Assessment of food market structures and their implication to household food security in Rufiji district
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Date
2008
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
This study analyzes food market structure and its implication to household food
security in Rufiji district with particular emphasis on Rufiji Demographic
Surveillance System (RDSS) area. Specifically, the study analyzed existing food
market structures in terms of number and size of marketing agents and marketing
channels for major food products in Rufiji district; analyzed market efficiency of
food products in terms of barrier to entry, vertical integration and market
transparency; derived the implication of existing market structures and efficiency in
terms of household food sufficiency; and proposed policy measures for addressing
food insecurity in Rufiji district. A cross sectional single-visit survey that included
randomly selected representative samples of 153 farmers and 66 food traders residing
in RDSS area was conducted in February 2006. Pre-tested questionnaires were used
to interview the sampled farmers and food traders selected so as to capture issues of
food production and marketing in the area. The results of analysis revealed that (i)
production of food crops for households with food deficit was low compared to
households with food surplus; (ii) more than 90% of the households accessed most of
their food items from food retail markets; (iii) in many areas food markets were
concentrated with few traders who operate under diseconomies of scale; (iv) the
entry major barrier faced by food traders is lack of access to capital; (vi) traders who
integrate vertically offered processed food products at lower price; and (vii)
correlation analysis between marketing margin and selling price of food products
showed that changes in food prices were passed by traders from one marketing
channel to another without significantly increasing their marketing margins. Based
on the findings, the study recommended that (i) Food crop production should beiii
increased by using appropriate modem technologies such as fertilizers, tractors and
improved seeds to enable farmers to be food self-sufficient and at the same time
increase marketed surplus; (ii) Traders should be sensitized by local government
through district cooperative officers to form Savings and Credit Cooperative
Societies (SACCOS) as an alternative to formal banks; (iii) The local authority in
collaboration with development partners in the district should adopt the approach
used by Rufiji Demographic Surveillance System (RDSS) to collect market
information from identified locations in each month so as to monitor movement of
food prices over time and space in order to improve district market information
system.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Food market structures, Food security, Market food product