Abstract
Agricultural market reforms are imperative, given the yearly experiences of small scale farmers in marketing their produce. The outcome of farmers’ efforts has not translated into commensurate income overtime. However, reformative efforts at improving value chain, productivity and market access have culminated into a wide range of technological solutions in the recent times. Efforts should therefore be concentrated on reforms aimed at not only adding value to agricultural products but to the development of market infrastructure and adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) information solutions. These are keys to resolving the chain problems and ensuring enhanced welfare of farmers.The paper recommends that promoting smallholder production of export crops should have beneficial impacts on agricultural production in general and on the food security and income of smallholder farmers in particular. Key words: Agricultural marketing systems, market reforms, farmers and Nigeria.
Highlights
During the past two decades, Nigeria undertook extensive economic reforms to reduce the role of government and increase the role of the market in their economies.Because of the importance of agricultural sector in the country, agricultural market reforms occupied a central place in these liberalization efforts
The reform efforts of the 1980s and late 1990s have generated a positive response in the agricultural sector of Nigeria in particular and Sub- Saharan Africa in general
The reforms focused on eliminating government control and increasing the producer price of tradable agricultural commodities but placed little emphasis on developing the institutions needed to support private sector activity
Summary
During the past two decades, Nigeria undertook extensive economic reforms to reduce the role of government and increase the role of the market in their economies. The reforms were based on two beliefs: that reducing or eliminating state control over marketing would promote private-sector activity and that fostering competitive markets would lead to increased agricultural production. To these ends the reforms included four types of measures: 1. The basic premise of agricultural market reform is that improving the incentive structure for small farmers (in the form of higher prices and well-functioning markets) will generatea positive supply response, increasing both agricultural output and income levels. Cash-crop sectors such as cotton in Benin and Mali, cashew nuts in Mozambique and Tanzania, and coffee inUganda have been among the most responsive to reforms, largely because of higher producer prices, exchange rate liberalization, privatization, infrastructure investment, and improved input supply. Small-scale cocoa and palm oil growers in Nigeria and producers of cashew nuts and tobacco have benefited from higher producer prices thanks to declining marketing margins and the depreciation of the real exchange rate
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