Source: fin24.co.za, Sep 12 2007. Article by Tiisetso Motsoeneng

Johannesburg - Drastic steps need to be taken urgently by all stakeholders in SA agribusiness to include small-scale farmers in agri-food markets, a regional coordinator of the Regoverning Markets Project (RMP) said on Wednesday.   

Professor Andre Louw of Pretoria University's Department of Agricultural Economics told a conference in Pretoria that the exclusion of small scale farmers is a worldwide phenomenon and solutions must be addressed and implemented.  

"The heart of the problem is that larger supermarkets and chain outlets of fresh produce gives preference to larger established producers with whom they can enter into contracts specifying timely delivery of quality product with an ongoing and sustainable supply," said Louw.

He added that supermarkets sideline emerging farmers because they fail to comply with these requirements.    Other problems facing small-scale farmers in South Africa include lack of access to credit, production constraints, land tenure problems and lack of commercial production experience.    "A combination of these factors means that the smallholders do not have the capacity to produce for mainstream markets such as wholesalers, supermarkets and processors," Louw said. 

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