2011 agra pigeonpea tete value chain analysis and baseline study 2013 (3)

1

Project for the Improvement of Food Security and Income of Small

Farmers through the Intensification of market-oriented production of Maize and Pigeon pea in the province of Tete, Mozambique

AGRA reference: 2011 SHP 020 SNV

Tete, August 2012 Edited: March 2013

Version: final draft (10/03/2013)

Value Chain Analysis

and

Baseline Study report

AGRA 2013 SHP SNV Value Chain Analysis & Baseline Study DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 2

Contents

1 Introduction 6 1.1 Background and Project Description 6 1.2 Purpose of the VCA and Baseline Study 7

General objective of the study 7 Specific objectives of the Study 7

1.3 Methodology 9 Sampling of the baseline study 9 Data Collection tools and methods 10 Team Composition and realization of fieldwork10

1.4 Description of the Project Area 11 Temperature and rainfall 12 Altitude 12 Soils 12 Road infrastructure 12

2 Agriculture as the basis of family income and Livelihood 14 2.1 Preparation of fields 16 2.2 Major cash crops / processing 16 2.3 Major food crops 16

Cereals 16 Pulses 18 Oilseeds 19

2.4 Vegetables 19 2.5 Losses in food crops 20

Losses during production or in the field 20 Post-harvest losses 20

2.6 Agricultural Extension Services 21 2.7 Rural associativism 22 2.8 Access to Rural Micro-Financial Services 22 2.9 Agricultural marketing 23 2.10 Availability and access to food throughout the year 25

3 Description of Value Chains for Pigeon pea and Maize 27 3.1 Introduction to the VCA 27 3.2 Description of the subsector 28

Input supply 28 Production and productivity 32 Harvesting / Bulking 37 Trading 39 Transport 43 Processing 43 Sales to end users – export 44 Support organisations & extension services 44

4 Project objectives (outcomes & impact) indicators and baseline 49 5 Conclusions and Recommendations 50

5.1 Conclusions 50 Demand Factors 50 Supply Factors 51 Support organisations & extension services 52

5.2 Recommendations 53 6 Annexes 55

6.1 Annex: Questionnaire for farming households 55 6.2 Annex: Institutional Questionnaire 59 6.3 Annex: List of institutions and organisations interviewed. 61 6.4 Annex: References 62 6.5 Annex: Crop budget Pigeon pea (price calculations and budget) 63

3

List of Tables

Table 1: distribution of respondents by districts and localities 10 Table 2: Basic data for the intervention area of Angonia, Tsangano and Moatize 11 Table 3: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Angonia District 13 Table 4: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Tsangano District 13 Table 5: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Moatize District 13 Table 6: Area under cultivation and production in the agricultural season 2010/11 14 Table 7: Area under cultivation and production in the agricultural season 2011/12 14 Table 8: productivity in the three districts 16 Table 9: Preference of producers in regard cultivation of cash crops 16 Table 10: Food preferences of informants in relation to grains 17 Table 11: Food preferences of the inhabitants of the three districts 17 Table 12 Farmers growing common beans in the three districts 18 Table 13: Farmers growing cow peas in the three districts 18 Table 14: Farmers growing Pigeon peas in the three districts 18 Table 15: percentage of production of common beans destined for own consumption 18 Table 16: Contribution of crops / varieties in family income in the three districts 19 Table 17: Frequency of production of vegetables by farmers in the three districts 19 Table 18: Frequency of production of vegetables per district 20 Table 19: Analysis of the causes of crop losses of maize and groundnuts in the field 20 Table 20: Effect of different causes of post-harvest losses in the cultivation of large groundnuts 21 Table 21: Access of farmers to agricultural extension messages 21 Table 22: Representation of formal Financial Institutions in the three districts 22 Table 23: Access to credit per gender in the households 23 Table 24: Sources of rural finance for rural households in the three districts 23 Table 25: Main market day in localities along the N7 highway 24 Table 26: Contribution of cash and subsistence food crops in income of smallholders by district 24 Table 27: Meal Frequency taken by households per day by district 25 Table 28: Small and medium holdings using agricultural inputs (%) 29 Table 29: Coverage and volume of trade of the main agro-dealers 30 Table 30: Top 20 Pigeon Pea producing countries (2011) 34 Table 31: Evolution of population and labour force composition 37 Table 32: Planned purchases and coverage of targeted products by companies / organisation 42 Table 33: Project objectives; outcomes & impact indicators table 49

List of figures

Figure 1: production and area cultivated in 2010/11 15 Figure 2: production & area cultivated in 2011/12 15 Figure 3: productivity in the three districts 15 Figure 4: causes of post-harvest losses in large groundnuts 21 Figure 5: reading and writing skills of men (blue) and women (brown) in the three districts 22 Figure 6: Contribution of cash and subsistence food crops in income of smallholders by district 25 Figure 7: Maize yield in Mozambique and selected regions. 33 Figure 8: Top 10 pigeon pea producing countries (2011) 33 Figure 9: Producer Price of pigeon pea (USD/MT) in selected countries 40 Figure 10: actor mapping of pigeon pea and maize subsectors 45 Figure 11: Analysis of Stakeholders’ Support vs Influence 46


List of abbreviations

AGRA Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa ACEAGRARIOS Association of Consultants and Agricultural Extension workers; local NGO in Tete CLUSA Cooperative League of the United States of America DPA Provincial Department of Agriculture (Direcção Provincial de Agricultura) DUAT Right to Use and Exploit Land (Direito de Uso e Aproveitamento de Terra) ETG Export Trading Group

FAO United Nations – Food and Agricultural Organisation FoB Free on Board FDD District Development Fund (Fundo distrital para o Desenvolvimento) GAP Good Agricultural Practices Ha hectare ICM Grain Marketing Board of Mozambique (Instituto de Cereais de Moçambique) ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics IIAM Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique (Instituto de Investigação Agronómica

de Moçambique) IFAD United Nations – International Fund for Agricultural Development IFDC United Nations – International Fertilizer Development Centre IKURU Agricultural Marketing Company in Nampula

INAM National Meteorological institute (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia) INE National Bureau of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatísticas) ISFM Integrated Soil Fertility Management LCB Local Capacity Builder MFI Micro Finance Institution MLT Mozambique Leaf Tobacco MT Metric Ton MZN Mozambican (new) Metical NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PO Producer Organisation PA Administrative Post (Posto Administrativo) PMA World Food Program (Programa Mundial de Alimentação)

PEDD District Strategic and Development Plan (Plano Estratégico de Desenvolvimento Distrital)

PES Socio-Economic Plan (Plano Económico Social) PP Pigeon pea SAT Sustainable Agriculture Trust (Zimbabwe) SDAE District Services for Economic Activities (Serviços Distritais das Actividades

Económicas) SDPI District Services for Planning and Infrastructure (Serviços Distritais de Planeamento

e Infra-estruturas) SIMA Market Information System (Sistema de Informação de Mercados Agrícolas) SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

TIA Agricultural Census (Trabalho de Inquérito Agrícola) USD United States Dollar VCA Value Chain Analysis

DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION ONLY This concerns a final draft of the report on the Value Chain Analysis and Baseline study which is intended for discussion among the direct stakeholders involved in the project. Any comments, contributions and suggestions are welcome via email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

5

The study team

Responsible SNV Manager Rik Overmars

Project Manager Eduardo Machava

Lead Advisor Martinus Ruijten

Project Assistant Isabel Fernando

Design of questionnaires and carry out interviews with key informants

Eduardo Machava, Martinus Ruijten, Manuel Mutimucuio, Moses Raposo

Coordination of Data Collection AceAgrarios - Tete

SNV is a non-profit international development organisation with headquarters in the Netherlands and

staff in 35 countries. For over 40 years, we have worked with national, regional and local governments,

entrepreneurs and citizen associations to alleviate poverty. Our advisory services are funded by public

and private sources. With over 900 technical advisors and 100 local teams, we provide expertise in

agriculture, renewable energy, education, health, water and sanitation, forestry, tourism, governance

and private sector development.

http://www.snvworld.org/en/sectors/agriculture

Citation: Ruijten M, Machava E, Mutimucuio M and Raposo M. 2012. Analyses of the Pigeon pea and

Maize Value Chains in Tete province of Mozambique. Av. Julius Nyerere 1339, Maputo, Mozambique:

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.

Corresponding author: Martinus Ruijten ([email protected])

Copyright © 2013 by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, this report may be reproduced, quoted or cited without

permission of the author(s) provided there is proper acknowledgement. The responsibility for the contents of

this report remains with the author(s). While our objective is to provide useful, general information, SNV makes

no representations or assurances as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. The

information is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. This publication does not constitute

an offer, solicitation, or recommendation for the sale or purchase of any security, product, or service.

Information, opinions and views contained in this publication should not be treated as investment, tax or legal

advice.


1 Introduction

1.1 Background and Project Description

The Mozambique government considers the Beira corridor as one of the potential development centres in

the region, as it ensures a strategic link with neighbouring countries but also by its potential of water

resources in favour of a sustainable agriculture practice.

The integration of the Beira corridor in regional and international markets as well as its recognized

potential for food production, income, livestock, forestry plantations, fishing are important arguments for

investment by government and private sector alike.

It is within this dynamic that SNV, in partnership with AGRA designed and agreed to implement a project

in the area of agriculture to balance the adversities of climate and soil in some areas of Tete Province,

with a focus on food security through the promotion of cultures of maize, the nutrition base in the region

and other alternative products to increase the income of rural households, as in this case Pigeon peas.

Donor AGRA - Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa - Soil Health Program

Project Improving Food Security and Incomes of Smallholder Farmers through

Intensification of Maize - Pigeon pea (‘Cajanus Cajan’) Production and

Marketing in Tete Province of Mozambique

Project Area Tete Province; (northern part of) Moatize, Tsangano and Angonia districts

Short description

of the project

The project will address common challenges faced by smallholders through a Value

Chain Development approach, which will include the following interventions:

Analysis of the value chain and driving forces for improvement of bottlenecks:

identification of market based solutions;

Linking farmers to output markets;

Capacity building of farmers, farmer organizations and extension workers in ISFM,

GAP, marketing skills and better farmer organization;

Linking farmers to inputs through an inclusive business approach

The production of Pigeon pea and maize will be promoted in the three high-potential

districts of Moatize, Tsangano and Angonia in Tete province, targeting 20,000

smallholder farmers - with 30% of them being women.

SNV will establish a system of good quality seed multiplication and distribution to

farmers. The project will also promote micro-dosing of Pigeon peas with Phosphorus

fertilizer which is necessary for the increased grain yield and nitrogen fixation by the

Pigeon pea. SNV will link the producers to formal buyers.

Anticipated

outcomes

The main outcomes of the project over 3 years will include (a) Improved household

food security and incomes due to increased productivity of farms with respect to Pigeon

peas and maize, (b) increased use of fertilizers and improved seeds of Pigeon peas and

maize, (c) stronger farmers organizations in the facilitation of farmers’ access to inputs

and (d) stronger links to output markets.

Contribution to

Impact

The project anticipates to have at least 50% of the farmers (10,000 farmers, of which

at least 30% women) producing maize and Pigeon pea on 1 ha each, leading to

estimated production of 20,000 MT of maize and 10,000 MT of Pigeon pea with an

estimated value of USD 3 m. and USD 4 m. providing food security and incomes.

Starting date April 2012

Duration 36 months

Grant amount USD 800,000 – AGRA budget

SNV contributes 100 days (international) advisor; Pigeon pea seeds and fertilizer for the first season.

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1.2 Purpose of the VCA and Baseline Study

One of the first activities in the start-up phase of the project was a study to analyse the value chains of

Pigeon pea and Maize. To enhance its understanding of the project area and the value chains involved in

the project, teams of SNV advisors carried out reconnaissance missions during which contacts were

made with different actors in the project area; also to identify opportunities for partnerships and / or

complementary interventions. In order to establish the current situation in regard the project’s key

impact and outcome objectives and to complement the information gathered during these missions, SNV

commissioned a baseline study in the project area.

General objective of the study

The purpose of the baseline study was to collect basic information related to the key areas of project

intervention, in a measurable way that can be used as a basis to compare the situation of target groups

during the project and after its implementation and measure the achievement of objectives set. The

baseline study took place from July to September 2012, and was designed to collect basic (quantitative

and qualitative) data related to the main areas of project’s interventions, undertake analysis and submit

a comprehensive report on the current status of levels of awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices

of the target population on selected project interventions, which can be used as a basis to compare the

situation of target groups during the project and after its implementation, and to measure the end-term

achievement of stated objectives.

The Value Chain Analysis had the following main elements:

Value Chain Mapping and Relationships: identify the primary and supporting actors in the pigeon

pea and maize value chains, their roles, and interrelationships and map their interactions;

Market Trends & Competitiveness: identify sales markets and trends, unmet demand, growth

perspectives and (international) competitors;

Governance: identify how the value chain is organized, where decisions are made and what the

position of the poor is in the chain;

Value Chain Constraints: identify the major constraints to value chain development and target

population participation in the value chains.

Main aim of the VCA is to identify key actors and driving forces in the sub-sectors of maize and pigeon

pea, and suggest market-based solutions to overcome some of the main bottlenecks in the various

stages of the supply chains.

Specific objectives of the Study

a) On the basis of interviews with key actors in the maize / pigeon-pea sub-sectors confirm and

complete the various preliminary information and knowledge about the project area and in particular

on the value chains of maize and Pigeon peas.

b) Make a description of the socio-economic characteristics of the population covered by the project,

related to the food and incomes security situation of households in the target districts, taking into

account aspects of agricultural production and marketing of Pigeon peas and maize.

ZIMBABWE

Tete

Moatize - Moatize

Zobué - Tsangano

Ulongué - Angonia Project target area

ZIMBABWE

MALAWI


c) Assessing the role of the crops of pigeon pea and maize in improving family income and food

security at the household level;

d) The mapping of potential agro-ecological areas for the cultivation of pigeon pea;

e) Review and update the baseline indicators and targets set out in the project design matrix and

collect data to establish the current situation (baseline) for each of these indicators (impact,

outcome and key output indicators).

f) Identify and recommend areas for the early start of activities during the first season of the project

(2012/13). through preliminary analysis of the results (quantitative and qualitative)

g) Encourage the dissemination of the project in terms of target groups (insertion of the project).

h) Identify and recommend opportunities for synergies with relevant sector stakeholders for better

results and leverages

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1.3 Methodology

As mentioned before, this study consists of a combination of a Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and a

Baseline study.

The Value Chain Analysis approach aims to identify the opportunities and challenges that prevail at

different stages in the pigeon pea subsector in Mozambique, spanning a full range of economic activities

ranging from provision of inputs and services to production, value addition and product development,

marketing and consumption. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional static subsector

analyses and focuses on economic inter-linkages and interdependencies that affect the systemic

competitiveness of the pigeon pea (and maize) sub sectors.

Some analysts also make useful distinctions between supply chains and value chains. Hence, a supply

chain is defined as a set of linkages between players where there are no binding market relationships

while the concept of a value chain refers to a particular type of supply chain where participants actively

seek to support each other to improve systemic efficiency and competitiveness.

However, we only use the less strict definition of the value chain concept as the level of cooperation

among players in the pigeon pea supply chain in Mozambique can be characterized as ‘embryonic’ only.

The study entailed a detailed review of literature together with collation and analysis of secondary data.

The secondary data comprised of aggregate data on national output, data on export volumes of Pigeon

pea obtained from various published documents and information from published sources on availability

and use of improved technologies.

Information from these secondary sources was augmented with the data from the baseline study, where

randomly sampled households from Moatize, Tsangano and Angonia districts were interviewed.

Sampling of the baseline study

To carry out this survey a sample was equivalent to a universe 388 informants in the three districts. The

distribution was based on the number of families in each district. A sample of the district was also

subject to the same criteria to determine the number of informants to be contacted at each location

visited. The table below shows the summary of the distribution of respondents by districts and localities.

District Locality families interviewed

Moatize

Zóbwe - Sede 22

Mussacama 19

N’kondezi 20

Kaphiridzanje 10

Samoa 16

Kambulatsitse-sede 11

Moatize-sede 8

Sub-Total 106

Angonia

Kalomwe 13

Chimwala 11

Dziwanga 11

Mangane 14

Mawonekera 18

Namingonha 16

Domué - Sede 14

Binga 15

Caphessa 15

Liranga 4

Ndaula 16

N'khame 6

Seze 25

Sub-Total 178

Tsangano Ntengo-Wambalane - Sede 5


Banga 4

Chinvano 24

Tsangano - Sede 5

Chiandame 46

Maconje 20

Sub-Total 103

General Total 388

Table 1: distribution of respondents by districts and localities

Data Collection tools and methods

Structured interviews were carried out with a range of stakeholders, such as Small Farmer Organisations, Civil Society, Research and Training Institutes, Government at provincial and district level; Private Sector – buyers / processors / input suppliers and the financial sector. (Annex 6.3 contains a list of all the organisations and persons interviewed.) Although much of the information in the chapter is based on verbal sources / opinions, the factual data and figures have been cross-checked, where applicable with data obtained through the baseline study.

For the realization of this Baseline Study, use was made of questionnaires (see annex 6.1) for farm

household interviews and structured questions for interviews with informants (see annex 6.2). As the

questions were posed to the informants, the interviewees filled up the survey marking with “X” and tick

(√), measured the fields of XX % of the total surveyed and mapped out respondents' homes using GPS.

For data analysis IT packages were used called CSPro 4.1 (for input) and SPSS & STATA (for analysis).

Team Composition and realization of fieldwork

To perform the field work, SNV contracted the services of the Association of Consultants and Agricultural

Extension workers (AceAgrarios) which in turn carried out the following activities:

Composition of the survey team: The team was composed of 10 investigators and led by two supervisors

appointed by AceAgrarios and on the other hand, SNV made available for this work its project staff in

Tete, which provided logistical support and supervision.

After recruitment; team training was conducted on the completion of the survey, followed by a

simulation for testing the same survey in the neighbourhoods around the city of Tete.

Before the start of the actual field work in the villages, the team held meetings at the district towns

where they invited District Administrators, directors of SDAEs, heads of villages, heads of administrative

posts and representatives of producers selected to take part in these meetings. On the ground, in the

locality or village, administrative authorities were always contacted and traditional and local community

teams gave great support as guides while conducting the investigation in their respective communities.

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1.4 Description of the Project Area

Tete province is well known as the location of the colossal Cahora Bassa hydro-electric dam and is also

rich in minerals, such as coal, iron, fluorite and gold. The recent extractive industries boom in Tete presents

enormous potential for economic development and poverty reduction through direct employment effects

and opportunities for spill-over effects through backward and forward linkages in supply chains, as well

indirectly by tax revenue collection.

Investment opportunities in agricultural value chains in the Zambezi Valley have been identified. There

are good prospects for agribusiness development in value chains, such as horticulture, food crops, dairy,

poultry, livestock, forestry and fisheries. However, only a limited number of companies are currently

engaged in production. Large untapped land and water resources are available in the area, but

infrastructure is limited and qualified human resources are insufficient.

The total number of inhabitants living in the study area of Angonia, Tsangano and Moatize is estimated at

569.417 according to the Census of 2007, corresponding to 25% of the total population of Tete Province.

Moatize district is the hotspot for the extractive industries development, as the two major coal mining

companies have their operations there. The southern part of the district is semi-arid and not very

conducive to agriculture. In the northern part there is a lot of agricultural activity including major

production of pigeon pea.

Angonia is arguably the most organised production zone of Tete province and this is reflected in the

diversity and organization of its agriculture organisations. The population in the district is heavily

influenced by their neighbours in Malawi, in terms of production methodology and crops produced and it

benefits from subsidised fertilizer brought in from that country. The district produces a variety of food and

cash crops of which the Irish potato is well-known throughout the country. Because of the favourable

agro-climatical conditions, farmers in Angonia don’t have to revert to drought-resistant crops like pigeon

pea.

Tsangano district has similarly favourable conditions for agriculture but is a lot smaller and suffers from

difficult access by road.

Basic data for the intervention area Angonia Tsangano Moatize Total

Population total (census 2007) 298.815 169.392 215.092 683.299

Population – female 154.926 87.152 110.315 352.393

Population - % female 51.8% 51.5% 51.3% 51.6%

Population – male 143.889 82.240 104.777 330.906

Population – Rural total (census 2007)

No. of families

Hectares under cultivation (2011/12) 169.434 91.483 54.699 315.616

Use of certified Maize seed 39.6% 48.9% Xx% 40.6%

Fertilizer use 4.1%

farm gate price Pigeon pea 2011/12 (MZN high/low) 10 / 15

Export (FOB Beira) per ton – average 2011

Farm gate price of maize 2011/12 (MZN high/low) 7 / 5

Export (FOB Beira) per ton – average 2011

No. of associations

No. of extension workers 13 2 5 20

Ratio families per extension worker 5500 5900 9600 6600

Rainfall (mm low / high) 725-1149 max. 1500 av. 664

Table 2: Basic data for the intervention area of Angonia, Tsangano and Moatize


Temperature and rainfall

The study area has distinctly different agro climatic characteristics, where the northern part, which

includes the districts of Angonia, Tsangano and northern district of Moatize (Mussacama locality, and

Nkondezi Zobué) present a humid temperate climate strongly influenced by altitude.

Angonia district presents a wide variation of rainfall, which is between 725-1.149 mm, with 90% of rain

falling between late November and early April. In Tsangano district average temperatures vary between

20 º to 30 ºC. The humidity is long, and is between the months of November to March, the rains fall with

great intensity where the maximum annual precipitation reaches 1.500 mm and a minimum annual

temperature is 2 ºC.

The district of Moatize has two types of climate, namely: “dry steppe” with dry winter in the Southern

District. "Rainy tropical savanna” in Northern District (Mussacama town and Nkondedzi - Zobwe). The

two types of weather observe two distinct seasons, the rainy season and dry season. The average

annual precipitation is about 664 mm, while the average annual potential evaporation is around 1.626

mm. The highest rainfall occurs mainly in the period between the months of December to February,

varying significantly in quantity and distribution, either during the year or from year to year, and the

average temperature is in the range of 26.5 ºC.

Altitude

The altitude in the study area is predominantly characterized by plateaus, mountains and plains from

Angonia district, where the highest point is Mount Dómuè with an altitude of 2.096 m, passing through

Tsangano whose altitude ranges between 800 to 1.500 m. In the south one observes significant

variations over the north with altitudes between 700 m at the block level of Mpulo and Moniquera and

1655 m in Chitambe block, all in the southern part of the district. Regarding the district of Moatize, its

altitude varies between 300 and 1.970 m from Moatize-Sede to Kaphiridzanje.

Soils

In the districts of Angonia, Tsangano as well as the Administrative Post of Zobué in Moatize district, soils

are predominate feralíticos, red to reddish brown, heavy textured and moderately well-drained, mild to

strongly leached, however, displaying good water holding capacity with the exception of the north-

eastern and southern parts of the district of Moatize, specifically in administrative posts of Kambulatsise

and Moatize-Sede, where soils are brown - grey, brown - reddish and shallow on top of rocks. Even

small patches of alluvial soil can be found, particularly on the terraces of the Zambezi and Révubuè

rivers.

Road infrastructure

The road system within the study area plays an important role in the process of movement of goods and

people; its rehabilitation, expansion and maintenance has a positive impact on the possibilities of

economic and social development. Despite positive government interventions in rehabilitation, expansion

and maintenance of roads of the main sections of the study area, including the sections of Moatize-

Ulongue and Mphulo - Tsangano Sede (which was in the process of applying tarmac during the time of

the study); the poor state and passableness of some secondary and feeder roads prevails, that should

ensure the transport of agricultural products to major markets in the study area.

Due to its importance in the development process of the study area, for the present analysis, we

highlight the following road sections by district, as shown in the table below on the roads, distance and

state of passableness.

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# Departure Locality Destination Locality Distance -km status

1 Ulongue Ulónguè Chia Khombe 30 passable

2 Matewere Ulónguè Lizulu Monequera 43 regular

3 Cruz. Domue Mangàni Khombe Khombe 20 Regular

4 Majawa Namingòna Namingona Namingòna 10 passable

5 Domue Calio Capiriuta Chifumbe 30 regular

6 Mont. Domué Calio Chambuni Calio 8 impassable

7 Chipindu Ndaula Capiriuta Chifumbe 20 regular

8 Ntengo-Umodzi Seze Seze Seze 8 regular

9 Flor.de Angonia Kamphessa Kamphessa Kamphessa 16 passable

10 Chipindu Ndaula Chia Khombe 28 passable

11 Cruzamento Chia Khombe Ncaliuafa Catondo 45 regular

12 Mbemba Mangàni Calomwe Calómuè 26 regular

13 Djangua Mangàni Landileni Mangàni 12 impassable

14 Ulongue Ulónguè Mulanguene Namingòna 25 passable

15 Mpandula Mpandula Mwelanjovu Chifumbe 15 regular

16 Chidakua Mpandula Chipembere Chifumbe 15 regular

17 Chimuala Chimuala Canadzi Chimuala 30 regular

18 Chabualo Calómuè Dombole Calómuè 18 impassable

19 Dombole Calómuè Lizulu Monequera 25 impassable

20 Domue Calio Jairosse Calio 15 passable

Table 3: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Angonia District

Source: DPOPH – Tete

In regard the district of Tsangano, the focus is on the sections mentioned below.

Source: DPOPH - Tete

Table 4: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Tsangano District

In respect of the district of Moatize, the following roads and sections are of vital importance.

Source: DPOPH - Tete

Table 5: Roads, distances and state of passableness in Moatize District


2 Agriculture as the basis of family income and Livelihood

In the study area, agriculture is the dominant activity and involves almost all households. It is estimated

that about 318,000 hectares of arable land is used by both the private and family sector. To confirm this

fact, 387 respondents who answered the survey of 388 households sampled, say they had farms and

94.9% practiced farming, being 59.4% as main activity and 35.5% as a secondary activity. Due to this

situation, the survey found some conflicts between villages about land tenure and pasture, with evidence

of intensification of conflicts with the appearance of some private farmers applying for land based on

legal criteria. For example, a citizen who does not have land in the districts of Angonia and Tsangano

and who intends to develop agriculture, has to pay rent of the land, which is payable in goods or money,

all at once for the entire season.

In general, agriculture is practiced manually in small family farms on small plots. The study showed that

the average area of production in the project area is 1.92 ha against an average area available per

household of 1.95 ha, which means a utilization rate of 98.46%. The type of farming practiced is slash-

and-burn, depending exclusively on rainfall and characterized by multi cropping of different crops based

on local varieties.

In terms of crops grown most prominently, include food crops like maize, beans, ground nuts, Irish

potatoes, finger millet, sugar cane, cowpea, sweet potato and cassava practiced during the first season,

while in the second season stand out various vegetables including: Irish potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes,

carrots, onion, garlic, and common beans. The tables below demonstrate the evolution of the

agricultural seasons of 2010/11 to 2011/12.

Crops

Agricultural season 2010/11

Angonia Tsangano Moatize

Area (ha) Production (MT)

Area (ha)

Production (MT)

Area (ha)

Production (MT)

grains 85,650 171,580 48,368 80,505 25,008 20,399

legumes 53,560 38,185 21,017 18,223 8,534 2,832

Oilseeds 0.0 0.0 5 5 1,136 568

vegetables 745 8,770 1,225 13,391 863 4,344

Roots & tubers 3,568 40,222 6,414 102,344 1,908 11,627

Cash crops 17,076 15,368 3,096 2,451 2,259 1,140

Cucurbitaceous 1,987 22,873 908 11,011 350 1,244

Fruits 4,166 50,000 4,583 45,833 3,085 15,425

Total 166,753 347,000 85,618 273,766 43,143 57,579

Table 6: Area under cultivation and production in the agricultural season 2010/11

Source: DPA Tete

Crop

Agricultural season 2011/12


Area (ha) Production (MT)

Area (ha)

Production (MT)

Area (ha)

Production (MT)

grains 88,664 186,738 53,070 91,494 29,871 25,294

legumes 51,626 44,439 22,099 19,461 9,268 4,341

Oilseeds 0.0 0.0 5.2 5.2 2,613 1,568

vegetables 1,254 12,843 932 11,965 2,126 12,159

Roots & tubers 4,051 57,852 6,770 106,268 4,017 23,976

Cash crops 17,594 15,835 3,128 2,815 2,514 1,005

Cucurbitaceous 2,047 30,598 886 11,777 490 2,204

Fruits 4,196 56,646 4,591 45,924 3,795 26,567

Total 169,434 404,953 91,483 289,712 54,699 97,118

Table 7: Area under cultivation and production in the agricultural season 2011/12

15

Figure 2: production & area cultivated in 2011/12

In both agricultural seasons described above, the district of Angonia comes first both in area of

production as well as in global production harvested, followed by Tsangano and finally the district of

Moatize. However, Tsangano district had the highest yield in all agricultural seasons under review

compared with other districts as shown in tables and graphs below. We assume that the relatively high

production of roots and tubers in that district has an influence on the average productivity in regard to

the other two districts.

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

AngoniaTsangano

Moatize

169434

9148354699

404953

289712

97118

Area (ha) Production (Ton)

0

100.000

200.000

300.000

400.000

AngoniaTsangano

Moatize

166.753

85.618

43.143

347.000

273.766

57.579

Area (ha) Production (Ton)

Figure 1: production and area cultivated in 2010/11

Figure 3: productivity in the three districts

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00Produtividade2009/10

Produtividade2010/11


District

Productivity (MT / ha)

2009/10 2010/11

Angonia 2.08 2.39

Tsangano 3.20 3.17

Moatize 1.33 1.78

Table 8: productivity in the three districts

2.1 Preparation of fields

The results of the study showed that only 22.5% of respondents have draft animals, of which 22% have

cattle and only 0.5% donkeys. However, only 14% of owners of draft power cattle use them for work

(farming and transportation).

Most notably 77.5% of farmers depend on family labour and other means of employment. Only 16.7% of

respondents answered that they made use of seasonal workers to carry out various farming activities,

which means that the remaining 60.8% use family labour only.

The option for labour-intensive manual land preparation instead of animal traction may be associated

with the type of crop practices used for the preparation of the fields, that oftentimes involves the

building of ridges, which probably would not be possible with animal traction. Even farmers, who use

animal traction for ploughing, have to manually re-build ridges mainly in the districts of Angonia and

Tsangano.

2.2 Major cash crops / processing

Based on the list of crops surveyed the biggest highlight was the culture of Soya, followed by tobacco

although the latter has the Mozambique Leaf Tobacco (MLT) as promoter, that ensures the availability of

all inputs for its production as well as buying the totality of all production. The soybean crop is new but

soon occupied space to the point of stifling the culture of tobacco. This might be caused by the relative

easiness of soybean cultivation compared to tobacco and greater market demand. Lastly appear crops

like sesame and sunflower respectively. The table below shows the positioning of these crops by the

preference of its cultivation by farmers in the three districts.

Crop Preference of cultivation by farmers (%) Order

Tabaco 17,0 % 2°

Sunflower 0,3 % 4°

Sesame 0,5 % 3°

Soya 18,0 % 1°

Table 9: Preference of producers in regard cultivation of cash crops

2.3 Major food crops

Food crops play an important role in the lives of the families of the three districts. This being subsistence

farming, one realizes easily that the main object of the producers is to ensure household food security

and in the second place to meet other needs such as education for their children, health, clothing and

more. To facilitate the analysis of the role of food crops in the lives of people, we will present the

discussion by groups of particular crops: cereals, legumes and vegetables.

Cereals

Due to their role played in the eating tradition of the three districts, two types of cereals were chosen for

the study and analysis: maize and sorghum. But the results were surprising, because even though DPA

Tete in the campaign 2011/12 had run a program of promoting the cultivation of short-cycle sorghum

17

and had distributed seed to promote this crop, none of the producers reported actually growing it.

However, maize was produced by all our informants in the first season and only 9% of respondents also

seeded in the second period, making it clear that this culture is of greater importance in the first season.

However, only 40.6% of respondents used certified seed with 39% obtained through purchase while the

remaining 1.6% through other, unspecified forms of acquisition.

The producers of the districts of Angonia and Tsangano are the ones that most often opted for certified

seed at a rate of 39.6 and 48.9% respectively. This may explain why the district of Tsangano has

presented the greater productivity in comparison to the other two districts under review. From this result

it can be noticed clearly that the producers still opt for the local varieties i.e. usage of grain selected by

them as seed, which explains the weak further crop yields observed in the project area. The average

yields of the three districts are shown in the table 8.

Although maize is produced by all producers, only 5.4% of our informants responded that they sold

maize Therefore it is clear that maize is not used for sale but for subsistence food instead, and their sale

is based on surplus production. In response to questions about the main traditional food dish, in regard

to the cereals surveyed, maize was clearly dominant amongst other cereals, as shown in the table

below.

Crop Most important food for families (%)

Maize 98.7

Rice 1.0

Sorghum 0.0

Millet 0.3

Table 10: Food preferences of informants in relation to grains

Of the 98.7% of respondents who indicated that their basic diet consisted of maize, 94.6% had

confirmed reserves from their farms from the previous season. This underscores the choice for maize to

feed the population of the study area. Even in seasons with poor harvests, people always look at maize

to feed them. To support this information, 96.6% of respondents, confirmed that even in the lean period

they consumed more maize than other crops grown in the area, as shown in the table below, making

clear the dependence of the inhabitants of the study area in relation to maize in their diet.

crops Freq. (%)

Maize 96.4%

Rice 0.8%

Sorghum 0.8%

Millet 0.0%

Cassava 0.3%

Sweet Potato orange-fleshed 0.8%

Sweet Potato 0.0%

Other tubers 1.0%

wild fruit 0.0%

Total 100.0%

Table 11: Food preferences of the inhabitants of the three districts

Although the districts of Angonia and Tsangano are recognized as being the largest producers of Irish

potato in Tete province, its consumption is included under other tubers, which is around 1.0% of the

option. Which means that this massive production is intended for sale as a source of income? During the

study it was noted that men and women coming from other parts of the country were on the scene to

buy potatoes and other vegetables.


Pulses

For the analysis a slightly longer list was considered than that of cereals and legumes to highlight the

following: Common bean, cowpeas and pigeon peas. These crops such as cereals have been identified as

contributing to the household food security and income generation, through their marketing.

The cultivation of the common bean is more significant in the districts of Angonia and Tsangano where

most people grow crops such as shown in the table below.

District No. of respondents Frequency of common bean production (%)

Angonia 162 91.0 %

Tsangano 78 75.7 %

Moatize 30 28.3 %

total 270 69.6 %

Table 12 Farmers growing common beans in the three districts

However, in regard to cowpea, the survey results did not show major differences in terms of choices of

producers in all the three districts. The table below shows that this crop is above 50% of the choice of

producers in their production systems, being a strategic crop for household food security.

District No. of respondents Frequency of cow pea production (%)

Angonia 99 55.6 %

Tsangano 70 68.0 %

Moatize 61 57.6 %

total 230 59.3 %

Table 13: Farmers growing cow peas in the three districts

As for pigeon pea which is the focus of the project. The results of the study demonstrate that the district

of Angonia has no tradition of growing of this legume. As was referenced above, farmers in Angonia and

Tsangano districts, because of their agro-ecological potential, are cultivating various types of vegetables.

However it is worth noting that this crop is already known throughout the project area with greater

emphasis on the districts of Moatize and Tsangano, as shown in the table below.

District No. of respondents Frequency of Pigeon pea production (%)

Angonia 8 4.5 %

Tsangano 67 65.1 %

Moatize 83 78.3 %

total 158 40.7 %

Table 14: Farmers growing Pigeon peas in the three districts

Based on field observations, supplemented by respondents, growing pigeon peas is more significant and

is part of the production systems of the families in the districts of Moatize (northern part) and Tsangano

(southern part). In the district of Angonia, this is not traditional crop and all activities to be carried out

will initially have to focus on promotion of the crop.

Growing common bean, in addition to being a source of income, plays an important role in the diet of

the population of the three districts. Between 58 to 92% of the product produced in the previous season

was for consumption as shown in the comparative table between the districts below:

District Common beans destined for own consumption (%)

Angonia 58.4 %

Tsangano 71.8 %

Moatize 92.5 %

Table 15: percentage of production of common beans destined for own consumption

19

Oilseeds

Only the groundnut was considered for study under the subchapter of food crops. Distinction was made

between the big and the small groundnut, because of the comparative advantages that each variety

presents in relation to the other. In terms of the choice of cultivation, the informants showed no

significant difference since the small peanut was grown by 15.5% against 16.5% for the large, a

percentage difference of 1% in terms of the choice of cultivation. In terms of improved seed, only 23.4

% of respondents opted for certified seed of which 20.3 % bought this same seed and the rest

purchased from other ways not investigated in this study.

In terms of its distribution among districts, the large groundnut is grown more in Moatize (28.9%),

followed by Angonia with 13.3%, while the district Tsangano only scores 7.9% as opposed to small

groundnuts in the two districts are positioned in second place with a slight difference of 0.3% in favour

of the district Tsangano. Of all three districts, the groundnut is more cultivated in the district of Moatize.

As we saw in the characterization of soils, the soils of the districts of Angonia and Tsangano are heavier

than the district of Moatize which favours this situation.

As in the cultivation of cereals, use of certified seed by the producers of the family sector is still

relatively low and almost the entire crop is planted in the first period of the season.

Unlike cereals, groundnut cultivation plays an important role in family income. The table below shows

the contribution of this crop compared to cereals in household income.

Crop / variety Percentage sold (%)

Groundnut - big 23.4

Groundnut – small 25.8

Maize 5.4

Sorghum 0.0

Table 16: Contribution of crops / varieties in family income in the three districts

2.4 Vegetables

Horticulture occupies a prominent position in the sources of income available to producers. The districts

of Angonia and Tsangano are major suppliers of various vegetables to the city of Tete and the town of

Moatize in addition to the buyers coming from other provinces. Its major production is apparent in the

dry and cool season (second agricultural season) compared to the hot and rainy season (first season).

The table below shows the frequency of production of vegetables by farmers in the three districts.

crop Nr of informants producing vegetables

% in relation to the sample

pumpkin 154 17.3%

Irish potatoes 139 15.6%

okra 137 15.4%

tomato 133 14.9%

cabbage (‘couve’) 115 12.9%

cucumber 99 11.1%

onion 76 8.5%

watermelon 30 3.4%

garlic 5 0.6%

cabbage (‘repolho’) 2 0.2%

other 1 0.1%

total 891 100.0%

Table 17: Frequency of production of vegetables by farmers in the three districts

In general, the table clearly demonstrates the importance of Irish potato, okra, tomato, and cabbage

compared with other vegetables. Although the cultivation of pumpkin is more important in relation to the


remaining vegetables, as this is more suited for family consumption with the accompanying "Nshima"

food, based on maize. In relation to the cultivation of vegetables per district once more the districts of

Angonia and Tsangano showed their high potential as illustrated in the table below.

crop Angonia Tsangano Moatize

pumpkin 22.3% 14.8% 16.1%

garlic 1.6% 0.3% 0.0%

Irish potatoes 2.4% 24.3% 15.8%

onion 9.3% 8.6% 7.7%

cabbage (‘couve’) 8.9% 15.4% 13.2%

watermelon 8.5% 1.1% 1.8%

cucumber 18.2% 6.5% 11.0%

okra 18.6% 12.9% 15.8%

tomato 10.1% 16.2% 17.6%

cabbage (‘repolho’) 0.0% 0.0% 0.7%

other species 0.0% 0.0% 0.4%

Table 18: Frequency of production of vegetables per district

In a comparative horizontal reading of the distribution of crops per district, it is noted that in the

2011/12 season a program for promoting horticultural has taken place in the district of Moatize by the

Salesian Society; reason why the levels of production of these crops are relevant, although in very

different quality of vegetables from Angonia and Tsangano.

2.5 Losses in food crops

Losses during production or in the field

Unlike large groundnut and maize, no loss was reported for small groundnuts although these varieties

have been grown in the same season. Further study and investigation into this situation may be

recommended since this study was not exhaustive to clarify this phenomenon. According to our

informants, maize suffered more from excess rain than big groundnuts as the table and the comparison

chart below show.

Causes of losses Frequency in field losses large groundnuts (%)

Frequency in field losses Maize (%)

Floods/excessive rains 2.2 98.3

Pests 53.4 1.7

wildlife 2.6 0

domestic animals 1.5 0

fires 1.1 0

decay 14.2 0

other causes 9 0

Table 19: Analysis of the causes of crop losses of maize and groundnuts in the field

In these three districts practically excessive rain is crucial to maize yield. Aware of this situation of

farmers use the practice to build ridges for planting maize as a way to alleviate this problem becomes

relevant because the producers do not use fertilizer for the correction of fertility and leaching the soil

suffers from floods and erosion. However, for the cultivation of groundnuts is important that producers

are prepared to deal with the pest control in the field.

Post-harvest losses

21

Contrary to what has been found in other studies, there were no post-harvest losses in maize and small

peanuts. However, there are losses in the order of 14.2% in large groundnuts. The table below shows

the main causes of postharvest losses the crop and its peanut great frequency.

Causes of post-harvest

losses

Freq.

(%)

Pests 41.8

Decaying 25.5

Domestic Animals 10.9

Others 7.3

Floods 5.5

Wild Animals 3.6

Wild Fires 3.6

Table 20: Effect of different causes of post-harvest losses in the cultivation of large groundnuts

As the table and graph illustrate, pests are a major problem in storage. It is also worth noting that the

greatest losses were observed in the districts of Angonia and Tsangano, areas with lots of rainfall

occurrence, which may have contributed to the high losses by decaying, as the crops are harvested with

high moisture content. The wild and domestic animals reinforce the set of pests; because after harvest

producers have the habit of letting it dry in the field or in the open air in their backyard, exposing this

way produce to attacks from wild and domestic animals. The floods mentioned by our informants, can

easily be confused with the heavy rainfall that occurs in these districts and consequently increases the

moisture that causes decaying in the barn or in storage.

2.6 Agricultural Extension Services

In addition to the extension workers of private companies, who focus on the promotion of certain crops

such as tobacco, soybeans, cotton, among others, the three districts targeted by the project are covered

by a network of public extension, although with rather low numbers of extension workers. For example,

in Moatize district, the administrative post of Zobué, which is an area with a lot of potential, is assisted

by one extension worker only, based at the headquarters of the administrative post; which makes his

extension intervention less tangible. Consequently, in the three districts only 30.5% of our respondents

confirmed having received information or advice from an extension worker. Tsangano is relatively better

off in terms of performance of its district extension in comparison to other districts, as shown in the

table below, on the frequency of positive responses regarding the receipt of a message by producers

through extension on the agricultural production process.

District Access to agricultural extension messages

Angonia 24.6%

Tsangano 53.4%

Moatize 22.0%

Table 21: Access of farmers to agricultural extension messages

In general, there is still a large deficit of technical assistance to producers, if we take into account that

quite some of these are extension workers from a private network; who only promote the crop that is of

commercial interest to them, rather than also promoting subsistence crops.

This situation becomes critical because of the very low degree of literacy of the members of the

households, which makes that their technical decisions are oftentimes based on local traditions and

Figure 4: causes of post-harvest losses in large groundnuts

01020304050

Causes of post harvest losses in large groundnuts

Frequency (%)


customs. The graph below is a comparison of reading and writing skills between men and women.

However, in both instances, the writing and reading skills were below 50% of the sample which means a

majority of people in the three districts is illiterate.

Figure 5: reading and writing skills of men (blue) and women (brown) in the three districts

Only in the district of Moatize women are more enabled to write and read than men, but this ability was

below 35% of the sample, which means that overall there are more women who cannot read and write.

This illiteracy affects to a great extend the process of adoption of technologies transmitted by the

extension workers and thus constitutes the main reason for the weak agricultural yields despite the

presence of the extension network.

2.7 Rural associativism

Associativism is a form of organization that producers adopt especially in recent years as a way to be

able to face jointly the difficulties of production and marketing. Due to the limitation of the number of

extension workers to assist producers, increased in recent years the methodology of grouping producers

to better assist them and moreover, the government has been promoting associations as a way to better

assist farmers with District Development Funds.

Despite all this movement and hard work in order to organise the producers, in practice there remains a

great reluctance by producers to join this particular movement. During the survey it was found that only

11.4% of households in the sample belong to an association.

Although the new law on associativism in the sector allows associations to be legalized down to the level

of Administrative Posts, people remain largely uninterested. Off the record, they claim mismanagement

of assets or property of the association by its leaders, (reaching even the level of leaders confounding

the association with its own private property), as demotivating factor, which puts down all the good

intentions around the associative movement.

2.8 Access to Rural Micro-Financial Services

In all three districts major commercial banks are represented. The table below shows the representation

of commercial banks by district.

District Represented Banks

Angonia Banco Comercial de Investimento (BCI), Millennium BIM, Banco Terra and Banco

Oportunidade (BOM)

Tsangano No bank is resident, but every week there is a mobile banking service in district provided

by BOM

Moatize Banco Comercial de Investimento (BCI), Millennium BIM and Barclays Bank

Table 22: Representation of formal Financial Institutions in the three districts

A branch of Millennium BIM in Angonia headquarters is located in the administrative post of Domué and

Banco Oportunidade’s mobile service also covers the administrative posts and some localities.

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

45,0%

50,0%


Habilidades de escrita eleitura Homens

habilidades de leitura eescrita Mulheres

23

However, this movement is not reflected in the access to bank finance for agricultural activities, but

rather only the collection of savings. As a result of this, only 16.3% of our respondents confirmed having

received credit in the previous campaign. Of this universe, more men than women have received credit

as the table below shows that stratifies access to credit by gender in the households.

Gender Access to credit in households (%)

Men 85.7%

Women 12.7%

Both 1.6%

Table 23: Access to credit per gender in the households

Therefore, despite the presence of commercial banks and MFIs in the production areas, banks are still

not inclined to finance production, fearing the high risks associated with agricultural; with Banco BOM

being a positive exception. Which is why small holder producers continue to face difficulties in accessing

inputs of production (good quality, certified seed and agro-chemicals), perpetuating the subsistence

character of family farming, even though these farmers are operating in areas of high agricultural

potential. The table below clearly shows this cautious trend of banks that only contribute 9.5% in the

sources of financing of producers, leaving this role largely to government and NGOs, who jointly provide

79.4% of rural funding sources.

Source of finance Frequency of access (%)

NGOs 54.0%

government 25.4%

Commercial banks 9.5%

family 6.3%

companies 3.2%

associations 1.6%

traders 0.0%

stores 0.0%

Others 0.0%

friends 0.0%

total 100.0%

Table 24: Sources of rural finance for rural households in the three districts

Companies promoting certain crops like tobacco participate with 3.2% in the availability of credit in the

inputs of production and at the time of sale they deduct the repayment of these debts. However, as

noted in previous chapters, the poor education level of many producers makes this relationship with

trading companies very strained; because oftentimes, it is a deal made by an illiterate who is unable to

calculate production costs and a smart entrepreneur who wants to maximize its profits. It is the buyer

that does all the calculations and fixes the costs of the package provided to producers as well as the

purchase price of production, hence the need for a third party mediation to serve as a counter balance

and the ensure a win-win situation.

In this survey, the emphasis is on the role of families as a source of rural finance. It is customary in

African households that relatives or children, who live outside their home areas, channel to their families

in the areas of provenance some monetary help, which in this case is used to finance agricultural

production.

2.9 Agricultural marketing

Agricultural Marketing plays an important role in the lives of the communities of the three districts in

general and farmers in particular. Even though there are still problems in terms of road infrastructure,

especially those roads that connect the villages with each other, the capitals of the administrative posts

with localities, and even more those between localities and the villages where production occurs. During

the survey, we witnessed large tonnage trucks that go up to the administrative posts, thus forcing

buyers to look for other ways to have access to villages, both to buy as well as to transport to the


centres of the administrative posts, where commodities are then accumulated to be evacuated to the

districts capitals or to other destinations.

Note that although many difficulties with movement on these roads persist, men and women from the

cities of Tete, Moatize village among others, go down to the three districts daily and especially on days

previously agreed in places as market days. The table below shows the main market days in three

districts along the N7 road, with a detour past the Domué Administrative Post.

Districts Name of locality Market day(s)

Angonia Domue Fridays

Ulongue Saturdays

Tsangano Chivano Thursdays

Chiandame Wednesdays

Maconje Fridays

Moatize Kambulatsitse Fridays

Nkondedze Mondays and Tuesdays

Table 25: Main market day in localities along the N7 highway

To materialize this trade, producers coming from the points farthest away, arrive on the day before with

their produce on stacked on various marketing carts. Also some of the local producers do the same. In

the vicinity of these buying and selling centres, some have built shacks that are leased out for rates that

range from 50 to 100 MZN / night. On market day a range of services are provided, that allows visitors

to be there throughout the day, including the provision of food, music, transport, among others.

These market days are well known to buyers who visit the place especially for the purchase of various

agricultural products, as farmers take advantage to buy goods and agricultural inputs for subsequent

campaigns.

As was referenced in previous chapters, apart from tobacco, most crops grown by our respondents

beyond subsistence farming, are partially intended for sale. The table below shows the contribution of

cash crops and subsistence food crops in household income of smallholders by district.

Crop Frequency of contribution to house hold income by district


Maize 1.1% 3.9% 14.2%

sorghum 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Groundnut - large 7.1% 33.3% 23.1%

Groundnut - small 13.2% 30.3% 31.1%

common bean 41.6 % 28.2 % 7.6 %

cowpeas 12.9 % 13.6 % 9.4 %

pea pigeon 2.8 % 10.7 % 27.4 %

Table 26: Contribution of cash and subsistence food crops in income of smallholders by district

25

As we can see, oilseeds and pulses are the crops that contribute with a higher family income of

producers in the three districts. However, as noted in previous chapters, these crops are contributing to

food security in about 50% of harvested production. Different from cereals, where more than 70% of the

output is for family consumption.

2.10 Availability and access to food throughout the year

The issue of food security constitutes the subject of major attention during the survey and was evaluated

on the basis of availability and access to food, measured by the number of meals that households take

per day. In the periods considered as food scarce, most respondents (83.17%) assured us that they took

between two and three meals on average, of which 45.74% with two meals and 37.43% with 3 meals /

day, which implies that in periods of abundance they enjoy the habitual three square meals per day. The

table below shows the rate of access to food in terms of number of meals per day in households by district.

Nr. of meals / day Moatize Angonia Tsangano

1 24.53% 13.48% 17.48%

2 41.51% 45.51% 50.49%

3 33.96% 40.45% 32.04%

4 0.00% 0.56% 0.00%

Total (%) 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Table 27: Meal Frequency taken by households per day by district

Overall the frequency of meals by district in the periods considered to be food scarce is to a large extent

satisfactory, giving the impression that there are no serious problems of food insecurity. In Moatize and

Tsangano districts there were no situations in which households go a whole day without taking a meal,

but curiously the district of Angonia, where most households enjoy between two and three meals per

day during these periods, situations were also recorded in which households went hungry even to the

point of spending a day without eating, although at a very low rate of occurrence.

If the periods considered food scarce 75.47 to 85.96% of the households interviewed had between two

and three meals per day. We believe that in these districts there are no serious issues of availability and

access to food throughout the year or in other words, they enjoy food security at a reasonable level.

Maize being the most important product for their own consumption is sourced from their own fields of

0,00

10,00

20,00

30,00

40,00

50,00

Frequency of contribution tohouse hold income by districtAngonia

Frequency of contribution tohouse hold income by districtTsangano

Frequency of contribution tohouse hold income by districtMoatize

Figure 6: Contribution of cash and subsistence food crops in income of smallholders by district


production. The survey results show that 94.57% of households in the last 12 months had food reserves

of maize.

This is confirmed by the socioeconomic conditions in which 60.21% of respondents said that economic

conditions are better now than three years ago. While 24.55% of responders reported that the situation

was the same and only 15.25% of respondents felt that the situation has deteriorated.

27

3 Description of Value Chains for Pigeon pea and Maize

This chapter aims to summarise the main elements of the Pigeon pea and maize value chains in the

context of the AGRA project. The main thrust of the project is to increase overall household productivity

and financial security through improved yields of maize and Pigeon pea, as a result of Integrated Soil

Fertility Management (ISFM) and the efficiency of land use. Nevertheless, SNV feels strongly that such

improved agriculture practices would only find a ready uptake by farmers if yield increases are

significant and if there is a ready market to absorb the increased volumes produced. Hence the

importance of considering the entire Value Chain of Pigeon pea (and Maize) when trying to address

issues of production, productivity and income of small holder farmers.

This study uses a Value Chain Analysis (VCA) approach to identify the opportunities and challenges that

prevail at different stages in the Pigeon pea (and maize) subsector in Mozambique, spanning a full range

of economic activities; from provision of inputs and services to production, harvesting, value addition,

transport, processing, marketing and consumption. It is important to make the distinction between

supply chains and value chains. A supply chain is defined as a set of linkages between players where

there are no binding market relationships; while the concept of a value chain refers to a particular type

of supply chain where participants actively seek to support each other to improve systemic efficiency

and competitiveness in order to create value. However, we only use the less strict definition of the value

chain concept as the cooperation among different players in the Pigeon pea supply chain in Mozambique

is not well developed.

The Pigeon pea Value Chain, and to a large extend also the maize VC, are highly underdeveloped and

therefore inefficient and inequitable. Transaction costs are incurred at each node for cleaning,

packaging, transport, and other marketing functions required in buying and selling the product. This

tends to increase the marketing costs and lower the share of the consumer price received by the

smallholder farmers, especially when the value chain is overextended, involving a large number of nodes

and players.

In this study, we adopt the broader concept of a value chain to assess the constraints and opportunities

that underpin the Pigeon pea and maize subsectors in Mozambique. The main emphasis is on the pigeon

pea value chain, where the project aims to have an impact by supplying improved, high-yielding seeds

of the right variety and introduction of correct crop management practices. Where relevant to explain

the overall workings of the two chains, the maize supply chain is also investigated.

3.1 Introduction to the VCA

Pigeon pea is an important legume for smallholder farmers in Tete Province, especially in Moatize and

Tsangano districts. There it is typically inter-cropped (and sometimes rotation cropped) with maize, the

staple food crop of Mozambique. This is not only a good practice in terms of soil fertility management,

but also enhances food security through the production of both Pigeon peas and cereals.

Pigeon pea provides multiple benefits to the rural poor. First, its protein-rich edible peas can be

consumed both fresh and dry and provide a cheap source of protein for the poor farmers in the dry-

lands. We don’t have data on local consumption of pigeon pea in Tete province, but extrapolating from

the local consumption of common beans (which is between 58 and 92 % - see table 15), we can assume

that local consumption of pigeon pea is around 50%, which would comparable to neighbouring countries

like Malawi (65%) and Tanzania (35%).

Secondly, its leaves and hulls are used as livestock feeds and the stems as fuel wood. In the third place,

it has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (and make iron-bound phosphorus soluble) into available

forms for the current crop and subsequent ones. This is significant because most soils in semi-arid

regions are deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus.

For the producer, the advantage of intercropping PP with maize would be that the only extra work

required is the sowing and harvesting because the weeding is done while weeding the maize. No extra

fertiliser and no artificial irrigation are needed. The secret of a good yield is in proper plant density and

timing of planting. The crop is also resistant to most diseases and pest control is relatively easy.


In recent years, Pigeon pea has almost turned into a cash crop, due to the high market demand

internationally; particularly the Asian markets (India). Export traders in Mozambique buy significant

volumes of Pigeon peas in the Beira corridor and Zambezia. However, most of the produce in the project

districts of Moatize and Tsangano is currently sold into the neighbouring country of Malawi, where a

large part of the crop (> 80%) is processed into split peas - commonly known as dhal - for export to

Asian markets.

Both maize and Pigeon peas face major challenges. Productivity is very low at around 0.35 and 1.0

MT/ha respectively, while yields could potentially be twice or trice that, for various reasons including:

Low soil fertility due to excessive nutrient mining coupled with low use of fertilizers;

Poor access to and low use of improved seeds;

Near absence of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) practices and Good Agricultural

Practices (GAP), and

Low returns due to market imperfections. High transaction costs and problems of information

asymmetry continue to constrain smallholder farmers’ access to markets for products, inputs,

and services.

These constraints are exacerbated by poor infrastructure (e.g., roads, communication systems,

electricity, etc.) in rural areas and geographical dispersion of farmers and farms.

Description of the subsector The following paragraphs contain a summary of the main issues / constraining factors both at producer level and at Value Chain level for each stage of the chain:

This chapter also maps the main primary actors in each stage of the VC and suggests proposed solutions / actions to address some of the main issues identified, in as far as these fit within the limited scope and timeframe of the project and are directly related to the achievement of the project outcomes. Lastly the support organisations and extension services that are available in the project area are identified.

Input supply

In general, the use of improved seed and fertilizer are the two key determining factors of a good

harvest; besides good agricultural practices (and the weather, of course). However there are a number

of issues / challenges at the level of the individual farmer and at Value Chain level that need to be

addressed in order to improve productivity and quality of produce.

Pigeon pea varieties

Pigeon pea can be classified into three major types depending on the length of time taken to reach

maturity and its growth characteristics: (1) the short-duration type that takes 100-120 days to mature;

(2) the medium-duration group taking 150–200 days to mature, and (3) the long-duration group that

takes more than 220 days to mature.

On-going breeding programs aim at identifying medium and long-duration varieties with resistance to

Fusarium wilt. The two traits (resistance to Fusarium wilt and early maturity) have successfully been

incorporated into the short-duration types.

Issues at farmer level

Data from 2007 (TIA) indicate that only 10 % of farmers used improved seeds for maize and much

lower for other crops, for some as low as 3% . Interestingly, the baseline study found much higher

levels of improved maize seed use, up to as high as 48.9% in Tsangano. The reason behind this

input supply ProductionHarvesting

/ Bulking Marketing Transport Processing Sale / Export

Support organisations and extension services

29

rather high discrepancy is not known, but might point to a certain bias of the interviewees to

provide “correct” answers.

Item 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007

Chemical fertilizers 3.8 2.6 3.9 4.7 4.1

Pesticides 6.8 5.3 5.6 5.5 4.2

Animal traction 11.4 11.3 9.5 12.8 12.0

Irrigation 10.9 6.1 6.0 8.4 13.2

Use of improved seed

Maize 5.6 9.3 10.0

Rice 3.3 4.0 2.9

Groundnut 2.0 4.2 6.4

Table 28: Small and medium holdings using agricultural inputs (%)

Source: TIA 2002 to 2007.

Maize seed is widely available in agro-shops and markets in rural towns and villages, but the quality

(germination rate) is sometimes doubtful.

There is no Pigeon pea seed (improved or regular) available, sufficiently near to farmers to use.

Almost all seed is selected grain from the previous season, and at times swapped with neighbours.

This low use is mainly due to the high price of the seeds, farmers being unaware of the potential

benefits and oftentimes the lack of credit for farmers to purchase the more expensive improved

seeds.

Local Finance Institutes (banks like BCI, BIM, Standard Bank - AGRA Credit Guarantee Facility) do

not offer affordable products (high interest rates of up to 25 % and collateral requirements) and

others like Banco Terra have altogether shied away from lending to smallholders. Most important

under the MFIs operating in the area is Banco Oportunidade (BOM).

Lack of knowledge about (new) market opportunities and the benefits of using improved seeds hold

back the propagation of Pigeon pea as a cash crop.

Fertilizer use is very low in Mozambique in general, while Tete province scores relatively good

compared to other production areas. However, mainly all fertilizer used is for cash crops like

tobacco.

Issues at VC level

Oftentimes, the quality of the maize seed for sale is dubious. At times, it concerns grain that has

been selected (and painted) as seed. There is no uniformly enforced system of certification of seed.

During the interviews held, input supply companies mentioned that they have a market but, in many

instances they have to compete with provincial departments of agriculture and NGOs, which distribute

seeds in the field at heavily subsidised prices; often as little as 50% of the market price, as is usually

the case with government distribution. However, or perhaps thanks to this, government and NGOs

are the major buyers of seed in the province.

It should be noted that all these agro-dealers have a rather limited distribution network. Almost all

have stores in province capitals and operate in 2 to 5 district capitals of the Province. The long distance

to the end-user remains a major challenge to deliver the inputs where they are needed.

Another constraint mentioned by agro-dealers relates to the high interest rate on bank loans; (25 to

29% per annum - 2012) which limits the expansion of their businesses.

It is difficult to find improved grain legume seeds being sold by seed stockists. A major contributing

factor is the fact that pigeon pea is a self-pollinated crop. Consequently, farmers can maintain the

productivity of new varieties for 3-5 years while using saved seed. However, seed quality

(germination rates and resistance to diseases) usually deteriorates quickly over the years.

The use of saved seed makes production of improved pigeon pea seeds uneconomical, thus

undermining the incentive for private sector investment in commercial production and marketing of

such seeds. Additionally, local markets for improved seed tend to be thin, limiting the ability of

commercial seed companies to exploit economies of scale. As such there is not yet a commercial

value / business case for agro-dealers / ambulant sellers to stock Pigeon pea seed.


Farmers in large parts of the target districts benefit from subsidies in Malawi, which resulted in

fertiliser prices that during the previous season were 30 to 50% cheaper than in Mozambique.

According to information from the provincial agricultural department (DPA – Tete), farmers are free

to import up to 10 bags each for their own use, without import formalities or duties.

It is not clear how long this subsidy system can be maintained, given the current economic crisis in

Malawi. However, donor interest in that country has re-emerged since the change of President and

incumbent President Joyce Banda has assured that “Government will implement the FISP for the

eighth time at the same cost of MWK 500 per bag of fertilizer and provide improved maize and

legume seed. The number of beneficiaries will increase from 1.4 to 1.5 million”.

The nearest fertilizer factory in Gondola District, is not able to meet demand, produces poor quality

fertilizer and involves high transport cost (1,500 km round trip).

Recently established fertilizer blending plants, like the ones from ETG and from Green Belt

Fertilizers, appear to be more oriented to servicing the hinterland of Zambia and Malawi, then the

local market in Mozambique, reflecting the current low demand for fertilizer.

The nearest laboratory facility for testing soils is in Zimbabwe, but labs are being built in Manica

(and Nampula).

Primary actors in input supply

Pigeon pea

ICRISAT has been working on improving Pigeon pea varieties for over a decade. They have been

operating in Tete for over 5 years and have been providing basic seed for Pigeon peas for the past 2

years in Angonia. They have a few farmers multiplying the seeds and also a number of demo plots.

ICRISAT has provided 5 tons of seed for the 2012/13 season, but at the same time indicated the

need for the project to start looking for other sources of seed.

Seed companies like Phoenix Seed and MozSeeds, in partnership with ICRISAT are initiating a

program of multiplication of pigeon pea seed. Three varieties of pigeon peas; two short cycle (ICEAP

0055 and 0056) and a medium / long cycle (ICEAP 0040) were supplied for multiplication.

IIAM in Manica is also involved in the production program with pigeon peas seed varieties released

by ICRISAT, including tests with micro-dosing of P-fertilizer.

Both MozSeeds as well as Phoenix Seeds can ensure supply of pigeon pea seed in larger quantities

only from the 2013/14 campaign.

Maize and other seeds; fertilizer

Two input supply companies (agro-dealers), at medium scale operate in Tete; IAP and Bonimar and

others such as Phoenix Seeds, MozSeeds, Semoc and Pannar are based in Manica, but have

activities in other provinces as well.

Almost all of the companies interviewed in this study market, in addition to fertilizers and other

agro-chemicals, hybrid maize seed varieties (e.g. PAN67) and open pollinated OPVs (e.g. Matuba).

They also trade various seeds including soybean, sesame and vegetables (tomatoes, onions,

peppers and the like).

These are seeds of its own production, but agro-dealers also operate as resellers of products

supplied by other seed companies.

The agro-dealers interviewed, annually sell over 500 tons on average of diverse seeds.

company coverage type of seed volume

MT/year

Bonimar Tete maize, sugar beans, cowpeas and vegetables 500

IAP Tete, Niassa maize, sugar beans, cowpeas, soy, sesame and

vegetables

800

Phoenix

Seeds

Manica maize, sugar beans, cowpeas, soy, ground nut, sesame

and pigeon peas

200

MozSeeds Gaza, Manica maize, soybeans, rice, sesame, pigeon peas 700

Table 29: Coverage and volume of trade of the main agro-dealers

31

None of the companies visited had available seed of pigeon peas, because according to them the

producers currently rely on their own production.

Most companies interviewed have direct seed production and subcontracted. In subcontracted

production companies offer technical assistance, inputs and in some cases mechanisation. Angonia

was mentioned as the district where most seed is produced in Tete Province. In Manica province the

seed production fields are located mostly in Sussundenga.

In Angonia a seed processing facility is being established with capacity to process 5 tons / hour. This

infrastructure was funded by FAO and is owned by the Association of Seed Processors of Angonia,

which is currently chaired by the director of the company IAP.

Mozambique Leaf Tobacco (MLT) only supplies fertilizer for its contracted crop, but is aware of the

practice that farmers divert some of the fertilizer (supplied on credit) to other crops.

In each of the three districts in the project area an Association of Agro-dealers was created with the

help of IFDC.

Proposed solutions / actions

Pigeon pea

Strategically, the project should encourage the cultivation of varieties of pigeon peas that have cream-

coloured peas, which usually fetch a higher price; in order to facilitate acceptance in the market and

improve sales returns for the farmers. These can be both short duration (ICEAP 0055, 0056) to make

use of early-season premium prices in India and medium / long duration (ICEAP 0040, 0557) that are

better suited to the current growing habits of farmers and the prevailing agro-climatic conditions.

In order to kick start the production of pigeon peas that respond to the market requirements of seed

size and colour (creamed), the project distributed 7,5 tons of improved seeds to 3,000 farmers in the

first year.

Each farmer received 2,5 kgs of seeds for planting at a 0.25 ha field each.

For intercropping one needs about 3 - 4 kg seeds per ha, and 7 – 8 kg for mono-cropping. To be

on the safe side, the project worked with 10kg / ha, corresponding to 2,5 kg per 0,25 ha.

The Moatize Agro-dealers Association is an association consisting of 12 individual agro-dealers covering the

whole district of Moatize - Kambulatsitsi (Kambulatsistsi-sede, Madamba) and Zobue (Zobue-sede,

Mussacama, Caprizange, Samoa, Nkondedze-sede, Fututo). It is worth mentioning that its president

(Angelo Fungulane) is a very influential person. He is a successful business man, having interests amongst

other domains in agriculture as an agro-dealer and a farmer.

This association operates in one of the hotspots of Pigeon pea production in Tete Province.

At the beginning of this year, they received an unspecified quantity of Pigeon pea short cycle seeds that

they distributed amongst producers of Zóbué.

Angonia Agro-dealers Association: Angonia is arguably the most organised production zone of Tete and

this is reflected in the diversity and organization of its agriculture organisations. The agro-dealers

association has members with shops in Ulongué, Mulanguene-Nhamunhona, Domué, Chipindo and has the

capacity to run mobile outlets in the peak season (planting season).

The president of the association is Emilio Bernardo Magacula, but the most influential individual is Onésimo

Jacob, the biggest agro-dealer in the area and a 40 ha producer who is often asked to grow grains for

seeds by various institutions, including IIAM.

They reported to have distributed 5 tonnes of Pigeon pea short cycle seeds from Malawi.

Tsangano Agro-dealers Association: Tsangano is a very remote area with difficult access. Due to this fact

the association covers mainly only the district “capital” – Tsangano-Sede. They also said to be covering

Ntengo-Wa-Mbalame, but apparently this area is also served by the Angonia Agro-dealers Association.

We understood from SDAE that in this district the “Chefes de Postos” are key figures in inputs distribution.

Honório Plácido, president of the association is a very influential figure in Tsangano-Sede as his input

distribution outlet is also the main shop for other general products.

They reported to have distributed 2.000 kgs of Pigeon pea seeds from SDAE.


This concerned white colour, high-yielding medium / long maturation varieties ICEAP 0040 and

0557, obtained from ICRISAT and IKURU respectively.

Ideally seeds need to be repacked in plastic bags of 2,5 to 5kgs for easy distribution via LCBs.

Each farmer also received 10 kg of NPK fertilizer for spot application on PP.

Application of peer pressure mechanisms like joint sowing and fertilizing to make sure that input

are applied as intended.

At harvest time, farmers are to reimburse double the quantity in grain of the seeds received, for

redistribution to 3.000 more farmers in year 2, etc.

Nevertheless, it is unreasonable to expect a commercial seed sector to emerge in areas where

the grain market itself is poorly developed. In the short to medium term the challenge is to design

and implement a sustainable system of redistribution of seeds. Swapping seed at farmer field days is

clearly not enough. Some measures that will increase the chances of success of any such system

include:

Selection criteria of participating farmers to be developed and strict selection carried out by the

LCBs together with the proposed buyer, where feasible.

The District Associations of Agro-dealers should be involved in the design (and implementation)

of the seed distribution system.

Pilot marketing of small seed packs in the eastern and southern African regions has borne

positive results, encouraging farmers to purchase small quantities of seed at prices higher than

grain price.

While most legumes require inoculation to optimise their N-fixing ability, pigeon pea rarely needs

inoculation because it can nodulate on Rhizobium that is naturally present in most soils. Therefore,

inoculant application is not expected to have a major effect on pigeon pea.

Dressing of pigeon pea seed with imidacloprid before planting ensures fungal disease control; e.g. of

Fusarium wilt and is encouraged by the project.

Fertilizer and agro-chemicals

Earlier research in India, Malawi and Tanzania have indicated that Pigeon pea fixes substantial amounts

of nitrogen (N) and makes available fixed phosphorus (P)1. The project will do practical applications in

the demonstration centres and at farmers’ fields to illustrate the economic viability of micro-dosing with

P fertilizer. Furthermore, in the first project year, 3,000 farmers each were provided with 10 kg of

compound fertilizer to showcase the effects of fertilizer use on farm-level fields.

Further scientific trials by research institutions will have to come up with specific fertilizer

recommendations for the type of soils and rain fall in the project area.

The use of organic fertilizer is being promoted as part of the standard farmer training package.

Production and productivity

Currently, the level of agricultural productivity is low compared to that in other developing countries,

including SADC countries. This low level of crop productivity is not surprising given the dependency on

rain-fed agriculture and the limited use of fertilizers and improved seeds. Results of the National

Agricultural Survey (TIA 2007) indicate that only about 4% of smallholder farmers used fertilizers, 10%

used improved maize seeds and 4% used pesticides. (See table 26.)

1 Reports indicate that N fixed by pigeon pea is between 150 and 200 kg/ha especially when low-dosed with P-based fertilizers (ICRISAT, 2003).

ICRISAT has worked with partners on development and use of fertilizer micro-dosing in Zimbabwe and this was validated in Kenya (10 to 17 kg N

and 10-20 kg P ha-1).

33

Source: FAOSTAT 2009

Figure 7: Maize yield in Mozambique and selected regions.

Pigeon pea

In 2011 India had an annual average of about 3.4 million ha under pigeon pea cultivation. The other

major growers of pigeon pea are Myanmar, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Dominican Republic, Nepal, and

Congo DRC. India is both the leading producer and consumer of pigeon pea. However, the crop is also

widely grown in eastern and southern Africa.

As can be concluded from the table below, Mozambique’s production and trade of pigeon pea is not

significant enough to make it appear in the FAO production and trade statistics for 2011. The country

doesn’t appear in the top 20 of pigeon pea producing countries in the world. However, internal statistics

indicate a rising trend in both production and export of the crop.

Figure 8: Top 10 pigeon pea producing countries (2011)


Rank Area Production

(Int $1000)

Flag Production

(MT)

Flag

1 India 1410260 * 2860000

2 Myanmar 437208 * 837385

3 Tanzania 142556 * 272608

4 Malawi 91088 * 195516

5 Uganda 48699 * 94861 Im

6 Kenya 43560 * 84313

7 Dominican Republic 12762 * 24818

8 Nepal 6895 * 14107

9 Congo (DRC) 3609 * 7161 Im

10 Haiti 1673 * 3274 Im

11 Burundi 1637 * 3186 Im

12 Panama 935 * 1831 Im

13 Venezuela 709 * 1398 Im

14 Trinidad and Tobago 664 * 1282 Im

15 Philippines 495 * 927

16 Jamaica 488 * 965

17 Bangladesh 349 * 676

18 Grenada 343 * 804 Im

19 Comoros 213 * 400 Im

20 Puerto Rico 158 * 297 Im

* Unofficial figure

[ ] Official data

Im FAO data based on imputation methodology

Table 30: Top 20 Pigeon Pea producing countries (2011)

Mozambique’s pigeon pea productivity remains low largely due to the continued use of low yielding and

disease susceptible traditional varieties by smallholder producers. The low productivity is a major

constraint to the expansion of the pigeon pea trade, leading to high average costs of production and to a

loss of economies of scale. Low yields and poor productivity of available varieties translate into

inadequate production and unreliable supply which undermines commercialization and competitiveness.

Main Issues at farmer level

Low soil fertility because of poor soil fertility management, exacerbated by (incorrect) use of

inorganic fertilizers and by non-application of Conservation Agriculture practices.

Low productivity as a result of poor agricultural practices including, but not limited to:

o Too early or too late planting, because of a lack of information about the increasingly irregular

patterns of rainfall. However, the effect of late planting is significant as “every day of late

planting results in 2 to 3% production loss.” (SAT, 2012)

o Improper plant spacing, as farmers prefer not to plough and use one distance (compass) for all

the different crops.

o Incorrect application of counter ridges, leading to either too fast run-off of water or water

logging.

o In-row intercropping of grains and legumes (maize, sorghum, beans, etc.), making pest control

cumbersome and leading to overall low yields.

o Planting too many seeds in one whole (one seed for every member of the extended family:

mother, father, etc.) and consequently not thinning out of excess plants.

o Low or no use of fertilizer and no application of lime.

o Insufficient weed control.

o Low or no use of herbicides, insecticides or fungicides

35

Pest and disease management (IPDM)

Several pests and diseases affect pigeon pea production in Mozambique. Among the common diseases is

Fusarium wilt2, a fungal disease caused by Fusarium udum, is the most significant in terms of economic

importance. Fusarium wilt is a soil-borne pathogen, which can live in the soil for long periods of time, so

rotational cropping is not a useful control method. Possible control methods include improving soil

conditions, removing infected plant tissue to prevent overwintering of the disease, using soil and

systemic fungicides to eradicate the disease from the soil, and using clean seeds each year. The best

control method found is planting resistant varieties. The fungus Trichoderma viride is a proven bio-

control agent to control this disease in an environment friendly way (Wikipedia, 2013)

Obs.: Variety ICEAP 00040, which was distributed by the project, is resistant to Fusarium wilt.

Important field insect pests include the pod boring lepidoptera, pod sucking bugs and pod flies; which

cause economic losses by lowering yield and reducing grain quality.

In future, commercializing pigeon pea production will require greater use of pesticides due to the build-

up pests and diseases. This will in turn call for farmer training on pesticide safe use and removal of input

marketing constraints.

Crop budgets

Pigeon pea competes for inputs (especially land and labour) in the producing areas with maize, sorghum

and cowpea, among other crops. Farmers will engage in pigeon pea production only if it remains

relatively competitive. The competitiveness of pigeon pea arises from its biological features and

adaptation to the marginal conditions under which it is grown. Pigeon pea performs very well in hot and

dry environments. Its drought tolerance and ability to make use of residual moisture during the dry

season enables it to withstand drought-related shocks and generally do well even with limited rain.

Crop budgets are difficult to calculate as maize is usually intercropped with Pigeon pea, cowpeas, etc.

Prices of crops including Pigeon pea fluctuate quite a lot (prices in the 2010 season ranged from MZN 10

to 14 ; last 2012 season from MZN 8 to 10 ) and the revaluation of the Metical exerts a downward

pressure on farm-gate prices. The crop competes with other more profitable crops, like soya and

sesame. As a result, farmers lack objective information on potential cost / benefits of the different crops

and find it difficult to do farm planning. See example crop budget for Pigeon pea included in annex 6.5.

Maize

The average farm sizes range from 2 ha (in the south of the project area) to up to 30 ha (mainly in

Angonia). NB: The lower range is still twice the national average size small holding of 1 ha (TIA 2007).

The average yield of maize is 2 MT / ha in Angonia, compared to an average 1 MT in the rest of the

country.

In the recent past, the timing of planting is influenced by increased irregularity of rainfall patterns.

Farmers, even if they have cattle, make a relatively low use of animal traction for ploughing. This is

exacerbated by the lack of tractor hiring services in the neighbourhood and at affordable rates.

Excessive application of maize seeds (“one seed for every member of the extended family”) in each

planting hole, is leading to higher than necessary seed use and to the need for thinning of excess plants,

which, if actually carried out is another claim on scarce labour.

2 The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum affects a wide variety of hosts of any age. Tomato, tobacco, legumes, cucurbits,

sweet potatoes and banana are a few of the most susceptible plants, but it will also infect other herbaceous plants. Fusarium

oxysporum generally produces symptoms such as wilting, chlorosis, necrosis, premature leaf drop, browning of the vascular

system, stunting, and damping-off. The most important of these is vascular wilt. Fusarium wilt starts out looking like vein clearing on the younger leaves and drooping of the older lower leaves, followed by stunting of the plant, yellowing of the lower

leaves, defoliation, marginal necrosis and death of the plant. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusarium_wilt


Pigeon pea

Main production areas are the northern part of Moatize and some parts of Tsangano. There is hardly any

production in Angonia, because of relatively better agro-climatical conditions in that district, but also

because of a lack of buyers as a result to distance to the main market (Malawi).

NB: This calls for a diversified implementation strategy to approach the three production areas.

Rotation farming and intercropping are common practices by small-scale farmers in Africa and pigeon

pea has been reported to be suitable for both. Pigeon pea can be incorporated with crops such as maize,

sorghum or groundnuts without significantly reducing the yield of the main crop. However, sole cropping

of maize and pigeon pea usually gives significantly higher grain yields over intercropping systems.

o Intercropping is not widely practiced outside Moatize district and parts of Tsangano.

o Sugar beans (‘Feijão Manteiga’) and cow peas (‘Feijão Nhemba’) are common. Lentil pea

(‘Feijão Holoco’) is not traditionally grown in this area.

o Rotation cropping is needed / advisable with cash crops like tobacco and cotton.

Although pigeon pea breeding has been carried out in Eastern and Southern Africa for over two decades,

its production has remained static over the same period. A major producing country, such as Malawi,

only manages an average yield of 450 Kg/ha, which is less than 25% of the potential yield. Long

duration variety ICEAP 00040 (as distributed by the project in the 2012/13 season) has a yield potential

of 1.9 MT/ha. In Malawi, ICRISAT has developed and distributed for multiplication improved, high-

yielding varieties. However, farmers continue to grow traditional landraces due to ineffective seed

distribution channels.

In Mozambique improved varieties have only occasionally been distributed by NGOs. Therefore mainly

retained seed from the previous harvest of traditional varieties is being used. As a result, average yields

per ha of pigeon pea in the project area vary from 0.15 to 0.35 MT/ha.

Primary actors in production

The primary actors in the production stage are the small holder farmers themselves and the Producer

Groups / Associations of farmers.

Other than transferring fixed N to the inter-planted crop, pigeon pea has the ability to bring minerals from

deeper soil horizons to the surface also improving soil air circulation to the benefit of the accompanying

crop. Pigeon pea’s initial slow growth reduces competition for light, water and soil nutrients when

intercropped thereby minimizing any negative impact on the main crop. Under rotation farming, the

residual effect of N fixed by pigeon pea on a following cereal crop can be as much as 40Kg N/ha.

Angonia Producers’ Association (Associação de Agro-Pecuária de Tilimbique). This is not Angonia’s

Association as such, because they only cover one half of the district (Ulongué). The other half (Domué) is

covered by another association. Both associations were set up with assistance from CLUSA and they

continue to enjoy substantial support from CLUSA as they are working together in their Soya project,

including three more associations in Macanga and Tsangano districts.

Tilimbique hosts some of the most successful and influential producers in Angonia, including the likes of

Mr Onésimo Jacob (refer to the description above on Angonia Agro-dealers Association). Their

organisation structure is impressive and they reported to consist of 53 smaller associations (clubs) and a

total of 1.595 members, of whom 657 women (41%).

They, together with another CLUSA association are the main suppliers to WFP with a supply contract

about 700 MT of maize per year. They mentioned that WFP would be willing to buy Pigeon pea as well.

Tsangano Producers’ Association (Associação Rosita) Rosita is a relatively small association based in

Tsangano-Sede. In their own words they are by far not representative of the producers in Tsangano (not

even in Tsangano-Sede) as there are other (and bigger) associations around.

They only have 22 members of whom 9 women (41%) and have activities in the Vanane, Mtula villages in

Tsangano-Sede.

Moatize Producers’ Association

37

Evolution of population and labour force composition

1997 2002 2007 2012 1997-2002

2002-2007

2007-2012

Rural population [% of total population] 71.89 67.75 63.95 59.99 -1.18

-1.15

-1.27

Labour force in agriculture [% of total labour force] 83.28 82.30 81.25 80.01 -0.24

-0.26

-0.31

Females [% of labour force in agriculture] 63.93 64.58 65.10 65.26 0.2 0.16 0.05

Table 31: Evolution of population and labour force composition

Although women constitute 65% of the labour force in agriculture, the contribution of women in

production tends to be underestimated and one of the reasons for this is that women are socially

invisible. As communal land is usually owned by the head of the household who are mostly men, the

women end up doing most of the work (from planting to harvesting) but when selling time comes, the

women are side lined; taking little part in commercialisation.

Proposed solutions / actions around production

Promotion of Good Agricultural Practices on land preparation, use of improved seeds, planting time,

plant spacing, weeding, mulching, weed control and fertilizer use.

The AGRA funded project aims to disseminate ISFM & GAP messages to 20,000 famers, of which

50% (10,000) will start cultivating Pigeon pea (and maize) and apply ISFM / GAP on their fields.

Establishment of demonstration plots on ISFM and GAP showing a large number of different

treatments;

o Each demonstration centre is to cater for an average of 250 farmers, depending on

population density, and a minimum of 12 to be established in the first year.

o Establishment to be done in September before planting season starts.

o Each demonstration centre is to be managed by one full-time extension worker, supported

by a supervisor.

o In the demo centres a large number of practical demonstrations are run on a time

management basis, which is usually weekly to begin with, and later on a monthly basis;

o Farmers take part in (two-)weekly demonstration sessions and then apply what they have

learned on their own fields, supported by his extension worker.

o Regular field days will be held to keep farmers in the wider area and other stakeholders

informed about latest developments.

In combination with the use of fertiliser and improved seed the overall goal is to improve the

average productivity per hectare of Pigeon pea from a low 150 – 350 kg to at least 500 kg / hectare

after three years.

Gender aspects are taken into account in the design and implementation of the project and at least

30% of the project participants will be women. Women will be involved throughout the project, from

being chosen as some of the lead farmers to being trained, as well as being included in the

marketing of the produce. One of the 12 extension workers is a woman and efforts will be intensified

to recruit more women, through the implementing LCBs.

In the first year of the project period, 3,000 farmers (male and female) are to plant 0,25 ha each of

PP, giving 750 ha under production.

The project recommends a planting space of 90 cm between rows and 60 cm between plants with 2

seeds per planting hole or 90 by 30 with one seed per hole.

The project will not promote one single crop, but will instead offer farmers a range of options (incl.

cowpeas, common peas, groundnuts, etc.) to choose from and will demonstrate the effects of

different input treatments on crop yields and quality of produce.

Harvesting / Bulking

Economies of scale play a critical role in output marketing. They help curb costs and increase efficiency

in business transactions. Smallholder farmers generally are widely dispersed and unorganized and as a

result are often unable to exploit market opportunities, as their smallness prevents them from taking

advantage of economies of scale and limits their bargaining power in negotiating prices.


Main Issues at farmer level,

No grading of produce is carried out as it is difficult to do on-farm. Moreover, there are no

commonly agreed upon quality standards for pigeon peas in Mozambique. However, there seems to

be an emerging practice noticeable of grading in maize by some traders (e.g. Senwes).

Pre-harvest infestation of pigeon peas by bruchid beetles (Callosobruchus spp.) and weevils

(Callosobruchus chinensis) may cause only limited damage but can have serious implications during

storage. Lack of proper storage facilities and inappropriate de-hulling methods worsen the storage

pest problem by enhancing cross contamination.

Currently there are only farm-level grain silos, made from local materials, which can lead to

considerable post-harvest losses.

Farmers are therefore forced to dispose of their grain soon after harvest, at which point the prices

are very low, or risk improper storage with devastating results.

Fresh (green) pigeon pea is highly perishable and there are no facilities for processing in the

country. There is a growing export market for green pigeon pea, which at the moment remains

inaccessible to the smallholder farmers due to lack of proper handling and cold storage facilities.

Pressing daily cash needs and lack of finance to hold stocks, lead to too little produce aggregation

and low negotiation power. Main Issues at VC level

There are no established quality grades and standards for pigeon pea. Quality is subjectively

measured by physical inspection. Moreover, currently there is no price premium paid by traders for

quality of grains produced.

Storage Infrastructure: In the district capitals with a higher turnover and provincial capitals,

companies have own or rented warehouses with capacity up to 1,000 tons (Senwes and PARI

Investment in Moatize; MozImpex and DECA in Tete city). In the field, the products purchased are

stored in improvised transit-infrastructure with a capacity to store of between 10 and 30 tons of

grain. Companies reported that storage is not regarded as a problem, since the products should be

as soon as possible moved to Beira, close to port, for pre-shipment operations (processing and

packing).

Joint marketing is not very common as farmers don’t want to wait (or cannot wait) for a negotiated,

more favourable deal.

Currently there are very few established bulking points in the project area and competition from

ambulant traders - offering a fast-cash solution - is undermining any formal trading systems that

might exist / emerge.

Associations vary greatly in their level of organisation and operational management and the

possibilities for joint marketing differ substantially from area to area. The vast majority of small

holders sells its produce individually. Only a small number is member of an association, of which few

indicated to benefit from better prices through collective bargaining.

Primary actors in harvesting and bulking

Associations of farmers are usually weak or non-functioning. Weak management, lack of services to

or added value for farmers, conflicts of interest, political interference, and low accountability are

among the constraints that are common within associations.

As a result, traders like MLT, OLAM and MozImpex prefer to work with clubs, bypassing the

associations, or through self-managed buying centres.

CLUSA’s works with 5 associations that represent 9,000 farmers.

By far the most of the bulking is done by intermediaries who buy produce at temporary buying

stations and sell to other intermediaries or bigger traders once they have accumulated a truck load,

Oftentimes, traders / processors like Senwes, ETG, DECA, IndoAfrica, operate their own system of

buying agents as well.


The low levels of organisation of small holder farmers and often non-functioning producer organisations

call for intensive and long term Organisational Development Support to producer organisations, but this

is outside the scope of this project. Possible solutions in the medium term include:

Where feasible, strengthen existing associations in business skills, bulking, contract understanding,

pricing, negotiation skills, etc.

Reduce post-harvest losses by investing in bulking centres, mini-silos, bagging, conservation

(fumigation) to be managed by the stronger associations or by selected agro-dealers.

39

Where feasible, promote investment by traders in upstream linkages and embedded services, but

this will require a prior period of trust building between traders and farmers.

Based on a thorough analysis of the existing organisations, decisions will have to be taken on

whether a group approach to bulking can be applied effectively.

Trading

Although an increase in competition among traders is noticeable, particularly where it concerns maize,

small holder farmers in rural areas tend to be poorly served by agricultural traders. High transaction

costs and problems of information asymmetry continue to constrain smallholder farmers’ access to

markets for products, inputs, and services. These constraints are exacerbated by poor infrastructure

(e.g., roads, communication systems, electricity, etc.) in rural areas and geographical dispersion of

farmers and farms.

Most rural markets tend to be dominated by a few end-buyers, resulting in lack of competition on prices.

Lack of competition limits opportunities for farmers to bargain for better prices and leads them to accept

low prices. In Mozambique, there tend to be many players in the marketing chain, the majority of who

just move the produce without any value addition. Consequently transaction costs tend to be high,

thereby depressing farmers’ margins. The high transaction costs arise from the high search and

transport costs involved in procuring and selling produce. The search costs in rural markets tend to rely

largely on personal visits by traders, which means that the intermediaries and traders have to travel

extensively.

Further down along the supply chain, processors and traders are constrained by low-quality grain,

inadequate supply and high cleaning costs. Other marketing intermediaries face high assembly costs,

high market risk, and cash flow problems. These constraints indirectly deprive farmers of the underlying

incentives that they would gain by producing and supplying quality and differentiated products with

desirable market traits.

Trends in farm gate prices

Local markets are generally thin and less competitive and prices are highly dependent on seasons. Prices

fall sharply at the time of harvest, but only increase gradually as local supply declines. It must be noted

that in recent times there are two driving forces that have resulted in a decline in local farm gate prices.

These are the strengthening of the local currency metical and the drop in world market prices, partially

caused by the crisis in Europe and the USA.

The exchange rate has moved from MZN 38 (in 2010) to MZN 28 (2012) for one USD, meaning a re-

valuation with almost one-third. This revaluation played a crucial role in last year’s pricing of export

crops and buying prices at farm gate were greatly depressed. A point in case is the example of the

cotton price that was 30 % lower than the year before.

For example: 2010 the world FOB (India) price of Pigeon pea was USD 600 and 2013 CIF (India) is USD

485.

Nevertheless, the producer prices of pigeon pea expressed in USD continue to show an upward trend, as

is illustrated by the graph below.


Figure 9: Producer Price of pigeon pea (USD/MT) in selected countries

Source: FAO STAT (assessed in 2013)

Surplus marketing of Maize

The tradable surplus of maize fluctuates sharply from 0 to 500.000 tons in any given year,

depending on rainfall patterns, which are increasingly erratic.

Companies like Senwes, MozImpex, Export Trading and OLAM have an export market for maize to

Zimbabwe, Kenya and overseas for volumes above 20.000 tons.

For the World Food Program (WFP), Kenya and Zimbabwe are the current targets of maize exported

from Beira and Nacala corridors.

Significant informal trade flows are recorded along the Malawi/Mozambique, Mozambique/Malawi,

Tanzania/Zambia, Mozambique/Zambia, Zambia/DRC, South Africa/ Zimbabwe, and the

Malawi/Tanzania borders.

The main factors influencing informal maize trade flows remain (i) the existence of large surpluses in

Zambia and Malawi; (ii) ready markets in East Africa and Zimbabwe, and (iii) the unpredictable

imposing and lifting of maize export bans by governments in Malawi and Zambia.

Exports: Malawi and Mozambique are the main suppliers of maize to neighbouring states. The final

destination of Malawi’s exports into Mozambique is Zimbabwe while those into Tanzania are headed

for Kenya. In 2012, Malawi topped the list of exporters with a share of 53 % followed by Mozambique

(21%) and Tanzania (14%), Zambia (6%) and South Africa (5%).

Because of its geographical position, bordering no less than 3 countries (Malawi, Zambia, and

Zimbabwe) and 4 other provinces, Tete province is highly susceptible to this practice.

However, local millers also absorb considerable quantities, as in the case of DECA (beef feed) and

other processors not covered by this study, such as Cervejas de Moçambique (beer), Abilio Antunes,

HiGest (chicken breeders) and Sasseka.

Market trends for Pigeon pea

Pigeon pea is sold by all companies surveyed. The total national production for Pigeon pea is

estimated at 60.000 MT, which is almost exclusively destined for export to Asia (mainly India).

Currently Export Trading is exporting considerable volumes (30,000 MT) of Pigeon peas from other

regions outside Tete, mainly Zambezia and Nampula. At the time of the study, MozImpex was

making an export projection of 2,000 MT of Pigeon peas from Tete province for the coming season,

but other companies indicated not having bought any significant volumes from Tete province.

In fact, the bulk of the pigeon pea production in Tsangano and Moatize province is sold to traders

from Malawi and exported to that country for processing.

However, Export Trading is in the process of constructing a large scale processing unit for pigeon

pea in Beira near the port area. This is a strong signal that this leading company has confidence that

it will find / entice sufficient production offer in the central region of Mozambique. Tete province

could tap into this emerging trend, provided that economies of scales can be achieved.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Kenya

Malawi

41

World market prices for PP tend to fluctuate and are currently between USD 300 and 400 per MT.

The latter translates into a purchase price from the farmer of about USD 0.29 (MZN 7 – 9 cents).

Main Issues at VC level

Lack of market information on who is buying and at what price is hampering farmers in taking sound

commercial decisions.

Distance to the markets is a major challenge for both producers and traders alike. Transport costs

tend to eat into the margins available for small holder farmers.

Informal intermediaries (ambulant traders) buy directly from farmers and through bulking posts.

There are a great number of informal / ambulant traders that undercut the formalised / organised

traders and buy at higher prices / earlier in the harvesting season / directly from farmers; in that

way bypassing the system.

This fuels the already rampant malpractice of side marketing, which is the main cause of the low

recovery rates of input credits, if such credits are issued.

Very few traders are willing to provide (embedded) services on credit (seeds, fertilizer, ploughing,

bags, etc.) or have to revert to creative forms of recovery to reduce losses.

Moreover, loan and off-take agreements with farmers are not legally enforceable.

Pigeon pea

Main problem is the lack of commercialisation. Currently there are no formal traders actively dealing

in Pigeon pea in Tete province, besides MozImpex. No cases of input supply by buyers were

recorded.

Pigeon pea is eaten by the local populations and the leaves can be used as stock feed for cattle, but

neither use is thought to be substantial.

There are no established quality grades and standards for pigeon pea. Quality is therefore

subjectively measured by physical inspection. This makes it difficult to describe and compare with

precision the quality supplied by different traders/market participants. The market for pigeon pea is

mainly characterized by Fair Average Quality (FAQ) grain with the major quality parameters

considered being grain insect damage, foreign matter, moisture content, grain colour, and size.

Primary actors in trading

Five major companies were chosen to be interviewed because they belong to this subsector and due to

its direct connection with the production and marketing of agricultural products including: MozImpex,

PARI Investment, ETG, Senwes and OLAM. These are companies with capital from abroad (mostly Asian)

and dedicated to purchase, pre-process and export of products for two main markets: Asia and Europe.

In Mozambique these multinationals position themselves strategically close to the source of raw

materials as a way of accumulating ever larger volumes to feed its industries in the country but also

abroad and still meet the sales contracts with their customers.

In the geographical area of implementation of this project, the interviewed companies are buying

agricultural products such as maize, beans, sesame and soy. With the exception of the maize and soy all

products are exported to India, China, Japan, Turkey, South Africa and Malawi.

Export Trading, followed by OLAM, is one of the largest exporters of unprocessed pigeon peas to the

Asian market. From the port of Beira, the company exports over 5,000 tons of pigeon peas / year.

Headquartered in Nampula, the company has operations across the country particularly in the central

and northern areas where it purchases and processes mainly cashew, pigeon peas, lentil peas (“feijão

óloco”), ground nuts, sesame, rice and cotton. The company only invests in promoting cotton and rice

(sesame and peanuts on a trial basis). They buy all varieties of pigeon peas but preferably white and

brown. The grain size is not limiting however the grain must be clean, whole, and free from pest damage

(no holes).

The World Food Program, WFP was one of the organizations interviewed as part of this study. Their role

in the flow of goods, particularly maize and beans in the area where the project is operating, as well as

in northern Mozambique. Beira is the centre of the logistical operations of the WFP in Mozambique. From

Beira the organization assists Mozambique and other countries in the region with which it has

agreements.


WFP purchases from large commercial enterprises such as ETG, OLAM, MAVIGA, Senwes, IKURU, etc.,

products such as maize, cowpea and butter beans, soy, through public tenders (1,000 to 2,000 tons

each, repeated 3 to 4 times per year). They also buy directly from producers in a special program called

P4P (Purchase for Progress) directed contracts for up to 400 tons.

In the program of local purchases, WFP Mozambique buys about 30,000 tons / year in the provinces of

Sofala, Manica and Tete (Districts of Angonia, Sussundenga, Barué and Gorongosa) and in the northern

region particularly in Zambezia and Nampula (Molocué Districts, Gurué, Ribaué and Malema).

Despite repeated attempts to revive the organisation, the National Grain marketing Board (ICM) has not

been able to fulfil its official role for a number of years now.

The table below shows the annual needs of companies surveyed to purchase the two target products of

the project, the areas covered by the companies in the provinces of the central region:

Company /

organisation

Coverage Maize

MT

Pigeon

pea MT

Other products

MozImpex Tete 500.000 2.000

PARI Investment Tete, Manica e Sofala 15.000 2.000

SENWES Tete, Manica e Sofala 10.000 0

Export Trading Group Tete, Manica, Sofala e Zambézia 7.000 30.000

OLAM Tete, Manica, Sofala e Zambézia 5.000 2.000 (sesame)

WFP Tete, Manica e Sofala 25.000 5.0 cowpeas)

Table 32: Planned purchases and coverage of targeted products by companies / organisation


SNV will apply what it calls an Inclusive Business approach, where private actors are encouraged and

supported to extend their involvement with small producers beyond the mere buying of the

commodities. Objectives of such an approach are, among others:

o Crowding- in of formal trading companies, by improving quality of produce and available

quantities, through improved seed and bulking.

o Reducing the transaction costs of Pigeon pea and Maize trade, by improving market

efficiency and facilitating bulk transport.

o Reducing the incidence of informal traders (“intruders”) and upgrade the level of

organisation of the marketing system.

NB: Overall the maize harvest in 2012/13 was not very good in Sofala and Manica province, and

increased competition for maize has enticed traders to enter into areas where they usually not trade,

like the north of Tete province.

The ICRISAT improved long-duration variety, ICEAP 00040 embodies important market-preferred quality

traits. It will remain to be seen whether local traders will offer a price premium for these traits? It is

likely that this failure to reward quality is due to opportunistic behaviour on the part of traders.

However, as domestic and international consumers demand high quality standards, the importance of

quality in determining prices and trade flows is projected to increase.

Other considerations include:

The companies Senwes, MozImpex, ETG and OLAM have experience in working with producer

organizations hence, as a strategy to link the producers with the market; the project may focus on

future contracts.

Buying Centres: Companies interviewed such as MozImpex, PARI Investment, ETG reported that

they establish fixed stations in rural shops or canteens where representatives / agents with funds

advanced typically buy 5 to 10 tons of produce. These agents are seasonal workers operating only

during the season of commercialization, others are hired locally. These intermediates can be

substituted by groups of organized growers who can deliver produce in quantity and quality.

The producers organized in cooperatives and associations have a choice to sell maize and beans to

PMA but the quality requirements always refer to a mechanical processing hence the need of being

43

connected to large companies who have the processing equipment or that make an investment in

small machines for threshing and cleaning the pre-processing is done locally.

Transport

Current situation / main Issues in regard transport

Poor infrastructure (feeder roads, bridges, trucks, etc.) and long distances, because of low

population density and geographic dispersion.

Low use of animal traction with scotch carts for transport of produce from farm to bulking centre.

(see section 2.1)

Most produce is collected by ambulant traders who have / arrange for their own transport.

The project area is far removed from major markets in Beira and Maputo.

Due to its geographic position, Tsangano and Moatize farmers are serviced mainly by traders from

Malawi.

Transport costs by truck, within the districts are said to be approximately USD 60 /MT and from

central warehouse to port of Beira USD 45 /MT. Other traders calculate with a rate of MZN 1 to

1,5/kg (USD 28 to 42 / MT).

No use is made of rail transport, as the railways are mainly used for export of coal.

From there on, transport is by container at an average freight cost of USD 1,800 to 2,000 to most

destinations.

Processing

Pigeon pea

Pigeon pea processing entails de-hulling and splitting of dry pigeon pea grains to form dhal using

vertical decorticators. The average yield of dhal is about 71% (range 65%–75%) of the original dry

grain pigeon pea weight.

Approximately xx% of the dry grain bought by processors/exporters is processed into dhal while the

remaining xx% is sold as whole grain.

All companies interviewed have processing equipment (cleaning and selection). The current levels of

domestic production of pigeon peas are around 60,000 tons, of which Export Trading intends to

acquire 50% in the Beira corridor to power a factory that is being built in 2013.

There is a market preference for white (cream coloured) pigeon pea by their physical characteristics

and flavour. Companies are willing to pay for the best white beans however the biggest requirement

is to process the grain in whole, no holes present during processing because the grain breaks easily

once bored.

For more commercialized agents like the processors/exporters who possess cleaning equipment,

foreign matter is not a major consideration when procuring the grain because they routinely clean

the purchased grain before processing. Therefore the most underlining factor, once FAQ standards

are met, is the grain price.

PARI Investment projects to expand its processing infrastructure in Beira for multiple uses including

cleaning sesame, maize and beans.

The current production from the project area (Moatize and Tsangano) is destined mainly for

processing companies in Malawi, who processes the split pea in dhal and in protein source for

(dairy) cattle fodder.

Malawi has the largest concentration of processing companies for pigeon pea. There about 40% of

the pigeon pea exports to India is processed, while 60% is exported in the form of raw pigeon pea

grain. There are four major pigeon pea processing companies in the Blantyre area: Export Trading

Company, TransGlobe Produce Exports, Rab Processors, and Commodity Processors Limited. Export

Trading is the leading processor, with production levels between 30 to 40 thousand tons per year.

Maize

There is a fierce and increasing competition in the processing of maize in mealie-meal, but also for

other products like stock feed.


A huge maize milling factory has become operational in Angonia (under management of ICM) with

an installed capacity of 100 MT of produce per day. It remains to be seen if the National Grain

marketing Board will be able to run the operation at the required level.

Tete province is very strategically positioned towards Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia and formal and

informal cross border trade flows are considerable. Malawi and Zambia have a history of government

interference in maize and mealie-meal production and trade (fertilizer subsidies and trade

restrictions). This together with food insecurity in Zimbabwe and elsewhere makes the regional

markets more unpredictable.


Outside the scope of this project

Sales to end users – export

Unlike other legumes that are mainly traded locally, pigeon pea can be exported to India and other

overseas markets including the USA, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. The Indian

market has been attractive because of its large size in terms of volumes demanded, low expectations on

product quality, and low import duty. On the other hand, export to other markets is driven by the higher

and relatively stable prices compared to the traditional Indian export market.

For the pigeon pea subsector in Mozambique to become competitive and expand, productivity will need

to be increased, production timed, marketing costs reduced, and quality standards established and

strictly complied with. Introducing simple, easily administered quality standards that are based on end-

user needs will enable farmers, traders, and exporters to exploit quality-conscious niche markets in

Europe and North America.

Targeting of the Indian market would aim at pigeon pea from Mozambique reaching India during the off-

season period when import prices are relatively high. This calls for the planting of early-maturing

varieties, which are not yet available in Mozambique. Their capacity to mature early also makes them

more suited for the semi-arid regions and provides an opportunity for double cropping in regions with

long or bimodal rainfall seasons.

Although the companies interviewed have established market contacts in India where more than 90% of

the processed pigeon pea is exported, export prices are largely dictated by the buyers in India, who also

base their prices on supplies from other countries such as Myanmar, leaving Mozambican exporters and

farmers as price takers.

The increasingly dominant position of Myanmar, for example, as the major pigeon pea supplier to India

cannot be ignored. Moreover, the competitive pressure from imports of yellow pea from Canada and

France pose serious threats to the competitiveness of Africa’s pigeon pea exports to India. High costs of

logistics and transport further erode Mozambique’s competitive position. For example, the cost of

exporting a 20-foot container of pigeon pea to Mumbai in India is US$ 1.800 for Mozambique compared

to US$ 800 – 1.200 for Tanzania.

Data on the volume of regional pigeon pea trade is not available because most of this regional trade is in

the form of undocumented informal cross-border trade. Regional trade in pigeon pea is largely driven by

variability in local production. Although pigeon pea is drought tolerant, surplus production is dependent

on receiving minimum sufficient rainfall for planting and during the critical stages of plant growth.

Insufficient rainfall and local deficiencies often induce regional trade, with Malawian traders travelling to

neighbouring Tete province (e.g. Tsangano and Moatize districts) to purchase the grain. Therefore,

Malawi has become an important regional market for dry grain pigeon pea, driven partly by lack of

processing capacities in the neighbouring countries, and higher prices.

Support organisations & extension services

45

Main Issues at farmer level

Very few farmers reached through the formal extension system and practically no on-farm support.

Price information disseminated by the SIMA system of the Ministry of Agriculture, acts like a guide

and helps farmers to negotiate their prices.

But, information on expected rainfall does not reach enough farmers leading to inappropriate

planting moments.

Farmer Field Schools / demo plots are difficult to implement as they require a lot of discipline in

implementation.

Current situation / Main Issues at Value Chain level

Lack of local implementation capacity, both in the public and private sector and within civil society.

Extremely high ratio of farmers / extension officer, low technical level of extension staff.

There are very few government extension officers. Overall, there are about 700 for all of

Mozambique’s about 3.2 million farmers. The greater part of the country relies on extension workers

from outside the public sector; usually NGOs and some agro-companies, the latter mainly in cotton

by OLAM, tobacco by MLT (and sugar cane in Sofala).

All three civil society organisations operating in Angonia are international NGOs and there is hardly

any local implementation capacity in the province that SNV could strengthen.

Financial Institutions operating in Angonia are Banco Oportunidade, Banco Terra, BIM and BCI.

Supporting actors in agriculture within the project area

The project will seek to establish good relations with key partners working in the area / sector. Based on

a thorough analysis of the existing support organisations, a limited number of collaboration agreements

will be signed for specific joint activities.

Figure 10: actor mapping of pigeon pea and maize subsectors


Mozambique Leaf Tobacco (MLT) currently only advises farmers on what crops can be used for

rotation cropping. MLT extension workers only deal with tobacco and the company apparently has

not been very keen to collaborate with NGOs in the past.

OLAM is providing information to farmers, a.o. via community radio, but this is mainly focussed on

cotton farming and the accompanying rotation cropping.

MinAg /DPA: currently the number of government agricultural extension workers remains very low

compared to the number of farmers.

SDAE Angónia (Serviços Distritais de Actividades Económicas): SDAEs are the district government’s

agencies for agriculture and other economic activity. But the fact that in a very recent past they were

solely the agriculture district directorate means that their real focus is still very much agriculture,

particularly in Angonia – an agriculture zone in its essence.

SDAE Angonia with 13 extension officers has the largest capacity of public extension network, if

compared to other districts in Tete Province. They reported to be more than willing to support the

project provided that there is coordination and some sort of support to the extension officers involved.

SDAE Tsangano: Tsangano being also an agriculture zone in its essence, but with poor roads and

access difficulties, the SDAE with its network of “Chefes de Posto” may be a key partner. In fact they

have distributed Pigeon pea seeds last season through both local agro-dealers and “chefes de posto”.

In terms of public extension officers, they are already overstretched (2 officers) and not much

collaboration can be expected.

SDAE Moatize has a network capacity of 5 public extension officers.

UPCT (União Provincial de Camponeses de Tete) is the Tete provincial representation of the national

smallholder farmers union (UNAC). They have some sort of representation in all districts except the

remote districts of Zumbo and Magoe. According to the interviewees at the UPCT headquarters in

Tete, their Moatize union representation is engulfed with leadership problems and is rather dormant.

UPCT is currently implementing two projects – food security (FOS funding) in Changara, Cahora Bassa

and Tete City; and organisational strengthening (APN & CCS funding) in Maravia, Chiuta, Moatize and

Macanga. They would probably be interested to play an LCB role; e.g. in supporting producers’

organisations.

CLUSA/AgriFuturo has 4 extension workers in Ulongué dealing with 9,000 farmers, organised in 5

associations. It is only working on soya right now.

ADEM has recently been granted an AGRA project under the market linkages program, which partly

works in the same districts (Tsangano and Angonia). Contacts have been established.

IFDC’s MADD project has closed and it is not likely it will return to Angonia anytime soon. It is not

clear in how far the agro-dealers approach will continue to function after their phase-out

Total Land Care is an international NGO operating in Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.

Main donors / funders are Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco (Japan) plus USAID. Their raison-de-

être seems to stem from reforestation, but they work in diverse areas ranging from WASH to AIDS.

TLC employs 9 extension officers and has a network of community facilitators. They do not work

with associations, rather with informal groups. Although they say to have worked with others, they

seem to be rather following their own approach.

Uni-Zambeze University in Ulongué ….

ISPM could provide interns to oversee farmer managed demo plots/

IITA (International Institute for Tropical Agriculture) is not a likely collaboration partner as its

mandate is about tropical crops.

Figure 11: Analysis of Stakeholders’ Support vs Influence

47

Movers – stakeholders that support

the project goals and are willing to

do something.

Floaters – stakeholders that set

conditions for support.

Blockers – stakeholders that do

not support at all.


Building local capacity for support to small holder farmers in ISFM and GAP.

Contract Sustainable Agriculture Technology3 (SAT) from Zimbabwe to organise, implement and

monitor a number of interventions to strengthen local organisations and individuals so that they can

provide quality services aimed at Capacity Building of farmers, Farmer Organizations and the

Extension workers in ISFM, GAP, Marketing, Post-harvest and better Farmer Organization.

The project has engaged local LCBs that are responsible for the identification, selection, induction

and training of 12 Extension Officers in the first year, who will manage the 12 demonstration

centres. In close collaboration with the project staff, SAT will be responsible for supervision of the

Extension Officers (and, where needed the on-the-job training of supervisory staff of the LCBs) and

it will support the project in the implementation and design of the scaling up of the project’s

interventions towards reaching the envisaged objectives in three years’ time.

Improve the skills and performance of extension workers from government and private sector,

through training and on-the-job coaching, to deliver on demand-driven services and effectively

running of demo plots that actually make a difference in farmers’ productivity and income.

Some of the interviewed companies are entering into schemes fostering of crops in specific areas,

MozImpex (Mucumbura), PARI (Angónia, Tsangano and Moatize) to stimulate increased production

volumes sold. To achieve this, direct contractual agreements with producers are established. The

agreements provide for delivery of inputs on credit mainly seed (sesame, lentil pea). The other

companies do not have this practice because there is no guaranteed return on their investment in

terms of purchase of production. The fear on the part of companies due to the current level of unfair

competition that stimulates side selling (also known as side marketing).

Other partnership opportunities: Tobacco companies (MLT) and promotion of cotton (OLAM) have in

its production plan crop rotation as recommended practices for improving soil fertility. The project will

maintain contacts with these companies for inclusion of maize and pigeon peas in the rotation plan

with mutual benefits.

Use of (community) radio to reinforce messages on good agricultural practices, provide price

information and provide information on weather forecast (precipitation).

3 SAT is a Zimbabwean non-profit organisation, providing consulting and training for the promotion of food security and agricultural profitability of

small-scale farmers through improved land use and management practices. SAT helps small farmers to achieve (i) Food security, quality and

nutritional variety; (ii) surplus production for income, and (iii) transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming. Due to their longstanding

experience in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in promoting Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices they are the ideal partner to ensure the transfer of

knowledge and skills to local organisations operating in the project area.

Moatize

Agro-dealers

UPCT

SDAEs

Angonia

Agro-dealers

Tilimbique

Assoc

Tsangano

Agro-dealers

Rosita

Association

Blocker Floater Mover

Support

High

Medium

Low

In

flu

en

ce


Active participation in the ISPM, AGRA funded program for knowledge management and

dissemination of messages using ICT (SMS, radio, etc.) including links with the PROMER project.

VC governance

Institutional innovations that link producers more directly with exporters and processors or shorten

the extended supply chain are needed in order to reduce transaction costs. Such innovation includes

formation of farmer organizations which can facilitate farmers’ access to improved technologies and

create opportunities for forward contracting. Contracting offers exporters and processors access to

larger and reliable supplies.

A policy framework could target: (1) strengthening efforts for up-scaling of available varieties, (2)

reviewing variety testing and approval systems to reduce delays in accessing new germ-plasma, (3)

understanding existing informal seed supply systems and their importance as a source of low-cost

but good quality seed to resource-poor farmers, (4) developing systems that allow for marketing of

affordable certified seeds, and (5) promoting of contract farming and group marketing strategies to

ensure consistent supply and strengthen market power of small producers.

These policy issues fall within the realms of different stakeholders (i.e., national government,

private sector, researchers, extension workers, and traders), and suggests the need for greater

collaboration. Currently, these stakeholders are acting largely independent of each other.

49

4 Project objectives (outcomes & impact) indicators and baseline

Indicator

Indicator Definition Units Baseline year1 Target

year 3 benchmark

Number of farmers (M/F) trained in the use of inorganic fertilizer.

≠ Farmers (F/M) who received training in fertilizer use.

Nr 197.777 3,000 (of which 30 %

women)

20,000 (of which 30

% women)

Number of farmers (F/M) using inorganic fertilizers

≠ farmers (F/M) using inorganic fertilizer

Nr 197.777 3,000 (of which 30 %

women)

10,000 (30 %

women)

Number of farmer associations trained in use of inorganic fertilizers.

≠ FOs who have been trained on fertilizer use through AGRA funding.

Nr t.b.d.

Number of farmers (F/M)using organic fertilizers

≠ farmers (F/M) using organic fertilizer

Nr t.b.d. 3,000 (of which 30 %

women)

10,000 (30 % women)

Number of extension workers trained. (currently: Moatize 5, Angonia 12, Tsangano 2)

≠ extension workers trained through AGRA support

Nr 0 20 public sector

20 + XX private sector

Quantity (tons) of fertilizers distributed to farmers (through demos)

Amount (tones) of fertilizer distributed through project

ton 0 7.5 0

Average quantity (kg) of fertilizer use per ha

Kg 0 20 20

Number of farm level demonstra-tions in ISFM established.

Total ≠ of demos set up to demonstrate ISFM application.

Nr 0 12 40

Number of farmers (M/F) who attend farm level demonstrations, trainings and field days on ISFM.

Total ≠ of farmers who attend FF days / demonstrations

Nr 0 6.000 (F/M)

20.000 (F/M)

Number of target farmers using ISFM practices in their fields

≠ of farmers in the project area who have consistently used ISFM practices

Number

t.b.d. 3.000 (F/M)

10.000 (F/M)

Area (ha) under Legume Total area (in ha) under legume (Pigeon pea)

Ha t.b.d. 750 10.000

Effects of legume-cereal rotations on increasing crop yields

% change in yield per annum of legume crops promoted by the project

% 0 25%? 100%

Quantity (tones) of legume seed distributed to farmers

Amount of Pigeon pea seed distributed to farmers

Tons 0 15 xx

Estimated production of each crop by targeted farmers

Total estimated Pigeon pea production by targeted farmers

Tons

t.b.d. 375 10,000

Total estimated maize production by targeted farmers

Tons t.b.d. 2,400 20,000

Estimated revenue for each crop by targeted farmers

Total estimated revenue of Pigeon pea realised by targeted farmers

Mzn t.b.d. 6 m. 100 m.

Total estimated revenue of maize sales by targeted farmers

Mzn t.b.d. 14 m. 120 m.

Table 33: Project objectives; outcomes & impact indicators table


5 Conclusions and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusions The core assumption behind ‘pro-poor’ value chain interventions is that vulnerable upstream agents

(such as smallholder farmers) can be ‘pulled’ into specific markets, and therefore successfully integrated

into economic dynamics to which they were hitherto excluded, or, at best, only participated under very

unfavourable conditions.

Both the maize and Pigeon Pea value chains can be categorised as ‘embryonic’ value chains,

characterised by scarce resources, high transaction risks and costs, weak linkages between value chain

actors and limited awareness of the benefits of business collaboration. Over time, maize is increasingly

becoming a food crop that is also traded, but the fact that only 5.4 % of respondents in the baseline

study reported having sold maize, indicates that food security considerations continue to prevail.

In regard pigeon pea, the question is whether the conditions are ripe to create a robust and profitable

market for Pigeon pea in the project area.

Demand Factors

Pigeon peas

1. Demand in India has been steadily growing and Africa supplies less than 50 % of the world’s

demand. African exports of pigeon pea to India (including Mozambique’s) have considerable room

for growth.

2. Most of the produce in the project districts of Moatize and Tsangano is currently sold into the

neighbouring country of Malawi, where a considerable processing industry exists.

3. The construction by ETG of a large-scale processing plant for pigeon pea near the harbour of Beira is

a strong sign of the confidence of this leading commodity trading company in the growth of the

pigeon pea sector in central Mozambique. In fact all companies interviewed assured us that they

would off-take any quantity of PP that farmers can produce.

4. Although world market prices, quoted in USD, remain stable with a tendency to improve (see figure

9), the strengthening of the local currency (Metical – MZN) has been a driving force in the decline

in local farm gate prices.

5. So far, the leading processing / exporting companies have been very reluctant to pay a price

premium for quality peas. In the meantime cream-coloured peas do fetch a price premium that can

be explored with the introduction of new, high-yielding and cream-coloured varieties in the project

area.

6. As a consequence any improvement in income for small holder is likely to come from improvements

in productivity increases rather than increased prices.

7. In order to take more advantage of the timing of the Indian harvest, which has peak prices in April –

May, early maturing varieties should be planted. Unfortunately, these short cycle varieties are

currently not available in Mozambique.

8. The lack of standards and grades, make it difficult to secure a reliable flow of supply for any dhal

processing factory.

Maize

1. Although an increase in competition among traders is noticeable, particularly where it concerns

maize, small holder farmers in rural areas tend to be poorly served by agricultural traders.

51

2. The tradable surplus of maize fluctuates sharply from 0 to 500.000 tons in any given year,

depending on rainfall patterns, which are increasingly erratic. Significant informal trade flows are

recorded along the Malawi/Mozambique, and Mozambique/Zambia border.

3. The main factors influencing informal maize trade flows are (i) the existence of large surpluses in

Zambia and Malawi; (ii) ready markets in East Africa and Zimbabwe, and (iii) the unpredictable

imposing and lifting of maize export bans by governments in Malawi and Zambia.

4. There are a great number of informal / ambulant traders that undercut the formalised / organised

traders and buy at higher prices / earlier in the harvesting season / directly from farmers; in that

way bypassing the system.

5. Gradually more and bigger companies are becoming active in the trade of maize in the central

region and increasingly also in the milling of mealie-meal. Examples are Senwes from South Africa

that entered into a joint venture with Bunge (the 5th largest commodity trader in the world and one

of the famous ABCD companies) in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, and that is mainly targeting

maize. Another example is DECA that is also milling maize to provide fodder in the form of maize

bran to its large herd of cattle in Manica district. More recently is the entry of Cargill on the scene.

Supply Factors

Pigeon peas

1. Mozambique’s pigeon pea productivity remains low largely due to the continued use of low yielding

and disease susceptible traditional varieties by smallholder producers. The low productivity is a

major constraint to the expansion of the pigeon pea trade, leading to high average costs of

production and to a loss of economies of scale. Low yields and poor productivity of available

varieties translate into inadequate production and unreliable supply which undermines

commercialization and competitiveness.

2. Pigeon pea competes for inputs (especially land and labour) in the producing areas with maize, and

cowpea among other crops. The competitiveness of pigeon pea arises from its biological features

and adaptation to the marginal conditions under which it is grown. Therefor it might be more

suitable for the semi-arid areas of southern Tsangano and Moatize districts, and less for Angonia

district where farmers enjoy better agro-ecological conditions and thus a wider range of choices of

crops to cultivate.

3. Smallholder farmers that grow pigeon pea are very sensitive to the market behaviour of other

commodities. Consequently, the crop often suffers from erratic supply and quality. The volume and

quality required for an expansion of this sector are not guaranteed given the current model of

production.

4. Lack of knowledge on (new) market opportunities and the benefits of using improved seeds holds

back the propagation of Pigeon pea as a cash crop. Efforts to improve adoption of new technologies

must centre on commercialization of pigeon pea, i.e. providing smallholder farmers with reliable

market outlets, market information, and adequate incentives to invest in productivity-enhancing

technologies.

5. Although known for its soil fertility enhancement attributes, farmers are primarily interested in

pigeon pea as a market crop and as a weed suppression agent and soil fertility benefits are

considered to be of secondary importance by farmers.

6. Current practices of use of inputs for Pigeon pea are not conducive to a rapid expansion of the

sector. Increasing productivity and output market competitiveness will require a regular supply of

improved seed of the appropriate varieties.


7. The use of saved seed makes production of improved pigeon pea seeds uneconomical, thus

undermining the incentive for private sector investment in commercial production and marketing of

such seeds. Hence, there is not yet a commercial value / business case for agro-dealers and

resellers to stock Pigeon pea seed. The development of a commercial seed sector should go in

parallel with the development of a commercial grain market, which is poorly developed in most parts

of the country. Demand for a formal seed sector will be simulated by opportunities to sell these

crops, and by markets that reward grain quality and types.

8. The yield increase attributable to the use of complementary inputs (especially fertilizer) is minimal

since most pigeon pea farmers do not use any fertilizers.

9. Other factors that can contribute to production increase include (1) improvement in field pest

management approaches including the application of insecticides, and (2) adoption of improved

agronomic practices such as mono-cropping.

10. However, a future increase in pigeon pea production is expected to come mainly from the use of

improved varieties that are disease-, pest- and drought tolerant.

Maize

1. Oftentimes, the quality of the maize seed for sale is dubious. There is no uniformly enforced system

of certification of seed.

2. Provincial departments of agriculture and NGOs distribute seeds at heavily subsidised prices and in

this way risk hampering the development of a vibrant private seed sector. Moreover, local markets

for improved seed tend to be thin, limiting the ability of commercial seed companies to exploit

economies of scale.

3. The level of agricultural productivity in Mozambique is low compared to that in other developing

countries, including other SADC countries, which is a direct result of the dependency on rain-fed

agriculture and the limited use of fertilizers and improved seeds.

4. Much of Mozambique’s land is suffering from low soil fertility because of poor soil fertility

management, exacerbated by (incorrect) use of inorganic fertilizers and by non-application of

Conservation Agriculture practices.

Support organisations & extension services

1. The low levels of organisation of small holder farmers and often non-functioning producer

organisations call for intensive and long term Organisational Development Support to producer

organisations, but this is outside the scope of this project.

2. Although women constitute 65% of the labour force in agriculture, the contribution of women in

production tends to be underestimated and one of the reasons for this is that women are socially

invisible.

3. There is a severe lack of local implementation capacity, both in the public sector and within civil

society, which is reflected by the extremely high ratio of farmers per government extension officer.

This fact, in combination with the generally low technical level of extension staff and lack of practical

experience, leads to very few farmers reached through the formal extension system and practically

no on-farm support for small holder farmers.

4. Given the current public spending levels in agriculture and government policy and practices, it is not

likely that this situation will change dramatically in the near to medium-term future. Civil society

53

does not have the mandate or the means to fill this gap, but can play an important role by piloting

and up scaling alternative extension models and methods.

5. There is an urgent need for local organisations (LCBs) to adopt and apply a Capacity Building

Approach towards technology transfer. SNV is investing heavily in training and coaching of local

organisations, for them to develop effective and cost-efficient services for extension delivery, both

within the AGRA funded project as in cost sharing arrangements with companies OLAM and ETG.

6. For such an extension support system to be sustainable, alternative mechanisms for its financing

need to be found. The growing interest of big traders in backward linkages within (food) supply

chains opens a window of opportunity for cost-sharing arrangements for a.o. support activities to

small holder farmers.

7. More and more, Inclusive Business models are being developed and implemented to link private

sector companies with small holder producers in off-take agreements, outgrowing schemes, incl.

Input supply and services on credit (seeds, fertilizer, ploughing, bags, etc.), but this will require a

prior period of trust building between traders and farmers.

8. At the same time, there are a great number of informal / ambulant traders that undercut the formal

/ organised traders. This fuels the already rampant malpractice of side marketing, which is the main

cause of the low recovery rates of input credits and feeds into the reluctance of some companies to

engage in such IB arrangements.

9. Policy issues that need to be dealt with fall within the realms of different stakeholders (i.e., national

government, private sector, researchers, extension workers, and traders that s are currently acting

largely independent of each other.

5.2 Recommendations The recommendations contained in this section follow logically from the conclusion arrived upon, but are not necessarily within the scope of the project intervention. They are directed to influential actors in the value chains like the government of Mozambique, donors like AGRA and current and future agricultural

programs.

1. Promotion of Good Agricultural Practices on land preparation, use of certified seeds, planting time,

planting space, weeding, mulching, fertilising, weed control and fertilizer use; which will go a long

way in improving production and productivity.

2. Drastic improvements in the delivery of extension services are needed to achieve this. Among others

these can be achieved by piloting and up-scaling of “last-mile” delivery models for input supply and

basic extension services.

3. Government and NGOs should put in place policies and practices intended to increase the

participation and sharing of added value by women.

4. Companies promoting tobacco (MLT) and cotton (OLAM) have in their production plans rotation

cropping as recommended practice for improving soil fertility. The project is to seek collaboration

with these companies for inclusion of maize and pigeon peas in these rotation plans for the benefit

of both the farmers and the companies.

5. Existing community level and private seed producers and marketing institutions should be

encouraged and empowered in a manner that enhances the creation of a stable and commercially

viable seed sector that meets the seed needs of a diverse group of farmers.

6. In the short to medium term the challenge is to design and implement a sustainable system of

redistribution of Pigeon pea seeds.


7. For sustainability of the legume seed industry, government and NGO supported input subsidy

programs will have to be implemented in a manner that does not displace commercial sales.

8. Strategically, the project encourages white variety pigeon pea seed that are usually better paid. In

order to take more advantage of the timing of the Indian harvest, the introduction and multiplication

of early maturing varieties is recommended. Mozambique should export pigeon peas in April and

May when the market prices in India are at their peak.

9. In future, commercializing pigeon pea production will require greater use of pesticides due to the

build-up of pests and diseases. This will in turn call for farmer training on pesticide safe use and

removal of input marketing constraints.

10. The development and implementation of a simple, easily administered and transparent system of

standards and grades, that are based on end-user needs, to facilitate trade and processing, as a

first step towards differentiation on market prices paid for pigeon pea based on quality.

11. In regard the economic feasibility of fertilizer use on Pigeon Pea, further scientific trials by research

institutions will have to come up with specific fertilizer recommendations for the type of soils and

rain fall patters in the project area.

12. Private sector should be encouraged and supported to embed basic extension services in the

technological packages provided to small holders by single crop (concession system) traders /

exports like cotton, tobacco and sugar cane. NGOs and government can promote and support

Inclusive Business models to link private companies with small producers in off-take agreements,

outgrowing schemes, incl. input supply and services on credit

13. The Government of Mozambique does not have any export promotion program for the pigeon pea

industry. Apart from the general incentives awarded under the investment promotion acts, there is

no specific system of incentives targeted at the export of pigeon pea or dhal, despite sectoral growth

in recent years.

14. Establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform for maize (and in future also pigeon pea) to deal with

issues in regard the policy framework and enabling environment.

55

6 Annexes

6.1 Annex: Questionnaire for farming households

0 Geographic Coordinates (GPS) Latitude ( ) Longitude ( )

Altitude ( )

1 Date

2 District 1. Moatize ( ) 2. Angónia ( ) 3. Tsangano ( )

3 Village /Community

4 Gender 1. Male ( ) 2. Female ( )

5 How many members does your

family have?

1. Males ( ) 2. Females ( )

6 What are the ages of your family

members

From (1-12 year ) ____ (13–20) ____ (21–45) ____ (more than

45 years ) _____

I. Information about the agricultural production

1 Do you grow Maize and Pigeon

pea? If yes, for how long?

2 Does your locality / community

have an institution / NGO that

sells / distributes seed of Maize

and Pigeon pea. If yes, indicate.

3 If not, how do you acquire seed

for these crops?

Origin of seeds

1. Buying elsewhere ( ) 2. Use of seed from previous harvest ( )

4 Which are the growing

techniques that you have been

using in your field?

3

5 Who has been promoting these

techniques?

6 What was the size of your field

during the season 2011/2012?

1) 0.5-1 ha ( ) 2) 2-3 ha ( ) 3) 4-5 ha ( ) 4) More than 5 ha ( )

Maize Seed Pigeon Pea seed

1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( ) 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

Growing maize Growing Pigeon peas

1. Mono cropping ( ) 1. Mono cropping ( )

2. intercropping ( ) 2. intercropping ( )

3. sowing in rows ( ) 3. sowing in rows ( )

4. rotation of crops ( ) 4. rotation of crops ( )

5. outra …… 5. outra

Growing maize Growing Pigeon Pea

1. extension worker SDAE ( ) 1. extension worker SDAE ( )

2. extension worker NGO ( ) 2. extension worker NGO ( )

3. own experience ( ) 3. own experience ( )

4. Other (specify) …. 4. Other (specify) ….

Growing maize Growing pigeon pea

1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( ) 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

a. 1 year ( ) b. 2 years ( ) c.

more than 3 years ( )

a. 1 year ( ) b. 2 years ( ) c.

more than 3 years ( )


7 What will be the size of your

field during the growing season

2012/13?

1) 0.5-1 ha ( ) 2) 2-3 ha ( ) 3) 4-5 ha ( ) 4. More than 5 ha ( )

8 Who owns the field that you are

using?

1) myself [ ] 2) family plot [ ] 3) government [ ]

4 ) Communal land [ ] 5) of the association [ ] 6) I’m renting [ ]

9 What was the quantity of your

production during the season

2011/12

Crops Tins Kgs Kg/ha

1) Maize

2) Millet

3) Pigeon pea

4) Common beans

5) Sugar beans

6) Soya

7) Ground nuts

8) Sesame

10 What were the problems you

encountered during the

production phases of the

2011/12 season?

11 How do your conserve your

produce after harvest?

1. Granary ( ) 2. Warehouse ( ) 3. Inside the house ( )

4. Apply chemical product ( ) 4. Other ( )

________________________________________________________

12 How long does it take you to

consume the produce you’re

your own field?

1. Less than 4 months ( ) 2 Between 5 and 8 months ( ) 3. More than 9

months ( )

13 In which month are you starting

to experience lack of food?

1. Jan ( ) 2. Feb. ( ) 3. Mar ( ) 4. April ( ) 5. May ( ) 6. Jun ( ) 7. Jul

( ) 8. Aug ( ) 9. Sep ( ) 10. Oct ( ) 11. Nov ( ) 12. Dec( )

II. Information about commercialisation of agricultural produce

1 How do you obtain information

about agricultural markets?

Source of information Source of information

1. Newspaper 5. Extension worker - NGO

2. Radio 6. None of the above

3. Television 7. Association

Growing Maize Growing Pigeon peas

1. Pests and diseases ( ) 1. Pests and diseases ( )

2. excessive rainfall ( ) 2. excessive rainfall ( )

3. insufficient rainfall ( ) 3. insufficient rainfall ( )

4. Lack of labour ( ) 4. Lack of labour ( )

5. Lack of inorganic fertilizers (

)

5. Lack of inorganic fertilizers (

)

6. Access to certified seeds ( ) 6. Access to certified seeds ( )

7. Other (specify) …. 7. Other (specify) ….

57

4. Extension worker - SDAE 8. Others __________________

2 What is the basis to determine

the price of your product?

1. Production costs ( ) 2. The buyer sets the price ( ) 3. No basis ( )

4. Association ( ) 5. Market price ( ) 6 other ( )._________

3 If based on the cost of

production, please indicate :

4 Who bought your produce? 1. companies 1. NGOs

2. Individuals 2. Government

3. Association

5 Is there an institution that

facilitates access to credit?

If so, indicate which of the

ones listed.

1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

1. Banks ( ) 2. GAPI ( ) 3. Individuals ( ) 4. NGOs ( )

5. Others ( ) __________________________

6 What was the quantity of

produce that you sold during

the last season (2011/12)?

7 Did you receive any loan /

credit during the last

agricultural season?

1. Commercialisation ( ) 3. Investment ( )

2. Agricultural inputs ( )

III. Information about organisational level

1 Are you member of an

association?

1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

2 What is the status of that

association?

1. Registered association ( ) 2. Registered Union ( ) 3. Group (Grupo

de interesse) ( )

3 What made you become a

member?

1. I saw others doing so ( ) 2. Nothing else to do ( ) 3. The type of

activity interests me ( )

4. Other ( ) __________________________________________

4 Since when are you a member? 1. Less than 1 year ( ) 2. 1 year ( ) 3. 2 years 4. 3 years ( ) 5. More

than 3 years ( )

Crop Tin of 20

ltr

Bags

of 3

tins

Kg Unit Price

(MZN)

Maize

Millet

Pigeon Pea

Common Beans

Sugar Beans

Soya

Groundnuts

Gergelim

Activity Cost

(MZN)

Activity Cost

(MZN)

Land preparation Third weeding

Buying of seeds Fourth weeding

Sowing harvesting

First weeding Transport

Second weeding selling


5 What benefits do you get from the

association?

1. Attracting more buyers of produce

2. Better prices and higher volumes of sales

3. Access to market information

4. Access to agricultural inputs nearby.

5. Improvement of the educational level of the family.

6. Other…….

IV. Information about the family livelihood

1 What are your family’s sources of

income?

1. Agriculture ( ) 4. Itinerant trade ( )

2. fixed wage earner ( ) 5. small shop ( )

3. seasonal worker ( ) 6. Other ( )

___________________________

2 Which of these sources of income

contributes most to the family’s

income?

1. Agriculture ( ) 4. Itinerant trade ( )

2. fixed wage earner ( ) 5. small shop ( )

3. seasonal worker ( ) 6. Other ( )

___________________________

V. Other aspects to be taken into consideration

1 Which are the most important

problems in your village?

Problems

1. Lack of markets

2. Lack of market information

3. Lack of farm inputs

4. Low prices of produce

5. Lack of credit

6. Difficult accessibility (roads)

7. Constant diseases

8. Death of family members

9. Lack of potable water

10. Lack of transport

11. Low soil fertility

12. Erosion

13. Others ( )______________________________________________

59

6.2 Annex: Institutional Questionnaire For institutions, companies and organisations in the agriculture sector working in the project area)

0 Geographic Coordinates

(GPS)

1. Latitude ( ) 2. Longitude (

)

2. Altitude ( )

1 Name of the institution /

NGO

Contact person

2 Intervention area Moatize ( ) Angonia ( ) Tsangano ( )

3 Type of activities

undertaken

4 What is your target group

5 How many beneficiaries

do you reach in each

target group

6 What are the geographic

areas of intervention in the

district?

7 Do you have a network of

extension?

8 Did you ever distribute

fertilizers to your

beneficiaries? If yes, in

what quantities?

Yes ( ) No ( )

Nr. Of extension workers ( )

1) 2) 3)

4) 5) 6)

1) 2) 3)

4) 5) 6)

Posto Administrativo Localidade Povoado / Aldeia

Yes ( ) No ( )

Type of fertilizer Quant. (Kg)


Did you ever distribute

seeds for maize or Pigeon

pea to your beneficiaries>

If so, in what quantities?

9 Did you ever install demo

plots about Integrated Soil

Fertility Management? If

so, where, how many and

number of participants?

Maize: 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( ) Pigeon Pea: 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

Variety Quant (Kg) Variety Quant (Kg)

Maize: 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( ) Pigeon Pea: 1. Yes ( ) 2. No ( )

localisation Nr. Of

demos

Participants localisation Nr. Of

demos

Participants

M F M F

61

6.3 Annex: List of institutions and organisations interviewed. (to be updated and corrected based on interview reports)

Small Farmer Organisations

1. União de Camponeses de Tete (UCPT) 2. Farmer Associations 3. Associations of agro-dealers

Civil Society 4. ADEM – Agência de Desenvolvimento Local de Manica – not interviewed, but info available 5. Micaia – not interviewed, but info available 6. IFDC – not interviewed, but info available 7. CLUSA 8. Total Land Care 9. AceAgrarios – carried out the baseline study

Research and Training Institutes 10. ICRISAT 11. IIAM – Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique 12. IIAT – International Institute for Tropical Agriculture 13. UniZambeze University (Ulongué) – not interviewed

14. ISPM University (Chimoio) – not interviewed, but info available Government

15. DPA – Direcção Provincial de Agricultura 16. DPIC – Direcção Provincial de Industria e Comercio 17. SDAEs - Serviços Distritais de Actividades Económicas de Moatize, Angónia e Tsangano

Private Sector – buyers / processors 18. Dahl Association of Malawi – not interviewed 19. MozImpex 20. Export Marketing 21. Indo Africa – not interviewed 22. OLAM 23. SENWES Grainlink de Moçambique

24. WfP (P4P program) 25. DECA – not interviewed

Idem – input suppliers 26. Bonimar 27. IAP 28. Pannar – not interviewed 29. Semoc – not interviewed 30. MozSeeds 31. Phoenix Seeds 32. Mozambique Fertilizer – not interviewed 33. Mozambique Leaf Tobacco – not interviewed

Idem – financial sector 34. Banco Oportunidade (BOM) – not interviewed 35. GAPI – not interviewed


6.4 Annex: References

Shiferaw B, Okello J, Muricho G, Omiti J, Silim S and Jones R. 2008. Unlocking the Potential of High-

Value Legumes in the Semi-Arid Regions: Analyses of the Pigeon pea Value Chains in Kenya. PO

Box 39063, Nairobi, Kenya: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 52pp.

Damaris Achieng Odeny 2007. The potential of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) in Africa. Natural Resources Forum 31 (2007) 297–305

Silim, S.N., Mergeai, G., and Kimani, P.M. (eds) 2001. Status and potential of pigeon pea in Eastern

and Southern Africa: proceedings of a regional workshop, 12-15 Sep 2000, Nairobi, Kenya. B-5030

Gembloux, Belgium: Gembloux Agricultural University; and Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India:

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

S. B. Marer, B. S. Lingaraju and G. B. Shashidhara, 2007. Productivity and Economics of Maize and

Pigeonpea Intercropping Under Rain-fed Condition in Northern Transitional Zone of Karnataka

Department of Agronomy, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005

Simtowe F., Shiferaw B., Kassie M., Abate T., Silim S., Siambi M., Madzonga O., Muricho G., Kananji G.

Assessment of the Current Situation and Future Outlooks for the Pigeon pea Sub-sector in

Malawi; ICRISAT, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

Visser P, Steen M, Greiling J, Hayesso T, Neefjes R and Greijn H (Eds.) (2012) Pro-Poor Value Chain

Development: Private Sector-Led Innovative Practices in Ethiopia, SNV Netherlands Development

Organisation, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ISBN 978-90-77821-31-2

63

6.5 Annex: Crop budget Pigeon pea (price calculations and budget) Pigeon pea – farmer practice (No fertiliser, no chemical or good agronomic practises, use of 2nd or 3rd generation seed)

Activity Costs MZN/ha

comment

Seeds 280

10kg used since intercropped with maize therefore 20kg would be used if mono-cropped 20kg x 14 MZN (use previous crop at highest price) Please note this is not certified seeds but seeds from last year’s crop.

Land prep 800 If they hire labour but they normally use their own family members

Sewing 300 If they hire labour but they normally use their own family members

Weeding 1st stage 400 This is done 3 times because there is maize in the same area,

Weeding 2st stage 400

Weeding 3st stage 400

Harvesting, and

winnowing, bagging

600 Also done by family members but if hire this would be the price

Transport 100 Normally the buyers are very close to the producers, but they would hire an ox-driven cart from field to house, and carry it on their heads to the buyers, bag by bag.

Total 3.280

***no fertiliser is used according to this crop budget; this is what is the reality on the ground. An

assumption is made if labour has to be hired; thought family labour is used here. Since about 500kg is the average yield, therefore the cost of Pigeon pea is 3.280 / 500 = MZN 6.56 . If we can increase the yield to 800kg (assuming extra cost on production, due to fertiliser use and improved seeds costs)

Activity Costs MZN/ha

comment

Total cost without seeds and fertiliser

3000 Here the cost of the seeds used is subtracted since now we will be using improved seeds rather than last year’s crop. (3280 – 280 for seeds =3.000)

fertiliser 600 Assuming they use at least 20kg of fertiliser per hectare at a price of MZN 1,500 per 50 kg bag = MZN 30 /kg x 20 = 600

seeds 700 Cost of improved seeds calculated at MZN 35/kg (20kg x 35 = 700)

Total MZN 4300 Assuming the above

Cost of Pigeon pea at 800 kg yield 4.300 / 800 = MZN 5.38 /kg Calculations of Price It must be noted that there are two driving forces that has resulted in a decline in local price and these are the strengthening of the metical and the drop in world market price partially caused by the crisis in Europe and the US. 2010 the world FOB (India) price of Pigeon pea was USD 600 and today CIF (India) is USD 485.

The exchange rate has changed from MZN 37 (in 2010) to MZN 28 (2011) to 1 USD, meaning a revaluation with almost one-third. This revaluation is playing a crucial role in this year’s prices of export crops and it looks that buying prices at farm gate will be greatly depressed. (For example the agreed upon cotton price this year is 30 % less than the year before.) Below are some calculations of what would be the prices that buyers will be willing to pay according to exchange rate and world price. As well as the margins and profit made by the farmer as well as the buyers. Price as at 2010 FOB (India) USD 600.00 Therefore assume CIF (India) USD 700.00 Farm gate price MZN 14 /kg = 14 000/ton at exchange rate 35. = USD 400

The profit of the farmer


Scenario 1 (no fertiliser and no improved seeds) Assuming an average price based on a start price during campaign of 8, and a price at end of campaign of 14, therefore average (8 +14)/2 = MZN 11 Therefore profit of farmer 11 - 6.56 = MZN 4.44/kg At a current yield of 500kg 4.44 x 500= MZN 2.220 /ha.

Scenario 2 (use of both fertiliser and improved seeds) Assuming an average price based on a start price during campaign of 8, and a price at end of campaign of 14, therefore average (8 +14)/2 = MZN 11 Therefore profit of farmer 11 – 5.375 = MZN 5.625 /kg At a projected yield of 800kg 5.625 x 800= MZN 4.500/ha. As can be seen from the calculation an increase of more than 100% in income assuming that the selling price remains the same.

Cost per ton USD

Farm gate price 400

bagging 10

fumigating 2

Local logistics 30

Other costs 10

Transport (India) 120

Total 572

Therefore net profit is 572 – 700 = USD 128 / ton. Margin 128 / 572 = over 22%.

Here the producers and the buyers / exporters made good profits. Price as at 2011 CIF (India) USD 485 Farm gate price MZN 7 / kg – 7.000/ton at exchange rate 26.4 = USD 265,15

The profit of the farmer Scenario 1 (no fertiliser and no improved seeds) Currently the prices are very depressed and lowest ever of MZN 7 might go up slightly, difficult to say. Therefore profit of farmer 7 - 6.56 =MZN 0.44 /kg At a current yield of 500kg 0.44 x 500= MZN 220/ha. (Practically break-even) Scenario 2 (use of both fertiliser and improved seeds) Currently the prices are very depressed and lowest ever of MZN 7 might go up slightly, difficult to say. Therefore profit of farmer 7 – 5.375 = MZN 1.625MTn/kg At a projected yield of 800kg 1.625 x 800 = MZN 1.300/ha.

The profit is very low, although the labour aspect is assuming hired labour, whereas in actual fact family labour is commonly used.

Cost per ton USD

65

Farm gate price 265.15

bagging 10

fumigating 2

Local logistics 30

Other costs 10

Transport (India) 120

Total 437.15

Therefore net profit is 485 – 437.15 = USD 47,85 / ton. Margin 47.85/485 = about 10%. A margin lower than 10% in this business will not be considered therefore a price higher than MZN 7 at farm gate will result in the buyer risking to make a loss. The world market price could increase or the exchange rate as well changes to favour exports but at the current state this is the reality on the ground.


Agricultural Income and Employment Development Program - ZIM-AIED Crop Budgets

Maize

Brief Notes

Zim-AIED will support maize production only in high potential areas, these are areas receiving

adequate and well spread rainfall.

Targeted areas are situated in the Mashonaland provinces and are classified into agro ecological

regions 2 and some in 3.

The fertilizer regime recommended is the minimum required to attain yields of up to 6,000kg/ha.

Glyphosate is recommended for pre-planting weed clearance whilst Dicamba is recommended for

the post planting period.

Only high yielding hybrid seed will be recommended.

A plant population of about 40,000 plants/ ha will be used; respective adjustment will be made

with seed type.

Seed selection will also be done with respect to prevalence of disease such as Grey leaf spot

(GLS); tolerant varieties are only recommended appropriately.

Seed selection will play a role in disease control thus limits the use of pesticides.

Triclorfon (Dipterex) will be used for maize stalk borer control.

67

Maize budgets

Analysis based on data provided by farmers and private sector partners

Gross yield kg/ha 700

Recovery rate % of gross yield 100%

Net Yield – NY kg/ha 700

Producer price – PP $/kg 0.20

GROSS INCOME – GI $ 140.00

VARIABLE COSTS

Inputs Item Unit Quantity/ha

Price/unit $

Cost ($)

Land Preparation Hire oxen ha 1 30.00 30.00

Planting material Seed kg 25 1.30 32.50

Fertilizers

Compound D kg 100 0.54 54.00

Lime kg - 0.12 0.00

Ammonium Nitrate kg 50 0.54 27.00

Herbicides Glyphosate litre - 9.00 0.00

Pesticides Trichlorfon (Dipterex) kg 3 2.50 7.50

Packaging 50kg sacks unit 14 0.50 7.00

Transport In kg 200 0.04 6.30

Out kg 700 0.04 25.20

Labour Hired labour labour day 0 3.50 0.00

Total Variable costs - TVC 189.50

RETURNS Unit

Gross Margin GI-TVC $/ha (49.50)

Cost per kg TVC/NY $/kg 0.27

Break even yield TVC/PP kg/ha 948

Net returns per $ invested GM/TVC $1 : $ (0.26)

Family labour required Lf days 27

Return to family labour GM/Lf $/day (1.81)

68

Maize – following Zim AIED intervention

Gross yield kg/ha 4,500

Recovery rate % of gross yield 100%

Net Yield – NY kg/ha 4,500

Producer price – PP $/kg 0.20

GROSS INCOME – GI $ 900.00

VARIABLE COSTS

Inputs Item Unit Quantity/ha

Price/unit $

Cost ($)

Land Preparation Hire oxen ha 1 30.00 30.00

Planting material Seed kg 25 1.30 32.50

Fertilizers

Compound D kg 250 0.54 135.00

Lime kg 500 0.12 60.00

Ammonium Nitrate kg 200 0.54 108.00

Herbicides Dicamba liters 0.50 17.00 8.50

Glyphosate litres 2 9.00 18.00

Pesticides Trichlorfon (Dipterex) kg 3 2.50 7.50

Packaging 50kg sacks unit 95 0.50 45.00

Transport In kg 975 0.04 35.10

Out kg 4,500 0.04 162.00

Labour Hired labour labour day 0 3.50 0.00

Total Variable costs - TVC 641.60

RETURNS Unit

Gross Margin GI-TVC $/ha 258.40

Cost per kg TVC/NY $/kg 0.14

Break even yield TVC/PP kg/ha 3,208

Net returns per $ invested GM/TVC $1 : $ 0.40

Family labour required Lf days 50

Return to family labour GM/Lf $/day 5.17

Maize labour sheet

Activity

Without project With project

Unit

Tot

al

Fam

ily

Hir

ed Unit

Tot

al

Fam

ily

Hir

ed

Ploughing (farmer/worker & 4 ox-

team)

labour

days 1 1 0

labour

days 2 2 0

Planting (by hand from tin) labour

days 4 4 0

labour

days 4 4 0

Basal fertilizer application (by hand

from tin)

labour

days 1 1 0

labour

days 1 1 0

Top dressing fertilizer application (by

hand from tin)

labour

days 1 1 0

labour

days 1 1 0

Weeding – after cultivation labour

days 18 18 0

labour

days 9 9 0

Herbicide weeding (inter-row and

field surroundings)

labour

days 0 0 0

labour

days 2 2 0

Pesticide application labour

days 0 0 0

labour

days 0 0 0

Irrigation labour

days 0 0 0

labour

days 0 0 0

Sub total 25 25 0 19 19 0

5% contingency 1 1 0 1 1 0

Total basic prior to harvesting 26 26 0 20 20 0

Harvesting per ton labour

days 1 1 0

labour

days 6 6 0

Shelling, packing and treatment labour

days 0 0 0

labour

days 0 0 0

10% contingency 0 0 0 1 1 0

Harvesting per ton 1 1 0 7 7 0

2011 agra pigeonpea tete value chain analysis and baseline study 2013 (3)

Documents