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Providing smallholder farmers access to markets and price information is key to improving agricultural productivity and growth, along with food and nutrition security. In line with this, the Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africa (ACE) has operated a Market Information System (MIS) and a Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) since 2011. The MIS provides farmers, traders and other market participants with access to regular updates on the prices of the commodities they trade via SMS and email, along with its online trading platforms.

This post first appeared on Trade for Development News and the ReSAKSS blog.

Despite longstanding recognition of the benefits of trade and the importance of improving competitiveness, Africa is performing beneath its potential in global and regional agricultural markets.

Crop yields in Africa south of the Sahara are generally low, in large part because of low fertilizer use. A recent study of six countries in the region showed that only 35% of farmers applied fertilizer. There are many possible reasons why farmers do not use fertilizer. They may be unaware of its effectiveness; or have degraded soils that do not respond to fertilizer; they may not have the cash to purchase it; or unpredictable rainfall may make such investments risky. Local fertilizer prices may also cut into potential profits for many farmers.

According to a recent alert from FEWS Net , southern Africa has seen a below average start to the 2019-2020 agricultural season, with rainfall only 55-85 percent of normal levels from October through early December. This decrease in precipitation has negatively impacted planting and germination rates throughout much of the region. The most impacted areas include Lesotho, central and southern Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa, and western and southern Zambia. The situation will only be further exacerbated by expected continued below average rainfall through May 2020.

By: Swati Malhotra, IFPRI