Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

Chapter 7. GAIN methodology to enhance producer organizations’ capacity for market integration 243

4.4 Level and modalities of market integration

In all three organizations, members deal with similar agricultural value chains. However, agro-climatic and
land conditions are more or less favourable and have an impact on the level of vulnerability of producers
and the types of risks they may be willing to take. For instance, in Cameroon, Noun producers have fertile
land and generally good quality seeds, which gives them surplus production and allows them to focus
their attention on marketing.

In contrast, the Tien-Tieetaa Union and the “Women in Action” Union are characterized by low market
integration (except for the cooperative “Women in Action” Bamako). The low level of productivity, the
lack of adding value to products, poor quality, surplus variability in terms of marketing, as well as the
organization’s inability to access information on the market are all causative factors.

Cameroon’s experience shows that developing strong relationships with business partners can increase
the bargaining power of producers to access certain means of production such as labor and inputs;
establishing grouped sales of products seems to facilitate negotiating better prices with traders. However,
the opportunity to develop some markets is limited by the lack of structure between groups, collective
commitment and rigorous management services provided by the umbrella organization. Setting up
information sharing systems along with greater transparency to increase the level of trust and cooperation
on these commercial transactions were discussed by the three organizations during the GAIN workshops.

Table 13. Key partners of the three studied producer organizations

Umbrella

organizations Noun CIG Groups

National Union

« Women in Action » Ten-Tiétaa Union

Institutional Rather weak and poorly

perceived relationships with

institutional partners

Particularly good rela-

tions with the Ministry of

Agriculture and municipality

Good relationships and signifi-

cant financial and technical

support from NGOs, Ministry

of Agriculture, municipality

Economic relations Good bargaining power

including maize sales

bundling

Low bargaining power with

traders

Few: Private Companies for the

purchase of seeds and fertil-

izers and Caisse Populaire. Low

bargaining power with traders

and Caisse Populaire

Table 14. Product marketing practices of the studied producer organizations

Noun CIG Groups

National Union

“Women in Action” Ten-Tiétaa Union

Bundled sales and diversified clients Small quantities sold on local

markets

Weak bargaining power

Remains subsistence agriculture with small

surplus for sale

Individual sales

Warrantage practice