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Développement des Marchés | Market Development



Market Development

CATALIST works with producers through participatory tests that serve as field schools in order for farmers to understand ISFM. The project also supports stakeholders involved in value-added activities (e.g., grain milling) and trains them in the CASE practices.

The development of the agro-input and output markets encompasses three areas of intervention:

  • Market development is accomplished through agricultural business clusters (PEAs) and value chain development.CATALIST facilitates the development of business clusters and value chains for products and crops that make the use of improved technologies (including fertilizer) profitable, and whose market has a significant number of producers and key stakeholders involved who are ready to link together to develop the value chain.
  • Ultimately, value chains cannot develop and improve without appropriate funding mechanisms. Hence, the importance of loans in the agricultural funding process. One of the credit products being implemented by the project is the inventory credit system (warrantage in French). This system allows for farm outputs to be warehoused for sale at a time beyond harvest (when prices are low due ample supply). Warehoused products increase in value over time.
  • Private sector capacity building – starting from large importers down to small community retailers – promotes competitive business practices and regional collaboration.Capacity building to professionalize the sector is accomplished through:
    • Technical training on inputs and marketing; and
    • Networking of stakeholders in order to the supply chain and facilitate funding mechanisms.

The project is working toward the creation of an institutional environment that facilitates agricultural intensification.

Market Information Systems

Market Information System (MIS) availability in the region is growing:

Market Information Systems (otherwise known as Market Intelligence Systems, Market Information Services or MIS, but not to be confused with Management Information Systems) are information systems used to gather, analyze and disseminate information about prices and other information relevant to farmers, animal rearers, traders, processors and others involved in handling agricultural products. Market Information Systems play an important role in agro-industrialization and food supply chains. With the advance of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in developing countries, the income generation opportunities offered by MIS have been sought by international development organizations, NGOs and businesses alike.