On September 3, 2025, CISANET, with support from the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP-CISANET Member) under the Poverty Reduction of Vulnerable Beneficiaries Through Sustainable Soybean, Sunflower, and Groundnuts Producer Private Partnership project, held a meeting on access to profitable markets among smallholder farmers. The meeting aimed to discuss issues related to contract farming between smallholder farmers and off-takers, identify key challenges farmers face in accessing reliable markets, and discuss possible solutions and policy issues to address the identified market inefficiencies.
While praising DAPP’s intervention and the notable improvement in market access among farmers, participants highlighted issues such as lack of market information to smallholder farmers, the absence of aggregation centers, exclusion of smallholder farmers in stakeholder access to markets dialogues, delays in receiving feedback during price negotiations with formal buyers, untimely purchase of farm produce and delayed payment to farmers after selling their products. They also pointed out policy gaps like weak enforcement of contracts between farmers and off-takers, lack of policy safeguarding mechanisms, rigid bureaucratic processes to reach mutual agreements, unpredictable export bans, and the tendency of some non-governmental organizations to restrict farmers from participating in other interventions implemented by other organizations, which negatively impact market access both locally and internationally. These challenges often compel farmers to sell their produce to local vendors, despite facing problems like the use of unacceptable scales, low selling prices, and a lack of recognition for their efforts, leading to reduced profits.
Addressing these challenges, CISANET members under the access to profitable markets thematic area, along with farmers from Ntchisi and Kasungu districts and district trade officers, emphasized the need for behavior change across all value chains to avoid dubious acts. They stressed the importance of providing smallholder farmers with accurate and timely market information, the need for immediate payment when the farmers sell their produce, and the inclusion of farmers in access to profitable markets dialogues. They also attributed the need for timely purchase of commodities and conducting thorough research to establish simple and clear ways of how the information can be trickled down, ensuring the smooth flow of accurate market data at both local and international levels. The meeting underscored the necessity of coordinated efforts to overcome market inefficiencies and enhance farmers’ profitability through better access to reliable markets.