The Significance of market access and price on income and food security of small holder vegetable farmers
Student name: Mr Diwakar K.C
Guide: Dr Chubamenla Jamir
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: Lutheran World Federation Nepal
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Prabin Manandhar
Abstract: This study examines the impact of the market access and price on the income and
food security of smallholder vegetable farmers. To study this, three Villages viz.
Bhattedada, Bhardev and Devichour of Lalitpur district was chosen as study site.
Focus group discussions were conducted in each village, which further helped to
identify four market channels and all the marketing agents involved in these
channels. The findings revealed that the income of small holder farmers have been
increased improving their purchasing power and their affordability to consume
food of their choice enhancing food security. The growth of income was highest for
those farmers who were selling directly to consumers and lowest among those who
were operating in longest channel comprising of trader, wholesaler, retailer and
consumer. This suggests that involvement of larger number of stakeholders have
redistributed profit and has failed the transmission of price to the farmers.
Moreover, market power was concentrated among these market agents who would
decide the farm-gate price and tend to take maximum share of profit making system
informal, imperfect and inefficient. This was demonstrated by profit cost ratio,
which was maximum for market agents (>200) and lowest for farmers (<30).
However, such issues have not garnered enough attention from concerned
organizations. Intensive key informant interviews with experts from concerned
government, I/NGOS, and private sector disclosed that food security and
agriculture development programs have recently started to emphasize linking
farmers to potential buyers but have failed to recognize farmers’ bargaining power
and their profit share. Nevertheless, increasing farmer share of profit and
bargaining power is difficult task and requires robust research to identify effective
strategies that tend to transmit consumers’ price to the farmers making them equal
beneficiaries as other marketing agent. Only in such situations, the farmers will be
motivated in continuing vegetable farming and would be able to earn higher
income that would ensure food security for long term.
Keywords: Small holder farmers, market access, food security, market power, ,
farm-gate price, profit cost ratio.
