Improving Agricultural Market Performance:

Developing Agricultural Market Information Systems

The more structured marketing system which has been developed around ECX appears to have

impacted positively on farmers’ vulnerability to marketing risks. Market access channels are

clearly structured and quality standards are defined. So also are payments systems for sellers.

Of particular interest is the observation by IFAD (2016) that the export crops marketed through

the ECX are exposed to significantly far less price risks than food crops which are traded in the

predominantly informal domestic marketing system. This is not only due to dissemination of

prices but also the available structures which enable farmers to better manage transactions.

3.4

QUASI-PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL MIS MODELS

MIS platforms classified in this study as quasi-public are market-monitoring initiatives launched

and funded by multilateral organisations. These have gained prominence especially after the

global food crisis in 2007/08. Two examples of this type of MIS are discussed in this section.

3.4.1

INTERNATIONAL QUASI-PUBLIC 2GMIS MODEL: AMIS

An example of an international publicly-funded 2GMIS model is the Agricultural Market

Information System (AMIS), which was launched in September 2011 by the G20 Ministers of

Agriculture. It was developed in response to the global food crisis which occurred in 2007/08

with the aim of assessing global food supplies, focusing on four main crops, namely: wheat,

maize, rice and soybeans. The specific objectives for which AMIS was set up include to:

•

Improve agricultural market information analysis as well as short-term supply and

demand forecasts at both national and international levels.

•

Collect and analyze policy information affecting global commodity markets.

•

Report on conditions in international food markets, including structural weaknesses.

•

Strengthen global early warning and data collection capacity in participating countries

by promoting best practices, providing training and facilitating lesson-sharing.

AMIS membership consists of the G20 countries as well as major grain exporting or importing

countries such as Egypt, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam (Figure 6).

Figure 6: AMIS Member Countries

Source