Eusebia Dhliwayo (56), a smallholder farmer working with PELUM Zimbabwe member, Chinyika Community Development Trust in Gutu says smallholder farmers in Gutu are struggling to access good markets for their produce.
“I grew one hectare [of finger millet] and l am expecting to harvest 22 by 50kgs. I want to sell half a tonne at USD 20 per bucket but I don’t have a market yet,” says Eusebia.
She says her intention is to sell her finger millet in Gutu, “I intend to sell here in Gutu to avoid travelling cost,” says Eusebia.
Dr Paul Muchineripi (73) the Director of Chinyika Community Development Trust says smallholder farmers in Chinyika do not have readily available markets to sell their produce.
“In Chinyika we do not have structured markets for our smallholder farmers to sell their surplus and this demotivates farmers from growing crops. For finger millet we tried to work with the Grain Marketing Board but the silo section we were working with collapsed,” says Paul.
“There is no organized structured communication for sharing our produce with possible buyers outside Chinyika and also there is lack of information sharing between farmers with regards to what they have so that they can sell among each other,” adds Paul.
The plight of Eusebia and other smallholder farmers in Chinyika is the plight of all smallholder farmers across the country. This is because markets are centralized in big cities. This forces smallholder farmers to travel long distances to access prominent markets such as Mbare Musika in Harare. In this journey they incur risks, transport costs and many unforeseen huddles.
Witness Dhliwayo (24) an Agricultural Economist and Agricultural Market analyst working with Knowledge Transfer Africa says decentralization of market information is critical for the growth of markets in smaller cities.
“Urban food markets like Mbare have always set benchmark prices for other smaller markets. By decentralizing pricing, data collection and sharing, we are providing a broader decision-making platform so that farmers and consumers do not continue thinking Mbare offers the best price," says Witness.
Witness says this helps farmers to set farm-gate prices for their commodities. “Farmers and consumers should know prices in other markets. This will help farmers to know markets offering peak prices,” he adds.
Charles Dhewa (50), the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Knowledge Transfer Africa says information on markets should reach every farmer.
“We are identifying partners who can help us get this kind of information to every farmer around the country and if we succeed when you walk into Agribank or CBZ you should see an electronic billboard displaying this information the way information on different currencies and their exchange rates is displayed,“ says Charles.
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