Facilitating Smallholder Farmers’ Market Access
In the OIC Member Countries
33
percent (around 91,200) of Mozambique’s 3.8 million farms reportedly accessed credit,
generally through input suppliers.
FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY
Food safety and quality affect smallholder farmers’ access to markets in several ways and
are equally important for crops grown for domestic consumption and export. As discussed,
post-harvest processing is critical to ensure that cassava, Mozambique’s most important
food crop, is safe to consume. More generally, a 2008 assessment found Mozambique's
phytosanitary controls to be weak and highlighted the need to strengthen its plant health
services, develop capacity to undertake pest risk analysis, update the national pest list,
develop national surveillance programs, and establish and/or maintain pest-free areas in
accordance with international requirements.59 The same study identifies opportunities to
expand small-scale cashew processing, which would require farmers and processors to
comply with internationally recognized systems, such as Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)
and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), and to respect limits on mycotoxin
contamination and pesticide residues.
Lessons for OIC countries
The case of Mozambique highlights the urgent need for better roads and finance to reduce
marketing costs and for better processing technology to open marketing opportunities for
a wide range of products intended for domestic consumption and export. The study points
to the significant potential benefits that would arise from putting in place enabling
policies, grades and standards, and access to improved technology (planting materials),
inputs, and extension services for smallholders.
Nigeria
Competitiveness and sustainability issues
Agriculture accounts for about 22.4 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and has grown at a relatively
strong rate in recent years—5.6 percent in 2011 and 4 percent in 2012.60 Crops account
for 85 percent of agricultural GDP, followed by livestock (19 percent), fisheries (4
percent), and forestry (1 percent). More than 90 percent of Nigeria’s agricultural output
comes from smallholder farmers operating holdings under two hectares. The three
predominant production systems61 reflect Nigeria’s very diverse agriculture. Medium- and
high-potential mixed systems in the humid south are dominated by cassava, yam, maize, and
tree crops. Medium- and high-potential mixed systems in the semi-arid middle belt are
dominated by maize and sorghum. Low-potential livestock-based systems in the arid north
are dominated by livestock, millet, and sorghum. Cropping systems are primarily rainfed;
less than 1 percent of cultivated area is irrigated.
59 Standards and Trade Development Facility (2008).
60 World Bank (2014h).
61 World Bank (2006a).