Skip to main content
Support
Blog post

Mozambique in the Group of Four “Most Radical” Countries in sub-Saharan Africa

5121924562_554d82ebaf_o

Villagers of Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya are some of the "most radical and suspicious" of all the Sub-Saharan African countries concerning the ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector that permit greater involvement of the private sector in the production of staple foods in the region.

Aldeões de Moçambique, Zâmbia, Malawi e Quénia são tidos como os "mais radicais e desconfiados" a nível dos países da África subsaaariana, no que respeita às reformas em curso do sector agrário para permitir maior envolvimento do sector privado na produção de alimentos básicos na região.

This article is originally translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original from Verdade.

This observation appears in a recent study analysis conducted in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, titled, Demystifying the Role of Grain Assemblers in the Rural Maize Markets of Eastern and Southern Africa, and indicates that the Sub-Saharan African region in general continues to maintain an active role in the staple foods market, thanks to government reforms that have lasted for two decades.

This feeling is justified by the fact that the private operators involved in the cereal industry are failing to convince rural farmers of the advantages of their involvement to boost the local and regional agricultural sectors.

From the perspective of the farmers from these four African countries, the intervention of these private actors in the cereal market is seen as an "exploitative and parasitic platform" because it brings "little empirical evidence" to understand the effects and performance of the market, says the study.

"All of the private sector actors involved in the grain markets are maligned and do not understand the village and group-level dynamics of Sub-Saharan Africa relative to the other private operators in the agricultural sector," notes the 23-page study.

The study used 205 groups (village-focused) and 2,700 transactions of corn at the individual farm level in the four referenced countries as data.

Nevertheless, in terms of the active presence of private operators in the purchase of farmers' cereals in the four African countries analyzed, this research concluded that Mozambique is less represented, while Kenya holds the largest concentration of grain traders with about 96% of villagers served by more than a dozen private operators.

This article was translated by Layne Vandenberg, Staff Intern with the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center. 

Photo courtesy of PBS NewsHour via Flickr Commons

Related Program

Africa Program

The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations.    Read more