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With the tobacco industry being under threat due to high intensity of the anti-smoking campaign, the legumes sub-sector continues to be a sub sector of interest in Malawi. After registering high prices last growing season, 2015/16 domestic marketing season for Legumes has been characterized with generally low prices even for the highly anticipated Pigeon Peas. This article seeks to provide some highlight of the Market season as per the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship’s Legumes Development Trust (LDT)

Most of the major legume crops such as Groundnuts, Soybeans and Beans have already been absorbed by the market. Prices for Soybeans fluctuated within a short period of time from early June at Mk 290/ kg to Mk 360/kg over a 3 – 4 weeks’ period. The price change was due to panic amongst traders which was triggered by speculations that due to dry spells, Soybean will be in short supply. Prices dropped and stabilized at an average of Mk 325/kg at which a large proportion of the year’s produce was absorbed by the market. Current prices are trending between Mk 300 and Mk 350 per Kg.

Here is the article that was carried out in the Nation newspaper based on the 2016 CPI results.

Visit the following link for the entire story

http://mwnation.com/corruption-worsens/

For many years, smallholder farmers in Demera EPA Lilongwe were used to selling their produce individually and to unreliable markets. However, the introduction of SALF programme by the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship in the area has changed the practice. Through the SALF programme, AICC has been involved in offering trainings and capacity building to farmers on market access and entrepreneurial skills with an aim of ensuring that smallholder farmers in the area, start to regard farming other than a mere survival activity.

AICC whose main role in the SALF programme is to ensure that there is an increase in market and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills among smallholder farmers in the area has been facilitating various market linkages as well as promoting collective marketing and marketing negotiating skills. 
The acquisition of skills in searching and negotiating for good market prices and aggregations of produce has evidently led to a number of success stories of collective marketing in the area. Demera EPA lead farmers Chairlady, Alaika Kachenje, is one of the many farmers whose living to enjoy the fruits of collective marketing. Kachenje narrated that ever since she decided to join the collective marketing group she has lived to enjoy the group and does not regret her decision. She indicated that through collective marketing she is now realising more than what she used to
in negotiating for the prices. Farmers are also not getting tricked in this production year by use of dubious scales that are found in informal markets.

“Through collective marketing we have managed to penetrate the formal market easily and we have more negotiating powers on the market. Previously we used to give in easily to any price as we didn’t have a choice of another market but now that we have the marketing searching skills we decide where we want to sell our products. On top of that, our earnings have increased a lot and we no longer face any tricks on the market especially on the use of fake scales by buyers’ articulated Kachenje.

During the 2016 marketing period,  Demera EPA  established 3 aggregation centres in Kabudula, Kasiya and Mbalame areas where farmers participating in SALF programme managed to sell 30 tonnes of soya to Gaffar and Atupele investments, realising a total of MK9, 600,000.00. This has made many farmers in the areas to seriously regard farming as a business in the coming season since they have been satisfied with prices offered and weighing scales used during the collective selling of their produce.