Negotiating new institutional logics: market access amongst smallholder farmers in Zambia and Malawi
read more
Citations
Are common bean traders efficient? An empirical evidence from Malawi
Building markets between institutional discontinuities: Intermediation between formal and informal sectors in developing countries
References
Why Focused Strategies May Be Wrong for Emerging Markets
The social structures of the economy
Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh ☆
Building Inclusive Markets in Rural Bangladesh : How Intermediaries Work Institutional Voids
Building Inclusive Markets in Rural Bangladesh: How Intermediaries Work Institutional Voids
Related Papers (5)
Entrepreneurship as Institutional Change: Strategies of Bridging Institutional Contradictions
Frequently Asked Questions (16)
Q2. How many respondents participated in the study?
In Zambia, a total of fifteen respondents participated in this study comprising five private sector intermediaries, six smallholder farmers, three NGOs involved in agriculture andlasted between one and three hours.
Q3. What was the role of the ARET before the STP?
Prior to the STP, the Agricultural Research and Extension Trust (ARET) was central to theformulation and dispensation of key messages for the farmers in coordination with farmer associations and government extension workers.
Q4. What are the main factors that affect the impact of capital voids?
Farmers also rely on club structures (smallholder farming groups of seven to 10) to dampen the impact of capital voids which provide some insurance through pooling of risk and resources.
Q5. What was the main reason for the changes in Malawi’s tobacco regulations?
Abrupt changes in Malawi’s tobacco regulations started in the early 1990s as a result of the World Bank’s structural adjustment programs which abruptly liberalized the sector and cut government support.
Q6. What is the impact of the IPS on smallholder farmers?
Under the IPS, buyers initiallycountered the capital market voids and a lack of accessibility to smallholder farmers by linking their farmers with financial institutions which provide the farmers with loans in the form of inputs.
Q7. What is the purpose of the Sustainable Tobacco Program?
As a result of international developments in tobacco markets including the growinginfluence of the anti-tobacco lobby and increased litigation against leading tobacco manufacturers in developed countries, the tobacco industry has tried to improve its image and has pursued the Sustainable Tobacco Program (STP).
Q8. How much burley tobacco exports from Malawi?
4. Research findings and discussionMalawi is Africa’s largest exporter of burley tobacco supplying close to 82% of the burleytobacco exported from the continent.
Q9. What is the name of the NGO that works with smallholder farmers?
Parmalat is an agro-processor that collaborates with smallholder farmers through NGOs that seek to build capacity with cooperatives.
Q10. What are the five categories of institutional voids that affect supply chains in emerging markets?
Khanna and Palepu (1997) identify five categories of institutional voids that affect supply chains in emerging markets, namely product markets voids, labor markets voids, capital market voids, regulatory voids, and contracting voids.
Q11. Who were the actors that were deemed relevant to this study?
In addition to the farmers and the buyers, other actors that were deemed relevant to this study were the Tobacco Control Commission, which is a state institution responsible for tobacco industry activities, farmer associations, and the market operators (see Table 1 for a list of respondents).
Q12. What is the reason for the lack of recognition of indigenous institutions?
Part of the reason for this comes from the lack of recognition of indigenous institutions and how the imposition of new institutional pressures may weaken these traditional institutions and leave farmers even more vulnerable.
Q13. What is the main reason for the asymmetry in the market?
In attempting to deal with the information asymmetry buyers are employing supplier management activities that are further negatively affecting the smallholder farmer through market exclusion:
Q14. What is the common format for selling tobacco at the floors?
Selling of tobacco at the floors takes two formats – the American auction system and thecontract/silent marketing system (Malawi tobacco industry, 2016).
Q15. What is the role of cooperatives in the Zambian economy?
These cooperatives operate as viable institutions and they link private off-takers with the smallholder farmers and are able to talk the same business language (Markelova & Mwangi, 2010).
Q16. What is the impact of the STP on Malawian tobacco farmers?
As the authors discuss in 4.1.2 the imposition of the STP has changed the institutional dynamics in tobacco farming in Malawi and has affected smallholder farmers particularly adversely as they are the least able to adapt to these new requirements.