe research, andorganisations whichhold the key tosolving non-researchaspects of theproblem being

investigated, areinvolved alongsidescientists as equalpartners in designingand implementingthe research.

• Local or nationalgovernment policysupports uptake ofthe research results;or the project canbring about a changein policy.

• Science is valuedwithin the ‘culture’of organisationsmaking decisionsabout agriculture.

Experience has taughtus to be cautious andmodest about

attributing impacts tosingle interventions.Innovation alwaysbuilds on existingknowledge and ideas.Research alone is noteffective without asupportingenvironment.

These are some of thelessons that ourresearch portfolio isteaching us, reflected inthe stories that follow.

Why research matters

Karen WilkinDeputy Manager, Crop Post-Harvest Programme


Contents

Maize marketing in Uganda 6-7

Interviews conducted with stakeholders in Uganda 8 - 11

Rural transport in Kenya 12 - 13

Interviews conducted with stakeholders in Kenya 14 - 17

Fruits of the Nile in Uganda 18 - 19

Interviews conducted with stakeholders in Uganda and the UK 20 - 23

Sorghum farmers and poultry feed in India 24 - 25

Interviews conducted with stakeholders in India 26 - 29

Linking tribal communities with markets in India 30 - 31

Interviews conducted with stakeholders in India 32 - 35

Partners for Innovation 36

Contacts 37

Acknowledgements 38


6

Behind the Market

Maize marketing in Uganda


Maize is one ofthe mostimportant

cereal crops in Uganda.Many small-scalefarmers rely on the cropfor their income, but itcan be harvested only atcertain times of theyear. During harvesttime, there is an excessof maize available, andlack of storage facilitiesmean that farmerscannot keep their cropuntil prices rise again.They are often forced tosell it immediately afterharvest, when pricesare at their lowest. Ifthe quality of maize ispoor, due to dampnessor insect damage, thenfarmers will receiveonly minimal returns.

The National Post-Harvest ResearchProgramme based at theKawanda AgriculturalResearch Institute(KARI) in Uganda,developed a range oftechnologies which aresustainable and easy touse. The project focusedon improving drying,shelling and storagemethods for small-scalefarmers, in the Kibogaand Apac districts.Empowering them withknowledge about thequality and volume ofmaize required by themarket has beenanother objective. KARIalso identified a directlink with a buyer, sothat reliance on middle-men, who oftendominate the marketand dictate low prices,is reduced.

During the rainyseason, maize developsmould if it is not

properly dried andstored. Maize cribs,built using localmaterials, wereintroduced to preventmould and ease drying,irrespective of weatherconditions. Anti-theftmechanisms wereimprovised to allayfarmers’ doubts aboutstoring maize outsidefor long periods of time.Maize shellers were alsointroduced. They offer asimple way of shellingmaize, which is moreefficient thantraditional methods,and reduces grainbreakages.

If farmers workindividually, they areunable to produce largeenough volumes to sellin the market. PatrickKalunda, a SocialEconomist at KARI,comments on importantcultural differencesdiscovered during thecourse of the research:"In Apac, anotherdistrict where we areworking, forminggroups is the normalway of life so it hasbeen much easierthere." It is importantto encourage farmers toform groups, so thatthey can be taught howto use the newtechnology, and toincrease theirbargaining power.

Ms Najjemba Annabel,an extension worker forBUCADEF (BugandaCultural andDevelopmentFoundation), explainswhy forming groups hasbeen a challenge:"Everybody in thegroup comes with their

own ideas of what theywant from it. Somethink that they will getmoney, some think thatthey will get freeinputs, others come tolearn." Some farmersare also sceptical ofgroups because ofprevious badexperiences with state-owned cooperatives.Groups are now formingin the Kiboga District,where training is takingplace to sensitisefarmers to the benefitsof being organised.

New varieties of maizeseed have offeredfarmers the advantageof growing a crop ofbetter quality. Withlocal varieties of maize,they find problemssecuring a buyer.Agricultural Engineer,for KARI, CedricMutyaba, explains:"Some traditionalvarieties of maize seedhave a mixture ofcolours, which maycompromise sellingcapacity. I think thatthe market forces haveencouraged farmers togrow new types ofmaize."

Mobile phones provide auseful way of gaininginformation aboutmarket prices – whatany given produce isbeing bought for onthat day. However,mobile phones areexpensive and often notan option for small-scale farmers.Information can also beout of date, andalthough farmers areaware of their potential,they remaininaccessible to the

majority. Throughworkshops and training,farmers have been mademore aware of what themarket requires, mostlyregarding qualitystandards.

The traders themselveshave to be involved intraining farmers. Thegrain trader Afro-Kaihas provided workshopsto improveunderstanding betweenfarmers and those whobuy the maize. Mr ChrisBalya, ManagingDirector of Afro-KaiLimited, emphasisesthis necessity: "You willhave to plough forthem; you will have togive them the type ofseed you want and thatyou think will meet thequality of contractorsoutside. So really, it hasto be two way."

Market informationincreases the ability offarmers to bargain forbetter prices. Onetechnology introducedby the project was theuse of plastic bottles asmoisture meters - theyare cheap and easy tofind locally.Agricultural Engineer,Cedric Mutyaba,explains theintervention: “You putthe grain inside thebottle, shake it, leave itthere to settle, and ifthe grain is aboutfifteen percent or lower,then the bottle will beclear.” As the marketdemands roughlyfourteen percentmoisture, the farmerwill know that he cansell it.

Information is also

being shared amongstfarmers themselves. Amaize farmer in KibogaDistrict, Mrs NagiitaKasumba comments:"When I go back to myvillage and implementwhat I have learnt,other members who arenot in the group learnfrom me."KibogaDistrict MarketingOfficer, KatusiimeJackson, agrees thatworkshops and traininghave been an importanttool for improving theability of farmers tobargain: "Previously,farmers were in a black-out."

Challenges remain to beaddressed; manyfarmers face problemswith accessing directmarkets, as a result ofproblems like badinfrastructure.Interventions such asweighing scalesintroduced by theproject are still scarce.Such challenges need tobe addressed if the fullpotential of theresearch is to berealised.

Project Leader, Dr Ambrose Agona,emphasises: “Havingmoney does not meanthat you are foodsecure! The farmers’bank is the crop itself.”Despite constraints,farmers are beingtaught how to use theircrop to their bestadvantage. That is thebeginning ofempowerment.

Behind the Market

7


Project Leader, KARI: Dr Ambrose Agona

Before we movedin, farmers wereselling maize by

volume and not byweight. Theintervention here bythe project was toemphasise that maizeshould be sold byweight. To do thisproperly, we had to buya weighing scalefinanced by the project.With growing maize forthe market, there mustalso be something forhome consumption, butto strike a balancebetween the two is stilla problem. The momentfarmers see moneycoming, they selleverything, but havingmoney on you does notmean that you are foodsecure! The farmer'sbank is the crop itself.

Agricultural Engineer, KARI:Mr Cedric Mutyaba

We haveintroducedtechnologies

like some maize cribs,tarpaulins and solardrying systems to reducecontamination by pests.Farmers now producehigh quality products,and levels ofcontamination have alsofallen, so there is a cleanproduct on the market.Because most farmers donot have moisturemeters, they can use aplastic bottle - it is freeand very common. Youput the grain inside thebottle, shake it, leave itthere to settle, and then

if the grain is aboutfifteen percent or lowerthen the bottle will beclear, so the farmer willbe confident to take it tothe market. If not, thenthey have to dry it. Themarket will demandfourteen to fifteenpercent moisture in themaize. Drying in thetropics is a bit of aproblem because of therains, which intensifiesat around harvestingtime, so you can't affordto put the crop outside.If you leave your cropand it rains for two orthree days, then it goesmouldy, so we haveintroduced the maizecribs which are raisedoff the ground.

Behind the Market

8

Interviews conducted withstakeholders in Uganda

Maize cribs to protect the crop from dampness

Having money on you does not meanthat you are food secure! The farmer'sbank is the crop itself.


Behind the Market

9

Social Economist, KARI : Mr Patrick Kalunda

The cultural way oflife has been amajor challenge in

this project. In Apac,another area where weare working, forminggroups is the normal wayof life, so it has beenmuch easier there. InKiboga, it is much moreindividualistic, and thetribes are different. Wehave some indicators thatstoring as a group willmitigate theseconstraints in themarket. The storage hasimproved, you can see by

the quality and thenumbers of peopleengaged in the groups.The communities that wework with are smallfarmer groups and, inorder to bulk their maize,we have decided to makethem into associations.We met with KibogaDevelopment Farmers’Association and thisproject started with thatcommunity. As we werestarting this project, wenoticed that the farmershave to be assured of amarket. The farmers toldus that there was nomarket, and that theprices fluctuated.

Kiboga District Agricultural Officer: Mr Issa ByabagambiSimon Akiiki

Bearing in mindthat our farmersget most of their

income fromagricultural produce,we have been concernedwith the losses thatthey have from theperiod of harvesting tothe time of selling.Quality assurancestarts from the time ofplanting until youmarket your produce; soin addition to marketingissues, we have beenlooking at theagronomic issues thatdeal with standards. I

have been sensitisingfarmers on where to buyhigher-yielding seeds,how to keep the cropuntil it is harvested. Ifwe are advising thefarmers to keep theircrop and not sell it allat once, then we shouldtell them how to keep itbetter. Quite a numberof the farmers have alsonow started makingtheir own maize-storingcribs, which is a gooddemonstration that theyhave picked up thetechnology. We havealso been involved withBUCADEF, and withfemale farmers to openup shops, bringing inthe high-yieldingvarieties of maize seed.

Quite a number of the farmers havealso now started making their ownmaize-storing cribs, which is a gooddemonstration that they have pickedup the technology. Maize shellers are quick and minimise grain damage

Womens’ group shelling maize


Behind the Market

10

Kiboga DistrictCommercial Officer: Mr Katusiime Jackson

Largely, farmershave beensensitised to

bulk their produce,bargain together, setprices as they rate themarket conditions,then store and selltogether. That way

they can becompetitive on themarket. Previously,farmers were in ablack-out. A pertinentissue is that ofweighing, and morefarmers need scales sothey know the exactweight of theirproduce. You wouldfind that themiddlemen still take

advantage of thosewho have still not gotorganised. The farmersdid not haveappropriate methods ofstorage, which is whywe involved KARI. Inshort, farmers need toown the interventionsat the end of the day.Sustainability issueshave been there at theearly stages.

Kiboga district farmer

Maize grown in Kiboga district

Managing Director, Afro-Kai Limited: Mr Chris Balya

The weakest pointin the farmer'sproduct is the

market, and the worstpart about the market isknowledge that there isa product out there to begot. To a certain extent,I think that stakeholderpartnerships will be thevehicle though whichthey will affect thepolicies of the localgovernment, theirdistricts, and thennational policies,because they will not be

talking as individualfarmers, they will betalking as a forum offarmers. If we have atarget of raising onehundred thousandtonnes, the farmerswon't produce it unlessyou give back to them.You will have to ploughfor them, you will haveto give them the seed;the type of seed youwant and that you thinkwill meet the quality ofcontractors outside. Soreally it has to be two-way. It's about keepingthe flow of informationbetween the farmer andthe trader.

The weakest point in the farmer's productis the market, and the worst part aboutthe market is knowledge that there is aproduct out there to be got.


Behind the Market

11

Representative of Women’sAffairs and WidowsMrs Nabatanzi Kasfia

Ihave a problem withmy post asRepresentative of

Women’s Affairs andWidows. Some womencannot sustainthemselves, somobilising them is avery big problem. Thesewomen look afterorphans and have noincome, or no capacity tomake the changes that Iam telling them to.Although the training isbetter, implementing isthe problem. But therehas been change. Nowwe can work for

ourselves, unlike in thepast when we wereworking as we had to,and I think thattechnology has helpedthis. Formerly, themarkets were poor andmany did not have thecourage to get involvedin farming. Now at leastwe have improved, sincewe have knowledgeabout the market. But aswomen we have manyproblems, and themarketing is still notvery good here. In thefuture, I would like tosee my children taughtwell. I can see thisbecause I have noticed adifference, and I can seewe are moving ahead.

Farmer: Mrs Namuleme Kasfa

I’m here so that I canlearn the modernways of farming, and

make it into a business.Now I use the system ofmono-cropping, and Iplant in lines. I haddoubts about this systemto begin with. I thoughtmine was best, but now Ihave seen that this way Ican grow more. Fromthe project, we have gotimproved seeds,fertilisers, tarpaulins,shelling equipment andthe stores to stop insectsruining it. One timewhen we were intraining, I brought somedifferent crops alongwhich had a disease andI was given pesticides tocontrol it. I have now gotbetter quality maize,with fewer pests. Aswomen, we would like tomake a group, so that wehave our own money topay labourers and peoplewho help us, becausethey charge extra. Manypeople are havingproblems with loans.

Farmer: Mr Kalifan Katende

Before the projectcame, I had reallylost morale with

farming. As we talk, Ihave regained strengthand we are growing thecrop more vigorously. Wehad low yields due to oldfarming practices. Wehave been trained in theuse of the right seedwhich has higher yields.We have learnt how toget market information,mostly from markets in

Kampala. Before, wewere bulking maize in asack and then we wouldsell; but now we areselling in kilograms withweighing scales, whichwere supplied by theproject. When someonewants to use them, theycome and take theweighing scales, and theyweigh, but there are notenough of these. Indiscussions that we havebeen having, our trainershave been making usrealise our potential, andsome of the changes we

have come up with havebeen listened to. But,because of money, we aremostly handicapped. Wehave had the trainingvery well but, as regardsan actual market, wehave not yet identified it.If the loaning schemecould allow us to mill theflour ourselves, then wewould be able to buy amill and add value here.There are impassableroads and it makesthings more expensivewhen we try to get to themarket.

Kiboga district farmer

Kiboga district farmers

Farmers’ workshop in Kiboga district


12

Behind the Market

Rural transport in Kenya


Rural transport is acomplex issue. InKenya, sixty

percent of the roadnetwork lies in ruralareas. During the rainyseason, many of the roadsbecome swamped withmud, and are even moreinaccessible to localpeople. But ruraltransport cannot be seenas an isolated issue. It isimportant to considerwho uses the roads, andwhy they need them.Alternative modes oftransport need to beexplored which can beused more efficiently indifficult conditions, andon the existing networks.

Otherwise known asIMTs, Intermediate Meansof Transport are beingdeveloped, based on abetter understanding ofthe connection betweenfarmers who need totransport their goods tomarket, and the roadsthemselves. As ILO(International LabourOranization) TechnicalAdvisor, Mr StephenMuthua explains: "Thereis a tendency to look atthings in sectors, likerural transport. Thepeople on the ground donot see issues astransport on one handand agriculture on theother. On the local level,these things are fullylinked."

With support from theCPHP, the Society for theProtection of AnimalsAbroad and BrookeHospital for Animals(BHA), the KenyaNetwork forDissemination ofAgricultural Technology(KENDAT) use a

partnership approach toexplore and research thedifficulties that manygroups in Kirinyaga andKiambu districts facewith local transport.Their conditions need tobe understood to makechanges. According to theKENDAT TechnicalManager, Mr JosephMutua, "For a farmer whois far away in theinteriors, getting a cartcould be a major problem,and maintaining it isanother. How does he getit repaired, and how doyou access the supportservices?"

By forming a coalitionand communityparliaments, groups whouse the roads are involvedin shaping improvementson their own individuallevel, according to theirneeds. Among the groupsare horticultural farmers,bicycle transportersknown as Boda-boda boys,donkey cart owners, andwomen's groups. Each ofthese groups have theirown specific problemswhich need to beaddressed. KENDAT,together with otherorganisations likePractical Action, act asfacilitators to bring thesestakeholders together.

One of the main problemsfor horticultural farmersare the middlemen whodominate the localmarkets. Without goodtransport infrastructure,many farmers are forcedto take their produce tothe nearest possibleselling point. These arenot necessarily the best,but for many farmers,there is no alternative.One local farmer, Mr

David Ngugi, explains theproblem: "Traders get avery beautiful chance ofsaying 'I'm buying at thisprice'. The seller has novoice there completely. Heis already at the market,and he must sell it, or loseit."

Farmers are beeingencouraged to grouptogether. This not onlystrengthens theirbargaining power, it alsoreduces the cost oftransporting goods to themarket. Collection pointshave been established tohelp farmers secure abuyer for their product,and training is takingplace to provide thesegroups with marketinformation. Manyfarmers lack knowledgeabout what the marketswant, so workshops arebeeing set up to teachfarmers about handlingrequirements, and EUrestrictions, whichremain a problem formany farmers.

Forming groups has notbeen an easy process. AsKENDAT Project OfficerMr Eston Murithicomments: "They havebeen farming for a longtime. They think thatthey are independent ofinformation regardingmarkets and massproduction. Also, if theydon't see the immediatebenefits, then they mightnot stay." To improvemarket access, thecoalition involves andsensitises privatecompanies like the EastAfrica Growers’Association (EAGA) tobuy horticulturalproduce. While this hasbeen successful on some

occasions, farmers stillface problems with directmarket access.

Getting to the market inthe first place is often amajor problem forfarmers in rural areas.Rural transport isinfrequent, unreliable andexpensive to use. So,KENDAT work to improveIMTs, which wereaccessible and reducelong travel distances. Atypical example aredonkey carts, eitherowned by farmersthemselves, or hired bythem. Donkey carts are areliable method oftransporting goods,despite badinfrastructure.

The Donkey WelfareProgramme was set up toimprove the design ofdonkey carts. Using localartisans, technology isintroduced to balance thecarts, and make thedonkey harnesses morecomfortable. The healthof the donkeys is alsoconsidered. Many developsores as a result of heavyloads and uncomfortableyokes. Training has beenintroduced to illustratethe importance of donkeyhealth, and theirimportance forcommunity livelihoods.Advice is given ondifferent medications, toaddress illnesses.

Another group to benefitare the Boda-boda boys,who provide bicycle taxitransport. They providean important, affordableservice for passengersand produce alike. TheBoda-boda boys have beenencouraged to formgroups, so that they are

able to afford annuallicence fees, and toimprove their financialsecurity. They receivetraining on how tomanage their businessmore efficiently, and onhow to secure a loan,which is still a difficultoption.

Initially, the project focuswas rural transport. Asthe research processdeveloped, it became clearthat conditions are notthe same for all theinterest groups. ProjectLeader of BHA Mr FredOchieng, explains thatthere are alternatives tousing transport: "Aninteresting solution tothis problem was actuallyintroducing transportavoidance measures. Thatis, we told people thatthey had to find ways ofharvesting water, so thatthey did not have to travelsuch long distances."

Infrastructure in ruralareas is still a majorconstraint. Motorisedforms of transport havebeen explored, but untilinfrastructure isimproved they remain anexpensive alternative.Through workingtogether with otherorganisations, privatecompanies, and localauthorities andcommunity parliaments,the importance of IMTs isbecoming recognised intransport policy.

According to ProjectLeader Dr PascalKaumbutho: “This keepsthe Government on it’stoes, which is the naturalway of democraticdevelopment. So, I thinkthe future is bright”.

Behind the Market

13


Farmer: Mr Kiratu

Ialways use thedonkey cart tobring my produce

here. You weld someiron, and then you haveyour cart. I know theproject of the donkey,and I have even visitedone of the seminarswhich my friendinvited me to. In fact, Icame to like it, becausethe project is trying tomodify the method ofdonkey-carrying.Before we were making

the yokes anyhow, butnow we know differenttypes. It has made iteasier, and the cartsare much better. Beforethe donkeys, womenwere carrying on theirheads. We were toldthat donkeys should beour friend. Thismethod is better. Atthe seminar, we alsoheard about differenttypes of transport,bicycles andmotorcycles, which wewould like to see moreof here. Extension Officer:

Mrs Sarah Thiaka

We have anintegrationprogramme, and

we collaborate with ourstakeholders. We talk ofagriculture and livestockproduction as well, whichKENDAT is also trying tolink to microfinanceprogrammes. Being thechurch, we act as a link

so that we can all assistone another. We have hada lot of involvement withKENDAT. We startedtraining farmers togetheron different issues.Draught animals was onearea, the improvement ofthe bicycles was another.They were groupedtogether and made moreactive. Here, it is not toohilly, but the distancesare long. They helped

them to understand howthey could improve thedonkey carts, and alsothe animals themselves.Now they aretransporting people anditems. You see, there arepeople who come to tellus their ideas, but thenthey do not come to seeus how we are touchedby these issues. We gointo the field together, welink up.

Behind the Market

14

Interviews conducted withstakeholders in Kenya

Soko Mujinga market

Improved donkey harnesses


Behind the Market

15

Trader: Mrs Joyce Bulu

Yesterday, webought kale at fourhundred Kenyan

Shillings. Now today thereis no kale, and we havebought at six hundredKenya Shillings, so yousee a difference of twohundred within a day!

There is no control overpricing - it depends on themarket for that day. Thisis a bad thing. Thefarmers complain day-in,day-out about this. Yousee these sacks are toobig. There is a lot ofproduce in there, and thatis a loss to the farmer.After labour, fertiliser,

inputs, transportation,there is little money.There are times when thetrucks are not availablehere, then we must go bypublic transport, to thebus station. The big bagscannot enter into thebuses, so we are forced tobuy other sacks anddivide the produce into

two and double the work.The donkey carts arevery good, because thecharges are not high,although it depends onthe distance, but itcannot make the distanceto Mombasa, only thelocal market. The Boda-boda boys can carry onlyone sack.

Secretary, KENDAT:Ms Zena Wanjiru

Ihave had anopportunity once ina while to go out into

the field. In my village,we had to go a very longway to get water. I havehad to carry two jerrycans of water on myback before, and theyare heavy. If you can usesomething else, well, itis interesting to me andalso to my family. Ithink that the work withKENDAT is different, aswe are really interestedin the rural people. If Italk about gender, thewomen are important. IfI need water, then it ismy job in the family toprovide it. If I have to goa long way, then it is sotiring for me, with backpains. This is theproblems that we aretrying to solve.

Secretary, MurubaraHorticulture Group:Mr Alfred Murage

We usually growmaize andfruits. KENDAT

has introduced bicycles,with the Boda-boda boys,so the work is easier.Now we can have parallellines so that the donkeyand bicycle users are notaffected. They have

seminars on how to lookafter the donkeys toavoid harm to them, andalso to tell us aboutmedicine. Regardingmarketing, the priceswere very low. Themiddle men tried toexploit them. They wouldsell it for a much higherprofit margin, and he isnot playing any part. Youhave got the fertilisers,the seed, the hard work,

and now this person isonly coming to collect.At market level, the priceis very high for him, andyou as a farmer will earnvery little. That meansthat we were not goinganywhere. I wasstraining as to how I wasto get the school fees formy children, and nowthey are not sent home. Iam now earning more.The workshops have

been very vital to us.Actually, when weorganise these groups,they invite AgriculturalOfficers and VeterinaryOfficers so that we canbe trained. We have somesurplus from the cropswe grow that arerejected. They told us tofeed them to the goatsand animals. From a hen,you go to a goat, then toa cow.

Boda-boda boys

Lemons at Soko Majinga market

Donkey transport

Boda-boda boyMr Evan Mochira

My work is tocarry peoplefrom homes to

town, and to variousother destinations. It isvery important to us,and we would like to getsome better trainingabout this. I’ve knownKENDAT for more thantwo months since Iattended some training.I have learnt how tohandle the bicycles andearn a living, and inorganising more groups.I have been transportinggoods from the shops.There is a differencebetween working in agroup and asindividuals. Now wehave been able tosupport each otherfinancially, giving eachother loans and giving

each other security. Theroads have become verybad. Now there areimprovements with theroads, but in the ruralareas the roads are stillvery bad. We decidedourselves to be in agroup, because we didnot know each otherand we wanted thesecurity of this forbusiness. The leaders ofthe group ensure thatothers who join aretrained. The groupchose the leaders, andwhen it comes tomaking the decisions,the leaders will makethem for us. Thecommunity parliamentis made up ofrepresentatives, and Iwas chosen as one. Weare hoping that we canget some loans toimprove our means oftransport.


Behind the Market

16

District Agricultural Officer:Mr Mri Gikonyo

Our main activity isto train farmers sothat they are able

to produce and add valueto their product. KENDAThave been involved inrural transport, ruralmarketing and in roadnetworks. We know thatone of the challenges inbeing able to effectivelyserve their farmers is theroad network we have.The other challenge isbringing the farmerstogether so that they canmarket their produce. Wehave been collaboratingwith KENDAT to sensitise

the farmers, andencouraged them to addvalue and to providevolumes that can bemarketed and negotiatedat the market place. Wehave been looking atusing animal transport toaccess areas that carscannot. This is whereKENDAT came in,because we already haddonkey carts but theywere not very efficient.Previously, someonewould come up with theirown design, and theanimals would carrylarge loads and havesores. The farmers nowknow how to makedifferent harnesses.

Farmer: Mrs Mary Withera

This is a bore hole: itis like a big well. Iwant you to see

what I have done. Webuilt this in Septemberlast year, and it has beenvery good, because ithelps me with growingtrees and plants. We dugit ourselves, incollaboration with

KENDAT. The plasticcame from a differentcompany, and it is quiteexpensive. When I learntabout this, I thought itwas a very good idea. Iused to go for eightkilometres before I couldget water for domesticand other things. Thewater that I have herefrom this water pan I usemainly for my family andfor growing the plants.

Farmer: Mr Esbon Karuri

This road wasimpassable, therains came, and

even the cows could notpass here. This waspersonal initiative,because I could not get tothe road to take mygoods, French beans,tomatoes, water melonand avocados. We areforced to use the localtransport, like ox and

cart, because we cannotuse the vehicles. Thisgravel I have boughtmyself. We do havecollecting centres, thereare many and they havebeen around for a longtime, but they cannotcome here. They arehelpful, more or less likea cooperative. Being in agroup has changed manythings. We transporttogether. These goods areperishable, so you musttake it there.

Farmer in Mwea:Mr Michael Warui

Mostly we havecontact withKENDAT.

They are the ones whoassist us with gettinga market, people whocan come and buy ourproduct. We alwayswish that we could geta direct exporter, whopays us straight. Wehad been doing thisfor years and years.Our request is: whycan’t farmers have acompany selected forthem that can buy theproduct without usinga third party?Payment for thegroups within thearea is very low. WhenKENDAT came to us,we told them that wehave a problem withthe market. Theyintroduced us to abuyer. WhenEUREPGAP came tous, they told us thatthey cannot buy ourproduct until we meettheir standard. So weasked what thestandard was, theysent some peoplehere, who startedteaching the farmershow to meet theEUREPGAP. They toldus that what weshould do first is tobuild a shed, but thisshed has not met thestandard. It issupposed to besheltered. We tried toask them please toassist us on where weare now, because weare now stranded, andhow are we to getmoney in order tocomplete our shed?

Donkey Welfare Programme:Mr Anthony Kamau

We talk with thedonkey ownerson how best to

use the donkey, for itprovides farmer’slivelihoods. In fact, inthese rural areas, morethan seventy percent of

the transport is bydonkey. The people whodo not have donkeysusually hire, and a fewyou can find carrying ontheir backs and heads.The donkeys are broughthere, and our main issueis to make themproductive, so that theycan be bred here.

Transporting produce

Improved water harnesses


Behind the Market

17

Senior ProgrammeManager, PracticalAction: Ms Rahab Mundara

At PracticalAction, webelieve in

working thoughnetworks andpartnerships. InKenyan transportpolicy, the emphasishas always been onvehicle transport, andthere is a lack of apolicy frameworkaround which ruraltransport can beaddressed. We haveworked around policy

dialogue to changetransport policynationwide andsensitised farmersabout what is availableto them throughparliaments. For me,capacity-building isvery fundamental interms of change,because communitiesdo not have to wait forus to show them whatto do. Previously, asgenerally happenswith a lot ofcommunities in Kenya,donor support wasmaking peopledependant. You do aproject, and then you

move out, and theywait for you, becausepeople do not believein themselves. Thefarmers now questiondevelopment,challenge and speakfor themselves. We areonly a catalyst. I wouldsay that there hasdefinitely been anattitude change atlocal policy level,where the mentalityhas changed in termsof recognising thatthis is a good option totransporting goods andpeople in some of therural areas.

Community Head of WomenFamily Planning:Ms Beatrice NyokabiWeinainah

Iam also theTreasurer of thecommunity group.

We were involved byKENDAT, and we started

to join in groups. In thefirst instance, we werehelped by micro-financeto assist us in business.If we have a littlemoney, then KENDATusually train us as tohow we can use it. Wealso learn more aboutvillage banks, so that we

can manage. I did nothave a mobile, but I wasissued a loan, so Imanage. We have profitsin it. Gradually, we cansee the profits, and weexpect more from it inthe future. I represent aSingle Mothers’ group,where we share

problems. Problems thatwe face are isolation,and it has taken time toget to know one another.The community did alsonot accept singlemothers, many feelrejected because they donot have a job. Manybelieve we cannot be

leaders. I can say thatwe are really pulling upour socks, my childrenare in school. They aremoving themselves towork hard. We expect inthe near future to growmore than we have donealready.

Horticultural farmers in Kenya

Farmers’ workshop


18

Behind the Market

Fruits of the Nile in Uganda


Horticulturalfruits likepineapples,

mangoes and bananasgrow in abundance inUganda. At certaintimes of the year, thereis a surplus of freshfruit on the market.Because many small-scale farmers who growthe fruit lack storagefacilities, it will go badin a very short space oftime. As a result,farmers are forced tosell their produce assoon as they harvest it,at very low prices, orleave it to go to waste.

The KawandaAgricultural ResearchInstitute (KARI) inUganda, together withthe Natural ResourcesInstitute in the UK,identified solar dryingas a sustainable methodof reducing these post-harvest losses. Solardrying would enablefarmers to produce highquality dried goods thatnot only can be storedfor long periods of time,but can also be sold asan export. This providessmall-scale farmers withan alternative marketfor their produce, whichalso guarantees higherreturns than selling thefresh fruits.

In 1992, the companyFruits of the Nile wasformed. It was foundedby local entrepreneursspecifically to provide astable and sustainablemarket for the driedfruits. Market researchwas conducted toidentify potential for thedried produce in the UK,and TropicalWholefoods was

established by AdamBrett and Kate Sebag asthe UK-based buyingand marketing partnerof the company, latermerging with FM FoodsLtd. in Sunderland.

With a sustainablemarket identified, Fruitsof the Nile begansensitising farmers tothe potential ofinvesting in solar dryingtechniques. Theyworked with farmers toencourage them to formgroups, and to teachthem about the dryingtechnology. JaneNaluwairo ischairperson of thePatience Pays Group,formed to process driedfruits to supply Fruits ofthe Nile: “Adam foundme at a sewing machine;they were looking fororganised women’sgroups. They taught meabout drying, and Icame back with theknowledge.”

This was a slow process.Charles Naluwairo,Secretary of thePatience Pays Group,explains: “Farmers werecomplaining: ‘If I eatdried fruit, then I willnot get anything from itbecause all the nutrientshave gone’. We had totell them that there arenot any nutrients lost.”Groups came togetherthrough interest, and toreduce the cost oftransporting processedgoods to the factory. Asgroups have expanded,they have incorporatedhealth care and HIVawareness activities,which are indirectlyrelated to the ability offarmers in the area to

supply processed fruit.

Training and supporthave been supplied byFruits of the Nilethroughout the project.If farmers are infinancial difficulty, theycan obtain an advancewhich will be deductedwhen they havedelivered their fruit,allowing them to spendcash when it is neededon farming inputs andschool fees. Thisillustrates the uniquerelationship that existsbetween farmers and thecompany. Personnel andFinancial ControllerNathan Komundacomments: “They trustus. We are ever there,and when we aretraining, we are goinground in the field withthem.”

As well as financialsupport and solartechnology training,farmers are alsosupplied with materialsto construct the dryers.Plastic sheets and mesh,and on occasioncomplete driers, areprovided to farmers whoare just starting out,giving poor farmers anopportunity to see thebenefits themselves.Horticultural farmer,Yunusu Kafuuma,explains: “I went to theFruits of the Nile, andthey offered me twodryers. When Idiscovered that this wasactually profitable, Idecided to ask others tojoin me.”

Before solar dryingtechnology wasintroduced, farmerswere unable to secure a

stable market for theirproduce. Because Fruitsof the Nile do notrestrict those with asmall amount ofproduce, farmers areassured that they will beable to sell whateverthey produce. JamesZirimala, a farmer in theKayunga district,explains the problem:“With the fresh fruits,we were worried. Whenyou dry the fruits, youare assured that there isa market for them, andyou know where youwill sell them.”

Another advantage ofhaving a stable marketis that farmers come toknow from experiencewhat is expected ofthem. Fruits of the Nileoffer training in qualitycontrol, which meansthat farmers can keeptrack of what they aresupplying, and improveupon it. NabulyaFlaviah sorts theproduce as it arrives inthe factory. She notes:“The fruits have a goodquality, because thefarmers know that ifthey do not, then theywill be rejected.”

Much of the success ofthe project can beattributed to the trustthat links the growers,the processors, and thebuyers of the fruit.From 1992 to 2000, theamount of dried produceexported to FM Foods inthe UK has increased bythirty-five tonnes. In1998, Fruits of the Nilewas awarded BestInnovative Company.Farmers have beeninvolved from the verystart, and Fruits of the

Nile have created thedemand according totheir capacity to supply.Although prices do stillfluctuate, and farmerswould prefer a higherprice at certain times ofthe year, the market issustainable.

Through groupformation and increasedbargaining power,farmers are becomingheard. Many of thegroups have writtentheir own constitution,and are becomingregistered as communitybased organisations.The Kayunga DistrictMP, Victoria Kakoko-Sebagereka, visits thePatience Pays groupoften: “I take all theirvoices and introducethem to theParliamentaryCommittee.” Suchprogress is necessary toensure that the demandsof those oftenmarginalised are met.

Fruits of the Nile adopta unique approach tointegrating farmers intothe market chain. Theygrew as more farmersbecame involved inprocessing. This ethic isintegral to the companymandate of fairtrade.Co-founder of FM Foods,Peter Fawcett, explainsthat supply is aproblem, but “farmersknow from practicalexperience that we selleverything that theybring. They get a rewardfor their labour, and weget a product that wehave invested time intothe quality of. It is avirtuous circle.”

Behind the Market

19


Chairperson, Patience Paysgroup, Kauyunga District: Mrs Jane Naluwairo

Iam the Chairpersonof the Patience Paysfood handling and

storage project. I giveknowledge ofprocessing dried fruits,which I have got fromKawanda ResearchOrganisation. Adam, afounder of Fruits of theNile, found me at asewing machine; theywere looking fororganised women’sgroups. They taught meabout drying, and Icame back with the

knowledge. By then, wewere calling ourselves‘Tusitukire’ which means‘let us lift ourselvestogether.’Unfortunately, all of thewomen in this groupwere old women! I wasthe youngest. We thenformed this group. Ittook a long time, and itwas very difficult. Thatis why we called itPatience Pays Group.We got our fellowpeople, I taught themdrying, to plantpineapples, and now thedistrict is full of peopledrying fruits. Werealised that the fruits

were still sweet whendried, so we decided totry it in Europe. Peoplehere start withagriculture on a smallscale, because they arepoor. If you tell them toplant something, theywill ask ‘How will youhelp me?’ I wasencouraging them toplant pineapple becauseI wanted to buy fromthem. We need to beorganised and link upwith farmers from otherprojects. We would liketo help those infectedwith HIV. Most of myfarmers are sick, andI'm worried about it.

Warehouse Sorter: Ms Nabulya Flaviah

Before I came here Iwas a student. Iam sorting bogoya

fruit, which comes from

villages around Kampala.Our job is to sortdifferent types of fruitlike banana andpineapple, which weeither put into line orpoured into the bags

which are shipped abroadafter being frozen. I knowthat the farmers earnmoney from this, and Iknow some farmers whoproduce this in thevillages. I know that

some people have boughtthe fruits when they aredry, then they put themin the dryers and bringthem here. The Fruits ofthe Nile provides thedryers to our farmers,

and they send people toshow how to use them.The fruits have a goodquality because thefarmers know that if theydo not, then their fruitswill be rejected.

Behind the Market

20

Interviews conducted with stakeholdersin Uganda and the UK

Mrs Jayne Naluwairo


Behind the Market

21

Patience Pays Group: Mr Charles Naluwairo

We found thatpeople in thisarea have so

much fruit, but theylack knowledge of how

to make money fromthem. So we startedslowly by convincingthem in groups. Weneeded to get peopleinto groups, which wasdifficult. At the localstage that we are, it is

not easy to convincepeople. The source ofsupport has been fromFruits of the Nile. Theyhave given us advice andmaterial support, likepolythene sheets andplastic mesh, also some

capital occasionally.Farmers werecomplaining that 'If Ieat a dried fruit, then Iwill not get anythingfrom it because all thenutrients would havegone', so we had to tell

them that there are notany nutrients lost. Theycome here and see thatthere is no juice thatcomes out when it isdried. Even the schoolsare now coming here toget them as well.

General Secretary, PatiencePays Group: Mr Onyago-Ogen Francis

We wrote theconstitution ofthe

organisation, then westarted the process ofregistering with thedistrict as a community-based organisation. Wehave had to put things topolicy, and the DistrictCouncil thought that itwould be better to

register as an NGO, andwe are now registered.We have been operatingworkshops to give thefarmers knowledge, andthey have been able tosell their fruits to us, sothey can solve theireconomic stresses. Wemake losses if theweather is not good, aswe rely on the sun asprocessors. But thefarmers can gain,because they still selltheir fruits to us, we just

cannot process it.Previously, we existed ona very small scale. Wewere invited to attend aworkshop, and we weretrained. This is the sametime that Fruits of theNile was founded. Wewere working on localproducts before, just thefresh produce. At leastnow we have added valueby drying, and also byexporting through Fruitsof the Nile.

Farmer: Mr James Zirimala

Iknew Fruits of theNile because I came toPatience Pays Group,

and they taught me thedrying process. I wasborn here and mybrothers are from thisplace. I was also sellingfresh fruits before toPatience Pays and theywere drying them. So, Iknew from there that itwas possible and Idecided to set up on myown. When you dry thefruits, you are assuredthat there is a market forthem and you know

where you will sell them.With the fresh fruits, wewere worried. I now havemy own dryers. I askedthe Chairman of thePatience Pays Group,Jane, who approachedFruits of the Nile, andthey then gave me thedryers. I now sell directlyto Fruits of the Nile. Ican take as much as I candry there. If I take theproduce there, they bringthe weighing machine,then they give me mymoney, then I come backto the village. I alwaysget my money straightaway when I go there.

Drying pineapples at the Nazigo Group

We have been operating workshops to givethe farmers knowledge, and they have beenable to sell their fruits to us, so they can solvetheir economic stresses.

Fresh pineapples


Behind the Market

22

Farmer, Nazigo Group: Mr Yunusu Kafuuma

Iwent to Fruits of theNile, and they allowedus to start the project.

Before this, I used toteach Arabic. I wanted toexpand on my ways ofgetting income. Before Ihad seen it, I had heardabout drying fruit, but Icould not believe it until I

had seen it. When youlook at the fruit, it has alot of juice in it, and youcannot believe that it candry like that! Even now,convincing others thatpineapples can dry istough. I knew some otherpeople who had startedearlier, and they are theones who introduced me.They taught me how todry, and what to do with

the fruits. After learningfrom my friends whowere already in thesystem, I went to Fruitsof the Nile, and theyoffered me two dryers.When I discovered thatthis was actuallyprofitable, I decided toask others to join me. Wehave put up a house andthere are other tangiblethings that I can see

happening. At themoment, though, theprice of the fruits isgoing up, and the pricesare going up as there ismore competition. It isadvantageous that I donot have to worry aboutstoring so much, andFruits of the Nile willbuy whatever I canprovide.

Financial and PersonnelController, Fruits of the Nile: Mr Nathan Komunda

Most of ourfarmers areindividuals

operating under groupswho have a name andleaders. We found it wasdifficult to have lots ofindividuals, so we said‘Okay, operate as

individuals, but under agroup’. Then they canshare the costs of thetransport as well. Hereour farmers are verysmall producers. We triedto bring in the idea ofmaking contracts withthem, so that they wouldproduce a certain amountfor us. But we found thatthey could not afford tostick to this. So, we made

it open, each produces asmuch as he can afford,and it is working out. Onething is that they trust us.We are ever there, whenwe are training, when weare going around in thefield with them,reminding them andmaking spot checks to seeif they are following thetraining. At one time, wegot a revolving fund

which helped ourproducers in getting moredryers and workingcapital. We advancemoney with free interest,which we deduct whenthe fruits are delivered.We work with thecommunities, and whenwe got the dryers, we toldthem to come and see. Wespend quite a lot of timeteaching people to give

the quality that we want,and we have stayed withthe same people for a longtime. We are now buildinga store in Jinja and, inthree months’ time, wewill move there so that wecan expand the export.With the increase involume, we can involvemore farmers, and that iswhat has happened fromthe beginning.

Solar dried mango slices

Mr Yanusu Kafuuma


Behind the Market

23

Assistant Quality Controller,Fruits of the Nile: Mrs Constance Tusime

Iam an AssistantQuality Controller,which involves

checking the fruit qualityand standard coming in,and then recording it. Iam a teacher byprofession. One thing

that I think it would begood for us to do is to getour workers to go andvisit farmers in thevillages, so that we knoweach other, and wherethese fruits come from.The farmers do not knowwhat happens here. Ofcourse, this is expensive;but, you know when yousort these things, you

would like to know howhard it is to producethem. I know that thedrying has given farmersbenefits. When I firstjoined here, it was verysmall, and when we wereexporting, just a fewkilos. Then the farmersincreased in numbers, sowe have moved fromthere.

Transporting fresh pineapples to Nazigo Group

Solar drying at the Patience Pays Group

Finance and Operations, FMFoods Co-Founder: Mr Peter Fawcett

We don't havecontracts withour farmers:

we can't force them tosell to us. There isalways a risk whenyou're looking at themarket. What we areoffering is a sun-driedproduct with no

additives whatsoever. Ina sense, the market iscoming to us. Then youlook at the fair-tradeangle which is ourmodus operandi. We takeeverything they canpossibly produce. Theyknow from practicalexperience that we selleverything that theybring, they get a rewardfor their labour, and weget a product that we

have invested time intothe quality of. It's avirtuous circle. We havea problem with supply;for example, if we wereto sell to a supermarket,we couldn't, because wedon't have the volumesthat they would require.But what we are notprepared to do is toquestion the quality ofthe product byspreading the net too

wide; we want to retainthe core of producersthat we have. It's a caseof tempering the supplyside with the demand.The concept of fairtradeis that everybody needsto be doing well out ofit; in my view, there areno alternatives. We arebuilt on trust andtransparency. If there isan understanding byeveryone in the

organisation of what itis trying to do, how theyfit within it: that'sfairtrade. If you trulyunderstand whatfairtrade is about, thenyou understand thatthere are risksassociated with it. Tosome degree, we preparefor those, but therewards far outweighthe risks.

If you truly understand what fair trade is about, then you understand that there are risks associated

with it. To some degree, we prepare for those, but the rewards far outweigh the risks.


24

Behind the Market

Sorghum farmers andpoultry feed in India


In Andhra Pradeshstate, sorghum is animportant crop for

many households as botha staple food, and fodderfor livestock. Its potentialuse in industry forinstance in poultry feed islargely untapped. Theproblem with sorghumgrown during the rainyseason is that graindevelopment can coincidewith the rainfall, whichleads to mould. Farmershave a problem sellingthis sorghum to a reliablemarket as there aremisconceptions about thesafety of the grain. Theyalso face problems withquality and low yields.

ICRISAT (InternationalCrop Research Institue forthe Semi-Arid Tropics)decided that the thrivingpoultry feed industrywould provide a viablemarket option. Maize isthe main ingredient inpoultry feed, but it isexpensive, its supply isunreliable, and demandfor the cereal outweighssupply. Sorghum had beenused in feed, but only inminimal quantities,because of concerns thatit is not good for thehealth of the birds.Research was undertakento prove that sorghumcould safely replace maizeup to one hundredpercent.

Once the potential hadbeen identified, thecoalition had to involvestakeholders with a rangeof different expertise,dealing with specificissues. It was important toinvolve buyers like JanakiFeeds from the verybeginning, as they wouldbe able to provide a ready

market for the sorghum.ICRISAT VisitingScientist, Dr GuravaReddy, explains: "We havebeen emphasising that thecycle is only completewhen the market has beenfound, and that link hasbeen found here."

Five main partners wereidentified to find amarket for the rainyseason sorghum. TheAcharya N.G. RangaAgricultural University(ANGRAU) in Hyderabadwas involved in thecoalition to developprevious research onhigher-yielding varietiesof sorghum, which wouldalso be more mould-resistant. This wouldbenefit the sorghumfarmers because theywould be better able tosell their produce. Buyerswould save moneybecause sorghum ischeaper than maize, andscientists would see theirresults on the ground.

Sorghum farmers wererepresented in thecoalition by theFederation of Farmers’Associations (FFA). Manysmall-scale farmers areoften unaware of marketrequirements, and theirproduce is rejected as badquality by traders. Whenfarmers work individually,securing enough produceto sell to industry isdifficult. The Federation’sAgricultural Expert,Varaprasada Reddy, addsthat: “Initially, farmersexpressed concerns aboutnew varieties of sorghum,as they thought they werenot good for the cattle.”

Through workshops,farmers are taught how to

grow and obtain the newseed. Many are aware ofthe potential of new seedvarieties of sorghum forproducing higher yields,and better qualitysorghum. Althoughbringing farmers togetherinitially proved achallenge, they arebeginning to see theresults. Narasimhlu Goudis a sorghum farmer inMahbub Nagar: "I couldsee the progression ofsorghum over the last twoyears, and developed aninterest. The yield hasdoubled."

Another problem forsorghum farmers is thecomplex network ofmiddle-men, who oftendominate the markets,and buy produce fromindividual farmers at avery low rate. JanakiFeeds manufacturepoultry feed, and areintegral members in thecoalition, helping toreduce the number ofmiddle-men. Althoughconditions are improving,middle-men remain aconstraint to farmers. Bylinking farmers directlywith a sustainablemarket, farmers willreceive a better price fortheir produce, and abetter understanding ofwha the market demands.

In order for Janaki Feedsto replace maize withsorghum, they had to beconvinced of the results.The coalition could notafford to waste time ormoney on an initiativethat was not going towork. Through informalnetworks and discussions,a common goal wasunderstood. Janaki FeedsManaging Director,

C. Madhusudham Rao,explains: “We believedICRISAT because they arescientists! It has to bedone by them. They aretransfering the technicalknowledge to the practicalpeople involved in thisevery day.” The resultswere even repeated inindustry conditions, toconvince poultry farmers.

Poultry farmers arerepresented in thecoalition by the AndhraPradesh PoultryFederation (APPF), as theend-users of the product.They also neededconvincing that sorghumwould not affect thehealth of the birds. Mr C.Kanaka Reddy is apoultry farmer. Hecomments on thechallenges ahead: “Manypoultry farmers thinkthat in the sorghum thereare toxins. They will notlisten to us. They don'twant to take the risk.” Apotential constraint hasbeen that sorghum canmake the yellow colour ofegg yolk paler, sostylosanthes fruticosa leafmeal is added to the feed.

Research proved thatsorghum is a healthy, andcheaper alternative tomaize. It contains similarlevels of energy, andhigher levels of protein.Contrary to perceptions,mouldy sorghum has alsobeen shown to containlow amounts of toxinsand tannins, which stuntthe growth of the birds. Itwill take time to convincethe entire poultryindustry of the potentialthat sorghum offers, butbecause the poultryfarmers are involved inthe project, many are

ready to replace themaize, if enough of theproduce can be suppliedin sufficient quantities,and of good enoughquality.

Where previouslyresearch like this wouldhave been carried out byscientists working inisolation, it is was nowshared and developed bythe very people whowould use the results.Involving different groupsis a unique approach toconducting research. MsLaxmi Thummuru, aSenior Researcher atCRISP (Centre forResearch on Innovationand Science Policy),explains that "There washardly any interactionbetween the public andprivate sectors because oftheir divergence inmandates. The publicsector would not think ofprofits, which the privatesector invests in."

As a result of thecoalition approach,research conducted hasbeen taken up by the verypeople it was aimed at. DrShambu Prasad, formerDirector of CRISP agrees:“An advantage of thecoalition is that partnersunderstand each other'sneeds much earlier.Individual sorghumfarmers are not able tomeet demand. Aninteresting thing abouthaving an industry in thecoalition is that it hasincreased bargainingpower with regard topublic policy, whichfarmers usually do nothave the potential to do.”The project is now beingup-scaled in two othercountries.

Behind the Market

25


Behind the Market

26

Sorghum Farmer: Mr NageswararaoMadanena

Voluntarily I keepall the seedswhich I am given

by the project, as I wasselected as the person tocollect them. I then givethem to the farmerslocally. Whenever a

farmer wants the seed,then I give it to them. Ican see someimprovements with theyield of the sorghumnow. We came to knowabout these seedsthough the workshopand decided that wewould try it. We pay forthe seeds from those wecollect it from.

Sorghum Farmer: Mr Vulli Sharanaiah

Iam farming in mylocal district ofMahbub Nagar. My

family is very big as I livewith my brother. Totally,we have twenty membersin our family, and we haveforty acres of land. I havebeen growing sorghumsince my forefathers’time. If you compare withmaize, the sorghum is aneasy crop. Our staple foodis sorghum only. If itrains during the earlystages of the graindevelopment, then wehave problems withmould. As we came toknow that these sorghumgrains are being used in

the poultry industry as analternative to maize, nowwe are much interested togrow sorghum in thisarea with managementfor a more marketablesurplus. We have beentaking the crop togetherat one time. This reducesthe problems with thecrop. With improvedcultivars, we have beengetting betterproductivity and higherreturns. After seeing thebenefits of this we willcontinue the process forother crops also in thefuture. Some officerscame and gave us someseed, and at first we weresceptical about them. Wethought that we would tryit to see the benefits in

the first year. Now, manyfarmers are interested togrow this hybridsorghum, and we havegrown to three hundredfarmers using these seeds.We have seen thepotential of the crop.

Interviews conducted withstakeholders in India

Sorghum farmer in Mahbub Nagar

Growing sorghum

Our staple food is sorghum only. If it rains during the earlystages of the grain development, then we have problemswith mould.


Behind the Market

27

Workshop with sorghum farmers in Mahbub Nagar

testing egg yolk colour at ANGRAU

Sorghum Farmer: Mr Gantla Mallesh Yadav

Earlier, we used togrow localvarieties of

sorghum and, after theintroduction of thisproject, we have beengrowing improvedcultivars for the lastthree years. We havebeen able to producemore surplus which we

can sell. We have beenselling the surpluscollectively to thepoultry feedmanufacturers and, afterforming into a group, ourbargaining power hasincreased to such anextent that we canbargain for a better price.Before, the traders didnot care for us as wewere individual farmers.Our families have also

benefited from this. Myearlier apprehension ofgrowing sorghum haschanged. If were able toget still better prices inthe market, we couldincrease our land in thefuture. In earlier days, wewere only concernedwith our fodder needs,and consumption in thehome, and these twothings we kept in mindwhen growing sorghum.

Visiting Scientist, ICRISAT: Dr Gurava Reddy

Sorghum is viewed asa subsistence crop,but we have

explored the industrialdemand for sorghum inthe poultry feed industry,and we have found thatthere are other uses for it.If you take account of thegrowth of the poultryindustry in India, this hasgood potential. Farmershave been using localvarieties of sorghum, butthis needs to be tackledwith new technology atthe farmer level to linkthe farmers to the market.The coalition hasexplored the opportunityfor mouldy sorghum inpoultry feed. Though thepoultry feedmanufacturers have beenusing sorghum for manyyears, the amount ofsorghum in the feed has

been at a minimum level.During the research, itwas found that the levelsof aflatoxins in thesorghum is at minimumlevel and does not causeharm to the bird growth.These findings haveshown the poultryindustry that they canuse sorghum in the feed.Members of the coalitionhave been included at theinitial stages, throughoutthe project, and aftercompletion in informaldiscussions. Now that theindustry is convincedwith the results, theavailability of sorghumneeds to be increased. Wehave been emphasisingthat the cycle is onlycomplete when themarket has been found,and that link has beenfound here. Through thisexperience, farmers canuse what they know toexplore other industries.

Freelance Consultant,ICRISAT: Ms Emma Crewe

This project wasextremelyinnovative in the

way that people haveworked together. All thekey stakeholders had aninterest in it reallyworking. They had veryregular meetings, theytalked to each otherwhen they needed to onthe phone. They dividedthe tasks so that thepeople who were theexperts were only

dealing with theirexpertise. ICRISATformed a coalition notonly with the privatesector, but also withfarmer representatives,sorghum growers, andpotential buyers. Thepoultry manufacturesand farmers, they felt,could be persuaded touse larger quantities ofthe sorghum, if theycould convince themthat it was still healthyfor the chickens. Theyfound five mainpartners, who sat down

and planned the project.They were clear thatICRISAT should be theleading partner, andthey jointly planned theexperiments onsorghum. ICRISAT waswell aware that theycould not waste the timeof these partners, andthey would have beenrisking the investment ofpoultry industry unlessthey could provide themwith convincingevidence that thesorghum was just asgood.

All the key stakeholders had an interest in it really working.They had very regular meetings, they talked to each otherwhen they needed to on the phone.


Behind the Market

28

Senior Scientist, ANGRAU:Dr Rajashekher Reddy

My role is toconduct thepoultry trials.

We have conductedexperiments utilisingsorghum. As maize iscostly, we have trieddifferent cultivars toinclude in the poultryfeeds. We prepared thediets with differentlevels of sorghum inreplacement of maize.

The results indicatedthat it performed insome cases better, interms of food efficiency,than maize, as it hashigher levels of protein.aflatoxins were analysed,and low levels of toxinswere indicated. At thesame time, tanninswhich are growth-depressing were also low,even at completereplacement of maizewith sorghum. Westarted at different levels

to study the performanceof the birds. The problemwith the sorghum feed isthat it makes the eggyolk paler, but it is onlyan aesthetic issue. If wecan include some organicor chemical substance tomake the colour moreyellow, then that isbetter. At the moment,we are using the plantextract Stylosanthesesfruticosa to alter thecolour of the meat andeggs of the chickens.

Poultry Farmer: Mr C. Kanaka Reddy

We have beenusingsorghum,

only five to tenpercent in the feed.Sorghum is lessavailable than maizeand, although maizeand sorghum are thesame energy-wise,there are differentperceptions. Thepoultry farmers thinkthat in sorghum there

are other toxins.Farmers will notlisten to us, theydon’t want to take therisk. They think theywill not get a pricefor their sorghum ormaize. There aresmall plots andmechanisation is notused in the farmer'sfields. Farmers havebeen trained to usesorghum as asubstitute to thepoultry farmers forthe future.

General Secretary, AndhraPradesh Poultry Federation:Mr C. Janarehan Rao

Irepresent twenty-fivethousand layer andbroiler farmers of

Andhra Pradesh state.The problem that mostpoultry farmers face iscereal availability. Wedepend on maize only atthe moment, and maizeavailability isproblematic. Thesorghum is not soavailable, and we use itaccording to what isavailable. There are twotypes of feed required bythe birds at differentages. After fifteen days,we change to a differenttype of food. We areready to buy any amountof sorghum if it is a goodprice, between eight toten percent cheaper thanmaize, and of sufficientquantity and quality.

Seed availability is also aproblem. Seed is beingprovided throughICRISAT, and quality ofthe sorghum hasincreased in the ruralareas. As the smallfarmers are poor, theyare not in the position tomake a good qualityproduct. With theproject, dryers arehelping the quality forpoultry feed. Theconcerns for us aresufficient quality,quantity and the price.We did think thatsorghum was inferior tomaize in terms of energylevels but, with researchconducted by scientistsin the coalition, theseapprehensions havegone, as we have seenthe results. Sorghum canreplace maize onehundred percent, and weare ready to purchasewhat they can provide.

Sorgum feed for chicks Sorgum crop

Poultry feed trials at ANGRAU

We did think that sorghum was inferior to

maize in terms of energy levels but, with

research conducted by scientists in the

coalition, these apprehensions have gone, as

we have seen the results.


Behind the Market

29

General Manager, JanakiFeeds: Mr Bayasagar Rao

About eightypercent of ourproduce goes to

the poultry farmers ofAndhra Pradesh. We arecurrently replacingsorghum with maize inparts, and it is equallygood. Generally, there isa mind-set with thefarmers that maize isbetter. Scientifically itis proved that energylevels are the same insorghum, so I think thatthings are changing. Ican use it one hundredpercent, but we have toprove it to others, and Ithink that it will takesome more time. Mostpoultry farmers areseeing the change, butthey look at thecommercial value. Thesmaller farmers don'twant to take any risks.We conducted the trialsin our farms onceICRISAT had conductedthe seminars, and thenthe replacement startedspreading. I attended aseminar, where theresults were displayedto the farmers, and Ithink that helped thefarmers to accept it.There were questionsraised over theconcerns. The future isthere, but availabilitywe need to see. Thequantities are quitesmall. The traders donot take any risksbecause they know thequality that we accept,and that it will berejected if it is not theright quality. We cannotget supplies from smallfarmers because thequality is not so good.

Agricultural Expert,Federation of Farmers’Associations: Mr K.M. VaraprasadaReddy

Ihave been workingwith ICRISAT and theFFA [Federation of

Farmers’ Associations,Andhra Pradesh]. I workwith farmers in the ruralareas. I am conductingtraining programmeswith farmers on pesticide

uses and appropriateuses of fertilisers. I tellthem what to use withcertain seeds and crops;they often do not knowabout the treatment andits benefits. Initially, thefarmers have expressedconcerns about higher-yielding varieties ofsorghum. They had theirown ideas about it, andthey thought thecultivars were not goodfor the cattle. We have

been able to prove themwrong, as the newvarieties are of betterquality. Farmers oftensay that new varietiesneed more water and aremore expensive. But theyield is almost double.Technology has beengiven by ICRISAT, and Iam the person who hasbeen transferring thetechnology to farmers.ICRISAT linked with thepoultry manufacturers

Janaki Feeds. Theypurchase sorghum seeddirectly from farmers.Prior to this, farmers soldthe produce in themarkets and thetransportation costs arehigh. The poultry feedmanufacturers who arepart of this coalition,have been linked toreduce the middlemen.

Vice-President, Federation ofFarmers’ Associations,Andhra Pradesh: Mr Akkineni BhavaniPrasad

The object of ourfederation is toempower the

farmers, to improve theirlivelihood, and to makethem moreknowledgeable in theagricultural sector. Indiais basically anagricultural country, andmore than eighty percentof farmers are small andmarginal in nature. Whenwe started, we found thatthe farmers were notgetting quality seeds,they were not gettingcredit from institutionslike banks, and the lastthing is that they werenot able to market theirproduce properly. A lot ofmoney was wasted on themiddleman structure. TheFFA came into contactwith ICRISAT, and werealised that if theresearch community and

the farmers worktogether, better resultscan be achieved. Thesorghum farmers selectedfor the project are mostlysmall holders who havecultivated only nativevarieties of sorghum. Inthe initial stage, seventy-four farmers in twodistricts have beenidentified and supplied bycultivars developed byICRISAT. The yield hasimproved and, in theprocess, we could bringthe farmers to worktogether, and make themunderstand that this willget better results. Theywere also linked bysupplying the product tothe poultry federation. Inthe traditional context,every farmer is anindependent worker - ingrowing the crops, inselling - but, in thisproject, we made themunderstand theimportance of collectivecultivation and decisionsof selling and buyinginputs.

Mahbub Nagar village

The poultry feed manufacturers who are part of this coalition havebeen linked to reduce the middlemen.


30

Behind the Market

Linking tribal communitieswith markets in India


The state of Orissais denselycovered with

forests and hillyterrain. It is populatedwith an ethnic groupknown as Sauras, whomake up some of India'spoorest people, livingbelow the officialpoverty line. The area isrich in horticulturalproduce, like pineapplesor mangoes, and theseare grown by localsmall-scale farmers.Bad road infrastructuremeans that farmerscannot transport theirproduce to a reliablemarket, and as theycannot store theirproduce, it goes badwithin a matter of days.

As a result of theseconstraints, manyfarmers remainisolated, and unable totap into the potentiallyhigh prices forhorticultural goods.Traders often takeadvantage of thesituation, and becausefarmers have noalternative, they areforced to sell at a verylow price. Mr MohanbhuYea is a communityworker, and explainsthe problem: "Wheneveryou pick a fruit, you getproblems with it on thesecond and third daysafter picking. Have youheard of distress sell?At one time the tradersstopped coming here.Everything we had wascompletely lost."

The research partner ofthe coalition is OUAT,the Orissa University ofAgriculture andTechnology. UniversityDean, Dr Mohnty,

emphasises that allcoalition partners sharea common goal: "Wewere all interested inprojects which have asocial impact,particularly the tribalcommunities." Theuniversity worked todevelop methods ofstorage and technologywhich are affordableand easy to use in localconditions.

Scientists at theuniversity workedtogether with a localgrass root organisation,the Center forCommunityDevelopment CCD. IDEIhad previously workedwith this organisation,and they had a stronglink with localcommunities. CCD wasalready involved informing and supportingwomen's Self-HelpGroups in isolatedareas.

The universitydeveloped a technique,osmo-dehydration,which would dry thefruits, together withother techniques likejuice extraction andpickle-making, whichadd value to the freshproduce.

CCD invited localcommunity groups tovisit the university, andlearn these newmethods of value-addition. Groups madeup of young womentravel long distances toreach the university. MsJanaki Nayak, a fruitprocessor explains why:"Even though some ofus are educated, we didnot know how to go into

business using our ownproduct. We pass overmany hills to get to theuniversity sometimes,but we do go there tolearn."

Technologies like juiceextractors andpineapple corers aredemonstrated in thelaboratory. Groups areprovided with these atsubsidised cost by CCDwho holddemonstrations inisolated regions like theGajapati district, wherethe project wasimplemented and whereCCD is based. MrsKalpana Rayaguru, anAssistant ResearchEngineer at theuniversity comments:"The ladies that we seein the villages don'tprocess, they sell freshfruits. We feel that wehave given themtechnology that theycan use."

In order to ensure thata market was found forthe semi-finishedproducts, IDEI invitedother companies to jointhe coalition, whichwould be able toidentify a market. SriJagannathMerchandising Ltd. isone such company, andManaging Director, P.K. Tripathy, observes:"There was hugepotential, not met bylocal production. Wefound it a goodexperience workingtogether with the publicand private sector."

Selling the processedfood has raised issues ofquality control, whichbuyers request.

Hygiene and packagingare of majorimportance, and groupshave been trained inhygienic handling andpreparation. MrMiharramjam Sahoo isan assistant food micro-biologist. "If thesethings are entering themarket, it is importantto reduce hygieneproblems, which thefarmers don't knowabout." Suchconsiderations arenecessary to sellproducts of highquality, and to get thebest prices.

Many cooperatives areselling their produce tocompanies like ArrenFoods and OMFED. Butthere is still a problemwith supply to thesemarkets, as volumesproduced by thecooperatives are verylow, and manycompanies only buy inbulk. Local markets donot provide competitiveprices, and badinfrastructure makes itimpossible to goelsewhere. CCD haveapplied for a processingunit from the localauthorities, yet to beapproved, to scale uptheir production so thatlarger companies willinvest in their business.

Knowledge about themarket has beenimportant for thefarmers. The projectcoordinator of CCD, MrDhanuenjaya Patnik,notes some changesthat have taken place:"Now the groups arebargaining, and theyare asking: 'What is themarket, and what is it

doing?' We pushed themto know this." Groupshave offered women inparticular anopportunity to becomeentrepreneurs, givingthem the power to saveand invest in healthcare and education.

CCD has been workingwith local groups likethe Gajapati womenSelf Help Cooperativesfor a long time, not juston agricultural issues,but also on genderissues and training inmicro-finance. There isa relationship of trustthat exists betweenmembers of the localcommunity, and theorganisation. Farmershave better bargainingpower. Mrs Kuri BeharDulhe says: "The pricesof our produce are fixedby us and not themerchants. We feelmore in control, and wealso have more identityin our families."

Constraints such as badinfrastructure and lackof processing facilitiesmean that market linksare unstable. Despitethis, cooperativescontinue to worktogether to build theirbusinesses and invest insupplying localmarkets.

Behind the Market

31


Behind the Market

32

Research Engineer, OUAT: Dr Md. Khalid Khan

We are aresearch anddevelopment

organisation. We look atpineapple, which wehave a huge quantity ofin Gajapati District,where two varieties aregrown: Giant Kew andQueen varieties. TheQueen variety aresmaller and sweeter,and they are theimproved variety. Whathappens is that tribalpeople are exploited bythe middlemen, theyhave no idea about howto develop value-addedproducts. We, with IDEIand CCD, work togetherto help tribal people getsome more profit out ofthis. I was invited to aworkshop organised byIDEI in Hyderabad,where we all discussed

the problem. Wedeveloped the project toimprove the Giant Kewvariety, which is sour innature, and developedosmo-dehydratedpineapple slices. Thetechnology has to besimple to use, and wehave developed this andtaught them thepractices, so that easilyand quickly they canremove the outer skin.Then we have developeda corer to remove thehard core. The ring, ifdried in hot air, is not ofa good quality for themarket. It is also sour.So, we prepare sugarsyrup to make thepineapple sweeter. Thenwe remove thepineapple rings fromthe syrup, and dry it.They are now gettingtwenty-two rupees,where the freshpineapple is two rupees.

Assistant Food Micro-biologist, OUAT: Mr Miharramjam Sahoo

Iam a foodtechnologist, so I havebeen developing ideas

on how to storehorticultural produce. Ialso look at marketing.The basic problem is thatthe farmers are very small

producers, so we do notget the best quality. Whenit comes to teachinghygiene, this is importantand we have to bewatchful about cleaning,using gloves andsterilisation. If thesethings are entering themarket, it is important toreduce hygiene problems,which they don't know

about. They are gettingthis, as we transfer it totheir local languages. Weshow them thoughpictures, lectures anddemonstrations. From amicrobiologist’s point ofview you have to take alot of care over thesethings. Packaging is alsoimportant, and we havealso looked at that.

Interviews conducted withstakeholders in India

Horticultural farmers are shown how to de-core pineapples


Behind the Market

33

Fruit Processor: Ms Janaki Nayak

Igrow horticulturalfruits, and I also dothe household work. I

am a member of the SelfHelp Group. There is anNGO called CCD in myarea, and through them Icame to know about thisgroup. Even though someof us are educated, wedid not know how to gointo business using ourown product. We have topass over many hills toget to the university

sometimes, but we do gothere to learn. We havehad some training free ofcost, so that we couldknow about bettertechnology andcultivating. Afterlearning this new kind ofpreparation, we havestarted noticing adifference. We havestarted moving aroundfrom our villages, whichwe did not do before, andwe have noticed adifference betweenselling the fresh productand the new ones.

Community Leader, CCD:Mr Mohanbhu Yea

Ijoined CCD so that Icould learn newthings in a broader

way. We established alink with the bank, andwe have been takingloans so that we canstart a small business.As a group we arereleasing individual

land and workingtogether. It is because oforganisation CCD,getting a loan ispossible. When we arenot in a group, thengetting a loan is verydifficult. We have beenmaking jams, juice andother things which wesell locally, as themarket is still not verygood. This is one of the

things that we want towork on. Whenever youpick a fruit, you start toget problems with it onthe first and third daysafter picking. It has tobe disposed of in thisway. Have you heard ofdistress sell? At onetime the traders stoppedcoming here. Everythingwe had was completelylost.

Horticultural Processor: Mrs Kumari Karjee

Ithink there is moreunity now. We don’treally think of

differences, we are allone. The farm that weget the fruits from isabout three kilometres,and we come here bywalking. When the stockis more, then we havemore work. We alsocultivate and plantcrops, sometimes withour parents. We haveenough for ourselves ofthe other things, but weprepare cashew andtamarind for the market.

Actually, before thecommunities came inhere, we did not knowwhat the juice was!Sometimes the traderswould not come here,and what we wereharvesting would bethrown by the roadside,as the traders would goto the other villagesfirst. The groups told uswhat profit we could get,and they told us aboutvalue-addition. Out ofthis money, we havebeen able to spend somemore on health and thepurchasing of ploughs.We are also able to rentland.

Extracting lemon juice

Fresh pineapples for market

SHGs processing fruits at CCD


Behind the Market

34

Secretary, CCD: Mr A. Jagannadha Raju

IDEI invited us to cometo workshops to workwith the CPHPProgramme; they alsofound the potentialpartners for us to workwith; then we workedtogether on thatobjective. They made astudy of this area, andchose it to work in, andwe invited them so that

we could learn together.We have been trying tomotivate the communityto find some linkages toanother market. Therewas a lot of demandwhen we startedworking here about tenyears ago. OMFED is anorganisation whichmarkets some of ourhorticultural produce,which has come outsuccessfully, and wehave sold juices and

other things to them.When we started thesetrials of linking to themarket, trademarks andlicensing have been aproblem, together withcommunication, whentraders cannot reachhere. On a larger scaleor for export, we needother certification andlicensing, which is aproblem that we face.We need a processingunit here.

Area Manager, InternationalDevelopment EnterpriseIndia: Mr Shyam Sunder Barik

In the southern partsof Orissa, tribals livein the hills and forest

in the most difficultconditions. There are novalue-addition facilities,and during peak harvesttime, the produce goesrotten. Commercialbusiness is moresustainable, and so wetried to develop this

process, which was longas it is not easy. We triedout technology, wetested in the market,and took samples to sell.It took time to convincethem. They wantedsamples of the juice totest in their laboratory,and were only interestedif they found the qualitygood. We supply toArren Food, who tooksamples of the cashewand tamerind, to explorefor an internationalmarket. OMFED were

also interested. Lastyear, we supplied onetonne of pineapple andlemon juice, extractedby the women’s groupmembers, who utilisedthe technical skills givento them by OUAT. Theycould supply a semi-produced product. Thegrowers found itdifficult, but simpletechniques like pickle-and jam-making theycould do very well. CCDis taking the step oftrying to find a

processing unit. Demandhas been high from theproducers, as they wanta regular source ofincome, and a good pricewhich they can supplywithout being exploitedby the middlemen. It isdifficult for them to selldirectly to themanufacturing unit.First, they have to getorganised through thefederation and so theycan interact with themarket chain. OUAT willgo to the field and try it

out, and the processcontinues even after theproject has finished. Theindividuals cannot havedirect access to themarket. CCD helped inother areas, in healthand education. A singleindividual cannot dothis. We came acrossdifferent stakeholders.For example, we felt theneed for packagingmaterials, so we lookedfor an agency to printand develop it.

Weekly market place in Orissa

At work in the lab at OUAT


Behind the Market

35

Horticultural Farmer: Mr Ramo Mondal

Ihave brought lemonsto the market today,about one hundred

and twenty from my tree.My farm is quite far awayfrom here, and I come tothe market whenever myfruit is ripe. I have only

got four rupees for mylemons today. I am nothappy about this, but ithappens! I have an ideaabout what I will getbefore I come, sometimesI get more, another week Iget less, because I'm notsure what the price willbe when I get here. Eachindividual has different

types of lemons, which iswhy I don't come in agroup. I am not aware ofany juice factories aroundhere, I have not heard ofthat. Transport is thebiggest problem, as I haveto come from the hill topand carry the lemons onmy head.

Food Processor: Ms Susma Bhuya

Ihave learnt how tomake jam, squashand jelly and pickle.

Earlier, we did not knowabout processing. As a

group, we buy together,and sell processed food.Last year, we suppliedjuice to OMFED. I alsoknow of OUAT, and Ihave been there to lookat the technology andlearn. There is still a

problem with themarket, and we are notable to expand. Earlier,we were depending onour brothers andparents. Now we aretaking small initiatives,and we are feeling

independent. We discussproblems with thevillage. I have one sonwho is six years old. Heis now going to school.We are promotingeducation for girls inthe village. I have sold

some produce today,fifty pineapples, and Isold at five rupees. Ithink that I got a goodprice today. The seasonis coming up so we arenot sure if we will get agood price now.

Community Representative : Mr Gaurango Gomononga

CCD is an NGO workingwith much commitment,and we have been able tomobilise the community.The promotion ofhorticulture crops hashelped, as before we usedto grow little, which weused to carry on ourheads. We are forest-dwellers, and we do notknow about the market.We know about thisproblem, but at themoment we do not havean alternative. Local areadevelopment is very slow.In the future, I think thatpeople should be trainedin value-addition, so thatthroughout the year weare able to produce andhave an income. We haveseen the visible efforts ofpeople in the area,through groups, and wehave belief in them.

Horticultural Processor: Mrs Kuri Behar Dulhe

Right now, we havesome financialcontrol. The

identity of the villagershas also increasedbecause we havefinancial control. We alsohave more of an identityin our families. We followthe seasons of thedifferent fruits, so wealways have something,and now it is thepineapple. We arelooking to obtain a smallprocessing unit, so wecan develop what wehave here to produce allkind of products andfinish them here. Theseprices are fixed by us andnot the merchants. Wefeel more in control.

SHGs in Gajapati District, Orissa

Horticultural produce grows in abundance in the forests of Orissa

Right now, we have

some financial control


Behind the Market

36

Partners for InnovationMaize marketing in Uganda:

Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)

Natural Resources Institute (NRI) The University of Greenwich, UK

Farmer Representatives of Kiboga District sub-county

Afro-Kai Limited

Buganda Cultural and Development Foundation (BUCADEF)

Appropriate Sustainable Development Initiative (ASDI)

Department of Agriculture

Kiboga District Authority

Rural transport in Kenya:

Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies (KENDAT)

Practical Action

Silsoe Research Institute

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

University of Warwick

International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRDT)

International Labour Organization (ILO)

The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad

Brooke Hospital for Animals (BHA)

Fruits of the Nile in Uganda:

Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)

Natural Resources Institute (NRI) The University of Greenwich, UK

Tropical Wholefoods (TW)

Target Packaging (TP)

FM Foods

Post Harvest International

Fruits of the Nile, Uganda

The Patience Pays Group

The Nazigo Group

Sorghum farmers and poultry feed in India:

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU)

Regional Agricultural Research Station

Federation of Andhra Pradesh Farmers’ Association (FFA)

Andhra Pradesh Poultry Federation (APPF)

Janaki Feeds

Linking tribal communities with markets in India:

International Development Enterprises (India) (IDEI)

Centre for Community Development (CCD)

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT)

Omfed

Arren Foods


Behind the Market

37

ContactsEast Africa

Dr Dan Kisauzi and Ms Agnes Nayiga

Regional Coordinators

Crop Post-Harvest Programme

Plot 209 Mawanda Road

Old Mulago Hill

P.O.Box 22130

Kampala

Uganda

Tel: +256 41 530696

Tel: +256 77708593

Tel: +256 77518554

Fax: +256 41 530696

Emails: [email protected] and

[email protected]

Dr Ambrose Agona

Kawanda Agricultural Research

Institute

P.O.Box 7065, Kampala

Uganda

Tel: +256 41 567708

Email: [email protected]

Dr Pascal G. Kaumbutho

Kenya Network for Dissemination of

Agricultural Technologies (KENDAT)

P.O.Box 61441

Nairobi

Kenya

Tel: +254 2 766939

Email: AfricaOnline.co.ke

India

Mr Shyam Sunder Barik

International Development

Enterprises (India)

A/6, Nilkantha Nagar

Unit – VIII

Bhubaneswar – 751 012

India

Tel: + 91-674-2561727

Emails: [email protected]

Mr A.J. Raju,

Secretary, Centre for Community

Development (CCD)

Pathapatnam Road

Parlakhemundi

Dist. Gajapati

Orissa

India

Pin- 761 200

Tel: (06815) 222 516


Dr Gurava Reddy

International Crop Research Institute

for the Semi-Arid Tropics

(ICRISAT)

Patancheru 502 324

Andhra Pradesh

India

Tel: + 91 40 23296161


United Kingdom:

Kate Sebag and Adam Brett

Tropical Wholefoods (TW)

7 Stradella Rd

Herne Hill

London,

SE24 9HN

UK

Tel: (+044) 020 7737 0444


Mr Tim Donaldson,

Programme Manager

Crop Post-Harvest Programme

(CPHP)

Natural Resources International Ltd

Park House, Bradbourne Lane

Aylesford, Kent

ME20 6SN

UK

Tel: (+044) 1732 878675



Behind the Market

38

Acknowledgements

This publicationwas funded by theDepartment for

InternationalDevelopment, throughits Crop Post-HarvestResearch Programme,managed by NaturalResources InternationalLimited. Design andprinting was by DaveMoxey at the ClockedWork Design Agency,UK.

Sincere thanks are dueto all members of theproject coalitions in EastAfrica and India, for

their organisation andsupport. Thispublication would nothave been possiblewithout theircommitment andspontaneity. Thanks aredue to staff at theNatural ResourcesInstitute (NRI), theKenya Network forDissemination ofAgriculturalTechnologies (KENDAT),Tropical Wholefoods andFruits of the NIle, theKawanda AgriculturalResearch Institute(KARI), the

International CropResearch Institute forthe Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT), and theInternationalDevelopment EnterpriseIndia (IDEI).

A special thanks toCPHP Regional Co-ordinators Dr DanKisauzi and Ms AgnesNayiga in Uganda, andto Dr Shambu Prasadand Ms Emma Crewe inIndia, for their support.A special thanks also toproject leaders, whoorganised transport and

itinerary arrangements:Dr Pascal Kaumbutho,Mr Fred Ochieng and MrEston Murithi, DrAmbrose Agona, MrNathan Komunda, MrShyam Sunder Barik andMr A.Jagannadha Raju,Dr Gurava Reddy and MrMuralidhar.

Grateful thanks areowed to all those whohave expressed theirviews and for theirwillingness to answerquestions. Thispublication aims toreflect their

achievements. Last butnot least, a sincerethanks to all those whohave contributed to theproduction of thispublication, and theaccompanying film: MsKaren Wilkin and MrTim Donaldson(Programme Manager forCPHP), Mrs ChristineWheeler, Ms BenedikteSiderman- Wolter, DrVino Graffham, MrsPenelope Silverside, MrJerry Sewell, MrNicholas Webber, MrPhilip Barnett and MrSteve Platt.


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Behind the Market - GOV UK...market prices – what any given produce is being bought for on that day. However, mobile phones are expensive and often not an option for small-scale