Beyond the passbook relationship: Assessing preferences for contracts among cotton and tea farmers and companies in Malawi
Ochieng, Dennis O.
MaSSP Working Paper Bok 34 · Intl Food Policy Res Inst
5,0star
5 recensionerreport
E-bok
30
Sidor
family_home
Kvalificerad
info
reportBetyg och recensioner verifieras inte Läs mer
Om den här e-boken
While contract farming provides opportunities to link smallholder farmers to markets, its sustainability depends on how the interests of both farmers and buyers are addressed. Previous studies analyze farmers’ preferences for contracts, but buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes are hardly examined. This Working Paper contributes to the knowledge gap by analyzing farmers’ and buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes, and the similarities and differences in preferences using a discrete choice experiment with 505 cotton farmers and 512 tea farmers in southern Malawi. Using a mixed logit model, the author examines farmers’ and buyers’ preferences and estimate farmers’ willingness to pay for improvement of contract attributes. Results show that both farmers and buyers have positive preferences for contracts in general and for many design attributes. The author however observes clear differences in preference for payment mode where farmers prefer spot payments while buyers prefer delayed payments. Further, while both parties prefer better quality products, there are no standardized grading systems for the two crops in Malawi. Consequently, buyers are skeptical of farmers’ ability to produce quality products while farmers are distrustful of buyers’ grading systems. Even though buyers are open to offer contracts that provide inputs or insurance to farmers, there are no information sharing platforms to guide in contracting farmers thus exposing buyers to risks of contract default. The author also finds that farmers prefer contracts that address their social needs as seen in their choice of contracts with funeral expenses insurance. Such attributes could strengthen the relationship between farmers and buying companies. Sustainable contract schemes require designing contracts that are acceptable to both farmers and buyers by balancing risks between the parties. Successful contract relationships have to build business relationships and foster mutual trust by developing standardized grading systems and information sharing platforms for buyers and farmers to guide selection into the schemes. To minimize side-selling, companies can advance cash credit to liquidity constrained farmers, but this must be accompanied by stronger contract enforcement mechanisms.
Betyg och recensioner
5,0
5 recensioner
Betygsätt e-boken
Berätta vad du tycker.
Läsinformation
Smartphones och surfplattor
Installera appen Google Play Böcker för Android och iPad/iPhone. Appen synkroniseras automatiskt med ditt konto så att du kan läsa online eller offline var du än befinner dig.
Laptops och stationära datorer
Du kan lyssna på ljudböcker som du har köpt på Google Play via webbläsaren på datorn.
Läsplattor och andra enheter
Om du vill läsa boken på enheter med e-bläck, till exempel Kobo-läsplattor, måste du ladda ned en fil och överföra den till enheten. Följ anvisningarna i hjälpcentret om du vill överföra filerna till en kompatibel läsplatta.
