consumption situation in your country to ensure that you have an accurate as

possible understanding.

In the example from Zambia, there are some important aspects of the consumption pattern

that are noteworthy for price  analysis.  First, it is clear that the dominant staple food in

Zambia is maize.  This is a result of years of production and consumption subsidies (at one

point these subsidies were almost 19% of GDP).  The other staple foods in Zambia are

cassava (which is consumed primarily in Northern, Luapula, and Western provinces), and to

a lesser extent sorghum (white) and millet in the Southern and Northern provinces.

Sorghum and millet are also used in making beer.

3.2.3 Domestic marketing patterns

Understanding domestic agricultural marketing patterns is important to price analysis.  The

reasons for this are:

it provides information on the major assembly, wholesale and consumer markets

it provides an understanding of the flow of cereals through the domestic markets

Appendix D provides a blank detailed step by step worksheet to identify the organization

and performance of the major cereal markets in a particular country.  This worksheet

focuses on the identification and understanding of national cereal marketing patterns, but the

same worksheet could be used for other crops (e.g., cash crops) or livestock. An example of

a completed worksheet is presented in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3: Sample completed worksheet on national marketing patterns

Appendix D

Worksheet to identify domestic marketing patterns

c)

Print out a map of the country at the district level for each of the commodities listed

above at the provincial level with both the market locations (Worksheet in Appendix

C)and the production areas (worksheet in Appendix B).

Purpose

:  This worksheet will guide the analyst through a sequential series of steps to identify

both the movement and structure of major cereal markets in a particular country.  The concept is

d)

For each staple food draw on a separate map the markets that you identified as

offer a practical guide to identify the contextual information necessary to use market and price

important for the marketing of that commodity.  Next show the direction of the

data and information for early warning.

movement of the commodity with arrows.

Steps:

e)

Write a brief summary of the insights that you learned in this process.  The summary

should include comments about:

1.

Collect and review past studies on the marketing of agricultural products in your

What are the major markets for the main staple food in the

country. Universities (both local and international), government, donors, or NGOs has

country?

often done these studies.

What major markets for the other important staple foods are

there in the country?

2.

This step is to identify the movement of cereals within the country.

What are the flows from farmer to consumer of the major

a)

Based on the previous two appendices, list the three most important staple

staple foods in terms of spatial movement?

foods. If there are more than three important staple foods then continue the list

on another copy of Appendix D.

b)

For each staple list the name of the market, the location of the market (e.g.,

Tips if the answers to the above questions are not easily available:

province), and the type of market (rural assembly, transit, or terminal market).

If there are more markets for any staple food then continue the list on another

Try to identify any marketing studies that have been done for your

copy of Appendix D.

country.  A good source to acquire these studies are universities,

donors (who sometimes fund these studies), other government

Staple food

    Major

Major

       Major

ministry offices, and NGOs.

  assembly          wholesale                consumption

   markets             markets                     centers

Visit some of the major traders and millers in a country and discuss

1. 

Maize

Eastern 

Eastern 

     Eastern

the structure and performance of the marketing of specific

  Eastern 

Eastern  

     Lusaka

commodities.

  Eastern 

Lusaka   

     Copperbelt

  Southern

Southern 

     Lusaka

                         Central 

Central 

     Copperbelt

2. 

Cassava

Northern        Northern 

     Northern

  Luapula 

Luapula

     Luapula

  Western 

Western

     Western

3. 

Sorghum/

Northern        Northern 

     Northern

Millet

Western 

Western

     Western

Southern

Southern 

     Southern

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