IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaae16/246966.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Analysis of farm-to-retail maize marketing margins in Zambia

Author

Listed:
  • Zulu-Mbata, Olipa
  • Jayne, Thomas S.
  • Kirsten, Johann F.

Abstract

Marketing margin analysis has usually been used to examine the behaviour and competitiveness of markets and the share of a retail commodity price accruing to farmers. Most studies examining marketing margins have typically considered margins to vary either spatially or temporally; with little attempt to understand how or why marketing margins may vary across households holding both space and time constant, even though inter-household variability has been observed in most rural maize marketing areas. This article determines the relative importance of spatial, temporal, and household-specific factors in the maize prices received by farmers in Zambia and in the associated farm-to-retail marketing margin under the assembly trader channel. We find that spatial factors account for the largest source of explained variation (72%) in the maize marketing margin and farm-gate prices obtained by farmers followed by temporal factors (16.7%). Household-specific factors account for the smallest source of explained variation (11.3%) in marketing margins, with marital status, kinship ties to the chief or village elders, and access to price information being the most important. Wide inter-household variation in farm-gate prices within the same locality and month suggest the importance of unobserved household-specific factors. These results hence indicate that the prices that maize farmers in Zambia obtain are not fully exogenous to farmers as often assumed. Programs that generate and improve farmers’ access to timely market information can raise prices that farmers obtain, while improved road infrastructure in areas where marketing margins are high could significantly improve farm-gate prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Zulu-Mbata, Olipa & Jayne, Thomas S. & Kirsten, Johann F., 2016. "Analysis of farm-to-retail maize marketing margins in Zambia," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246966, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaae16:246966
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.246966
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/246966/files/304.%20Analysis%20of%20Farm-to-Retail%20Maize%20Marketing%20Margins%20in%20Zambia.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.246966?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Traub, Lulama Ndibongo & Jayne, T.S., 2008. "The effects of price deregulation on maize marketing margins in South Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 224-236, June.
    2. B. Wade Brorsen & Jean-Paul Chavas & Warren R. Grant & L. D. Schnake, 1985. "Marketing Margins and Price Uncertainty: The Case of the U.S. Wheat Market," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 67(3), pages 521-528.
    3. Wohlgenant, Michael K. & Mullen, John D., 1987. "Modeling The Farm-Retail Price Spread For Beef," Western Journal of Agricultural Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 12(2), pages 1-7, December.
    4. Chapoto, Antony & Jayne, Thomas S., 2011. "Zambian Farmers’ Access to Maize Markets," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 116910, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    5. Robert J. Myers & Richard J. Sexton & William G. Tomek, 2010. "A Century of Research on Agricultural Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(2), pages 376-403.
    6. Wohlgenant, Michael K., 2001. "Marketing margins: Empirical analysis," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 16, pages 933-970, Elsevier.
    7. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Jayne, T.S., 2014. "Exploitative Briefcase Businessmen, Parasites, and Other Myths and Legends: Assembly Traders and the Performance of Maize Markets in Eastern and Southern Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 56-67.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Chenguang & Sexton, Richard J., 2009. "Impacts of Retailers’ Pricing Strategies for Produce Commodities on Farmer Welfare," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51720, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Traub, Lulama Ndibongo & Jayne, Thomas S., 2004. "The Effects of Market Reform on Maize Marketing Margins in South Africa," Food Security International Development Working Papers 54570, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    3. Traub, Lulama Ndibongo & Jayne, T.S., 2008. "The effects of price deregulation on maize marketing margins in South Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 224-236, June.
    4. Kalle Hirvonen & Bart Minten & Belay Mohammed & Seneshaw Tamru, 2021. "Food prices and marketing margins during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from vegetable value chains in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 407-421, May.
    5. Carambas, Maria Cristina D.M., 2005. "Analysis of Marketing Margins in Eco-Labeled Products," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24600, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Griffith, Garry R. & Moore, Walter B., 1991. "Livestock Production Policies And Meat Processing Margins: The Case Of New Zealand, 1967-1988," Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 35(01), pages 1-28, April.
    7. Pierluigi Montalbano & Rebecca Pietrelli & Luca Salvatici, 2017. "Market chain participation and food security: the case of the Ugandan maize farmers," Working Papers 2/17, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    8. Jayson L. Lusk & Glynn T. Tonsor & Lee L. Schulz, 2021. "Beef and Pork Marketing Margins and Price Spreads during COVID‐19," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 4-23, March.
    9. Parket, Douglas & Zilberman, David, 1989. "Price Transmission Across Marketing Levels in a Hedonic Framework," CUDARE Working Papers 198498, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    10. Maples, Joshua G. & Harri, Ardian & Riley, John Michael & Tack, Jesse B., 2013. "Marketing Margins and Input Price Uncertainty," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150604, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Buhr, Brian L., 1993. "A Quarterly Econometric Simulation Model Of The U.S. Livestock And Meat Sector," Staff Papers 13465, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    12. Morales, L. Emilio, 2017. "The Effects of International Price Volatility on Farmer Prices and Marketing Margins in Cattle Markets," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 21(3), December.
    13. Fung, Winnie & Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda & Mason, Nicole & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2015. "Can Crop Purchase Programs Reduce Poverty and Improve Welfare in Rural Communities? Evidence from the Food Reserve Agency in Zambia," IZA Discussion Papers 9361, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Mujawamariya, Gaudiose & Burger, Kees & D'Haese, Marijke F.C., 2012. "Behaviour and performance of traders in the gum arabic supply chain in Senegal: Investigating oligopsonistic myths," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126236, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Mkhabela, Thulasizwe S. & Nyhodo, Bonani, 2011. "Farm and Retail Prices in the South African Poultry Industry: Do the Twain Meet?," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 14(3), pages 1-20, September.
    16. Li, Chenguang & Sexton, Richard J., 2013. "Grocery-Retailer Pricing Behavior with Implications for Farmer Welfare," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 1-18, August.
    17. Montalbano, P. & Pietrelli, R. & Salvatici, L., 2018. "Participation in the market chain and food security: The case of the Ugandan maize farmers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 81-98.
    18. John Baffes & Varun Kshirsagar & Donald Mitchell, 2019. "What Drives Local Food Prices? Evidence from the Tanzanian Maize Market," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 160-184.
    19. repec:ags:aaea22:335899 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Pracht, Wyatt & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, 2022. "Building Sustainable Supply Chains: A Model of Youth Input Resellers in Kenya," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322141, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Catherine ARAUJO BONJEAN & Johny EGG & Magali AUBERT, 2008. "Commerce du mil en Afrique de l’Ouest : les frontières abolies ?," Working Papers 200831, CERDI.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crop Production/Industries; International Relations/Trade; Marketing;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaae16:246966. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaaeaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.