Role of National Food Reserve Agencies in Agricultural Market Development: New Policies and Practices Samrat Singh Research Associate(food policy) CEP Lunchtime Seminar-04 Feb 2015
What are national food reserves? National buffer stock institutions responsible for grain procurement, storage, marketing and distribution Para-statal, government dept, independent company Commodities- non perishable staples: maize, millet, cow pea, sorghum, rice Principal regulatory institution
Market control instruments Marketing boards/development corporations Restrictions on private grain trade Local market controls Movement levies Milling levies at fixed price
CASE STUDY NFRs GHANA:National Food Buffer Stock Company(NAFCO) NIGERIA:Strategic Grain Reserve Department KENYA: National Cereal and Produce Board (NCPB) ETHIOPIA: Emergency Food Reserve Security Administration(EFSRA) MALI: Office des Produits Agricoles du Mali (OPAM)
GHANA 1950’s-60s large scale mechanized-ADC(1962) 1966 individual farming-GMFC(food marketing) 1970 GLDB- grains/legumes 1971 GFDC(perishable goods) 1975(staples- GMP) 1970s RMU (rice milling) 1990 GMP abandoned 2010 National Food Buffer Stock Company
Emerging regulatory framework CARRY FORWARD OBJECTIVESNEW OBJECTIVES Price stabilization Emergency reserves Act as buyer of last resort(GMP) Promote small holder /family farms Support agro- processing Create employment Promote nutrition sensitive agriculture
Targeting access barriers 1.Access to productive assets 2.High transaction costs - fixed costs (FTC)-search for buyer -proportional costs (PTC)-transportation FTCs are more burdensome - Didactic relationship b/w market access- price/trade policies
Main Operational Components PROCUREMENT Third party/state trading/open ended forward contracts/targeted farmer group(farm size/family farms) PRICING Price bands minimum pricing market driven pricing
STOCK DIFFERENCIATION Trading stocks emergency reserves/regional reserves/virtual reserves STOCK LEVEL Targeted emergency supply levels- %age national marketable production STOCK RELEASE Subsidized distribution market sale to SF/interface with commodity exchange/WRS
Floor price-open market price 2012
Key Policy Shifts s INTERVENTION POLICY PROGRESSION Marketing board monopoly/govt. dept License/quotas/tariff Price stabilization Floor pricing Regulatory Catalytic intervention New market devices Ltd company Statutory body
Research projects 1.Web based inventory & procurement management system-NAFCO 2.Development of pro-small holder procurement/pricing guidelines 3.Pilot linking school feeding to SGRD (Nigeria) 4.PPP workshop
Thank you!