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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Operational efficiency of marketing systems as a pre-condition for increased food production at the small farmers' level
Author:Anonymous
Year:1993
Periodical:Rural Progress: Bulletin of the Economic Commission for Africa
Volume:12
Issue:1
Pages:46-57
Language:English
Geographic term:Africa
Subjects:food marketing
small farms
food production
Abstract:Africa is now confronted with a serious food crisis. The number of hungry and malnourished people in Africa as a whole has almost doubled in less than a decade. The irony of Africa's food crisis is the coexistence of food insecurity with abundant natural resources capable of substantially increasing food availability. This paper analyses the main constraints to increased food production in Africa, reviews policy measures taken by African countries to cope with their food crisis and discusses the role of an efficient marketing system and its contribution to increasing food production at the small farmers' level. The marketing approach to economic development in general, and to agricultural development in particular, has not been properly used in Africa. For the majority of small farmers in Africa, inadequate marketing facilities are one of the major constraints on the growth of agricultural production. The marketing of agricultural products, especially food for domestic consumption, offers an excellent opportunity to raise small farmers' income in a sustainable manner. In this regard, the following aspects are vital: policy reorientation with more emphasis on self-help organizations of small farmers and traders, rather than parastatal agencies; the establishment of national agricultural marketing departments and marketing extension services for small farmers and traders; and the adjustment of aid policies to support national marketing systems. Bibliogr.
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