Farmers increase maize production after engaging with P4P Malawi. A case study of Francis Mwanza of Chikwatula Farmers Organization

Transcription

1 Farmers increase maize production after engaging with P4P Malawi A case study of Francis Mwanza of Chikwatula Farmers Organization 1.0 Background information of Francis Mwanza s household tobacco. Francis Mwanza is a member to Chikwatula Cooperative which he joined in 2002 through Msumba Club to which he has been a member since Msumba Club is comprised of members from Funachina Village, TA Nthondo and is located 25 kilometres away from Ntchisi District headquarters and where Chikwatula Farmers Organization (FO) rents a warehouse. Francis was born in 1972, is married, has 6 children (2 boys and 4 girls) and cares for two orphans. He grows maize, ground nuts, soya-beans and Francis is married under the patrilineal system in which a wife stays in the husband s homeland. Asked to explain the effect of his marriage system, Francis says: This system strengthens my role as a husband and provides an enabling environment for me to make my wife live to my preferred standards. Furthermore, the wife is more faithful and very cooperative in patrilineal than in matrilineal. Francis explained that FO development in patrilineal system is effective because land owners are men who happen also to be decision makers. Comments from Francis were clear that in the patrilineal system, male dominance is prominent in decision making, ownership and control over resources. Asking Mrs. Francis Mwanza to explain her feelings to patrilineal system, she says: Good marriage is just about how the couple understands and respects each other and this enables things to work well in any circumstance. Mrs. Francis Mwanza could not open up during discussions despite tactful probing, which points to the strong belief, that wives must be subordinate to their husbands. 2.0 Marketing maize through the FO Following a contract WFP signed with Chikwatula Farmers Organization 1 for the supply of maize, Francis contributed 2.3mt (46 bags) from a total harvest of 100 bags in the 2008/09 growing season, 50 of which were for home consumption while 4 bags accounts for storage losses. Francis earned a gross income of MK96,000 2 from one of maize to WFP. Francis however lamented, that his net income was reduced due to other costs incurred as part of marketing activities and these include transport cost which was very exorbitant due to long distance from his household to the FO warehouse. He says: I spent MK12,000 for hiring a pick up to transport my commodity to the FO warehouse, MK2,000 for labour for bagging, 1 Chikwatula FO supplied metric tonnes of maize delivered in two phases (19.1 mt. in February and 21.6 mt. in April 2010) and Francis contributed during the second phase. 2 Equivalent to approximately 640$ at exchange rate of 150MK/1US$ Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 1 of 7

2 loading and off-loading, MK2,000 for fumigation with actellic dust, MK2,760 for new sacks 3 as per advice by the FO management for my 46 bags and MK1,000 for personal transport during follow ups for the payment which involved travelling to FO headquarters. All this excludes my non costed labour in cleaning, bagging the commodity in WFP bags and stacking at the FO warehouse, a process that took one week. When asked reasons for high labour demand for cleaning and grading at the FO warehouse, Francis stated, that quality specifications were not well explained to members before aggregating the commodity and previous experiences of meeting buyer requirements without extra cleaning and grading especially for maize, it was assumed, that WFP specifications would easily be met. Francis, however, mentioned that extra cleaning and grading provided an opportunity for hands-on training to farmers. Having met WFP quality specifications, many FO members are now well aware of good quality maize to fetch good price as opposed to the low quality product that could be sold to the middle men ( doba-dobas 4 ), Francis explains. Francis confirmed, that WFP pays fair price compared to others buyers in the area and this enabled Francis to make more gains from sales to WFP than if he would have sold to vendors. In explaining the ground for joining and maintaining his membership to the FO, Francis says: Through the marketing subcommittee, the FO has been identifying markets as well as facilitating aggregate marketing for members, for example, marketing of groundnuts to NASFAM and soya to other traders. The FO also links members to lending institutions, prominent one being the Malawi Rural Finance Company (MRFC 5 ) from which some members get loan for farm inputs. Francis, however, explained that access to inputs through loans is proving to be a challenge in recent years especially since 2006, because MRFC is providing credit to very few farmers and no other service provider is available to supplement. 3.0 Lessons Learnt from Marketing with WFP Francis expounded that Chikwatula FO and members have learnt a number of lessons from engaging with WFP in marketing and these include undertaking negotiations for commodity price, commodity quality management such as grading and cleaning, fumigating and the importance of signing a contract with any buyer. When there was a delay in payment from WFP, a copy of signed contract was an assurance to us. I believe these lessons will go way in strengthening our FO capacity in marketing, Francis affirms. On price negotiations, Francis acknowledged, that it is the first time in history for smallholder farmers to engage in price negotiations with a buyer and experience has shown that the buyer dictates the price on farmers. Even when we were marketing groundnuts through NASFAM in 2007 and 2008, prices were determined at headquarters and this created tension within the FO, because most farmers wanted MK60 per kilogram and yet the purchasing price was MK45.00 per kilogram, Francis clarifies. Good and reliable weighing scale, 3 Francis however got back his sacks after WFP provided empty sacks to the FO warehouse. The sacks had bag markings of Saudi Arabia. 4 This is a mocking name in vernacular language (Chichewa) given to middlemen. 5 MRFC is a lending institution of farm inputs and cash targeting especially smallholder farmers Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 2 of 7

3 provision of well labelled empty sacks by WFP, bulk payment through FO account were all inspiring practices in marketing with WFP, Francis expresses. On the other hand, I can not underestimate the increased labour demand in processing the commodity to meet WFP quality specifications, Francis acknowledges. We wished if the price was MK50, 000/mt ($331.56/mt) as was proposed by FO members in order to compensate for the extra labour demand in quality management. It was clear from the discussion with Francis that smallholder farmers come up with prices based on who is the buyer and not actually on calculated incurred costs. However, Francis was quick to acknowledge that MK50, 000/mt was higher price than what vendors who are main buyer in the area were offering and no ADMARC depot is buying which farmers anticipate to be paying MK40, 000/mt, as is the minimum farm gate price set by the government. Francis further explained that the condition for aggregating commodity at one FO warehouse attracts huge costs on transportation especially for members from far distances. Poor transport system, demand for upfront payment by transporters besides that the farmer will get payment for the commodity later all affected participation of smallholder farmers in marketing through the FO, Francis stresses. Francis reiterated that delayed payment from WFP was another serious concern for FO members. We learnt that during the first sale to WFP, payment took only four days, therefore, it became a common subject for discussion in the community when three weeks 6 elapsed without payment in the second sale, Francis says. Francis expressed that this to some extent was a root for loss of trust in FO management because members felt that FO management members were busy with personal things thus nobody make an effort to follow up on the payment to WFP. 4.0 Benefits from selling to P4P Francis narrates that he largely depends on farming for livelihood. From marketing agricultural commodities including tobacco, groundnuts and maize, he bought a bicycle, build iron-sheets roofed house and has a maize-mill within his household compound. Asked to explain on crops he grows and markets, he says: My main cash crops in the past ten years have been tobacco, maize and groundnuts. However, prices for maize have been very low making it unreliable income source. Furthermore, markets for maize through Agricultural Development Marketing Cooperation (ADMARC), which used to be a primary buyer, have been unpredictable since Following the downfall of tobacco prices against an increase in inputs and transport costs, Francis says, that he realized, that tobacco needs a substitute as a main source of income. The purchase contract between WFP and Chikwatula FO, therefore, strengthened the need for increasing maize production and crop marketing. In the 2010 growing season, Francis has increased the size of land on which he grows maize from 1.5 hectares to 2.0 hectares resulting to reduction in size of land he grows tobacco. 6 The delay in effecting payment was due to the system error, which occurred due to the transition from manually created Good Received Note (GRN) to system created GRN. It meant cancellation of the manually created GRN for the FO payment. Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 3 of 7

4 Regarding the income generated from maize sales to WFP, Francis states, The money came in a bulk and enabled me to plan very well. I bought five bags of fertilizer at MK5,000 each, paid MK6,000 for examination fees for my sister and school fees amounting to MK8,000 for two terms. Francis said, sales to WFP was made at period (February) when farmers strongly needed cash for inputs, especially fertilizer for top dressing, and when payment for school fees was on required in addition to high demand for farm labour. Following an increase in the size of land for maize, complemented by adequate fertilizer application, Francis experienced a huge increase in maize yield in the 2009/2010 growing season and he says: Though my maize harvest is not yet shelled and bagged, I am sure I have more than 150 bags from which 40 will be for home consumption and remaining 110 for sale. This is a result of bulk sales to P4P which enabled Francis to procure and apply adequate fertilizer. 5.0 Capacity of the FO in Service Delivery In explaining FO capacity in supporting members, Francis said, that focus by the FO management should be on improving access to inputs through linking members to service providers. Francis testified that access to inputs is a major challenge to most FO members. Though with proper planning and budgeting, price increases of farm inputs which most times occur twice or more times per year affect access to inputs by smallholder farmers. Francis further said that input suppliers are located at the district headquarters, 25 Kilometres away and this induces high transport costs. We used to buy fertilizer from Msumba ADMARC depot which is two Kilometres away. However, since 2005 the depot does not stock fertilizer anymore, Francis laments. To address the challenge, Francis suggested that the FO should link up with service providers to support in providing transport facility which members can be hiring. Chikwatula FO has a potential to increase production and marketing volumes because weather and soil are very favourable but transport and poor infrastructure affect largely agricultural production and access to markets visà-vis agri-business. To address the challenge vis-à-vis long distances to the FO warehouse, Francis proposed that there is need for the FO to identify more warehouses. We have a good warehouse within our area located at the headquarters of Traditional Authority Nthondo, just 2.5 kilometres away. The warehouse was constructed by World Vision International and is currently managed by community leaders. This is appropriate collection point for members from this area if WFP accepts to collect commodity from different points, Francis suggests. Francis explained that at this nearby warehouse, commodities would be transported on pushbikes and costs would be very minimal or could be done by family members themselves. Asked about taking up leadership position, Francis testified that he would willingly take up the leadership if opportunity arises so that he can contribute effectively to FO business. Among others, I would strengthen meetings with members and also ensure that HIV/AIDS is integrated into FO activities. Orphan-hood has increased in recent years due to the impact of HIV/AIDS and this is affecting agricultural productivity, Francis affirms. In explaining his point, Francis pointed out that the orphans increase household Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 4 of 7

5 size and affect consumption and surplus for sale. This, therefore, affects income for the household. 6.0 Communication and Information Management Poor communication from FO management to members is another major issue affecting participation of members in FO business, Francis explains. He testified, that members were informed of WFP and FO contract and the need to aggregate commodity just three days before the deadline. This made it difficult for most members to raise money for transport and new sacks. As regards information about quality, Francis explains: The only message we got was, that maize should be of good quality, but no clear specifications were provided. Francis further lamented that FO management hardly ever hold meetings with members especially in far-off distances to the FO headquarters. To improve communication, Francis suggests that quarterly meetings by the FO management would encourage members and enable them become informed of any developments. WFP participation and addressing farmers in such meetings would also be very inspiring. For example, when payment for maize collected by WFP delayed, we expected WFP to come and explain to all of us, Francis stresses. Francis further suggests that communication amongst the FO members and between WFP and FO should be through letters and not just verbal as the case now. We do not have a community radio in our village. Otherwise it would have been just the right communication channel, Francis concludes. 7.0 Marketing Experience Francis clarified that in the past years especially before 2005, Msumba ADMARC depot was a reliable buyer for different sorts of agricultural commodities and it was easy for women to participate in marketing because of short distance. In recent years, only middle men are buying within Nthondo area and they buy from farmers using fixed scales to under-report weight. Francis further explained that in some cases, negotiations are undertaken for the middle men to collect commodity and pay later. Through this process, most farmers have been robbed off their commodities. My neighbour, for example, has just received her payment for groundnuts collected sometime back and payment has been done after police intervention. Just imagine how this affected her plan to procure farm inputs in the 2009/10 farming season? Francis expresses concern. 8.0 Increasing Productivity and Marketable Surplus This area receives good rainfall and the weather is very favourable for maize production, Francis expresses with smiles. Francis confirmed that many smallholder farmers in Nthondo area produce more than enough volumes of maize for home consumption hence have surplus for sale year in year out. However, storage losses for maize are very high in this village due to poor storage management which include no fumigation, storage facilities prone to pest infestation and with no water proof. Some farmers obviously get low yields because of late planning due to lack of access to inputs especially improved seed and fertilizer, Francis says. He stressed that early buying Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 5 of 7

6 by WFP especially between July and September would reduce storage and quality losses for maize and would enable farmers to timely procure inputs. 9.0 Participation of women in agri-business Regarding participation of a spouse in farm business, Francis stated that his wife is involved in production, preparing the commodity for sale such as washing sacks, cleaning and grading the grain. However, due to the long distance to the district headquarters, where mostly marketing occurs, it is not easy for women to travel with heavy load for marketing. For us men, we carry the commodity on pushbikes, Francis acknowledges. Explaining on women participation in the FO marketing, Francis confirmed that very few women participate in marketing. Transportation of the commodity to the FO warehouse, cleaning and grading are costly and not easy work for women. Imagine for five days a woman had to travel to the FO warehouse, leaving her work at home such as cooking and caring for the children unattended, Francis says. In giving details on challenges women face to actively participate in FO business, Francis stated that women have to fulfil reproductive activities at the household and it is difficult to balance this role with participation in FO meetings. The tone from Francis points to the strong belief that a woman s place is the kitchen. To improve women participation, Francis suggests: Our community needs women models that can inspire other women. Women in this village spend time complaining instead of sharing information and learning from each other. Remarks from Francis points to the common gender stereotype that women are weak and complain unnecessarily. Such stereotype affects visibility of women in the FO business and calls for strategies to change male perception towards females Key Lessons Learnt Significant transport costs of commodities from the household to the FO warehouse are one of the challenges affecting participation of smallholder farmers in aggregate marketing and affecting net proceeds from sales. This underscores the need to support FOs to identify good, more decentralised warehouses bearing in mind proximity to the members. This calls for flexibility of WFP in collecting commodity from a number of collection points within an FO. For the FOs, there is need to consider organizing themselves for organizing transport collectively. The case indicates that dominance of men at household level is customary in the patrilineal marriage system. In such a system, the voice of women and their participation in FO business can be hardly attained. This therefore accentuates the need for gender and women empowerment training to the FOs, sensitizations within FOs on gender and women empowerment especially to males. Communication on quality specifications within FOs confirms to be weak consequently having an effect on how farmer members meet quality standards and also increasing the burden on smallholder farmers in cleaning and grading aggregated commodity. Interventions on how to strengthen communication Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 6 of 7

7 between WFP and FOs and within FOs would be strategic in enabling FOs meet quality specifications and other requirements. Lack of proper storage management at household level, limited and untimely access to farm inputs are vehicles to reduction in productivity and surplus volumes for sale. Timely purchase of commodities from FOs by WFP in addition to FOs pro-activeness in identifying markets are some of the key strategies to ensure timely access to inputs and reduction in storage losses at household level. Delay in payment to the FO after collection of the commodity has a considerable effect and impact on the FO and this include creating conflicts within the FO, loss of trust in FO leadership, and demoralizing FO members with regard to aggregate marketing. It underscores the need for strengthening coordination of units in WFP, timely communication to FOs explaining missed targets of the payment plans Issues for monitoring at the household In the follow up interviews with the household of Francis Mwanza, the following indicators are vital in order to monitor impact and effect of WFP on smallholder farmers: Change in power relations at household. This to include spouse involvement in marketing, voice of the spouse in the discussions and change in feelings of the family head towards women participation in productive activities. Reduction in transaction costs during marketing through the Farmers Organization. Increase in volume of maize produced and marketed through the Farmers Organization. Improved communication in quality specifications, contract and other marketing related issues between FO management and members, WFP and FO. Household Case Study, P4P Malawi Francis Mwanza, September 2010 Page 7 of 7