Asking and answering fundamental questions through informal markets

Posted on by eMKambo

Street markets or roadside food markets have remained a permanent feature in most developing countries. The fact that these markets continue to flourish alongside emerging shopping malls shows they occupy a unique position in commercial activities.  Informal markets were previously designed for disadvantaged, low income households with ad hoc incomes who were considered not able Read more about Asking and answering fundamental questions through informal markets[…]

Stimulating more value by tracking what is happening

Posted on by eMKambo

Tracking local activities and keeping daily updates does not just enable communities to practice what they preach. It also helps them to increase awareness and value for the wider society. When farming and fishing communities are able to track local activities, they build their own capacity to analyze what is going on and identify next Read more about Stimulating more value by tracking what is happening[…]

The merits of an effective marketplace for agricultural evidence

Posted on by eMKambo

Discovering and maintaining agricultural commodities markets is not enough for developing countries. They have to build a culture of synthesizing and sharing evidence in real-time. Absence of a culture of synthesizing information and knowledge from diverse sources remains a big challenge among farmers, economic actors, consumers and policy makers in the majority of developing countries. Read more about The merits of an effective marketplace for agricultural evidence[…]

Informal food markets as platforms for sharing aspirations and frustrations

Posted on by eMKambo

An under-appreciated advantage of African informal food markets is how they allow farmers, traders, consumers and other actors to emotionally participate in business and change processes through sharing their aspirations and frustrations. The same cannot happen in formal markets like supermarkets and formal manufacturing industries where farmers just deliver commodities and wait to be paid Read more about Informal food markets as platforms for sharing aspirations and frustrations[…]

African informal food markets as better expressions of democracy

Posted on by eMKambo

African countries are full of human rights interventions that focus mostly on partisan political rights ignoring the rights of local people to produce their own diverse foods in ways they want.  Human rights should not just be enabling local people to access donated food. Evidence from African informal food markets show the extent to which Read more about African informal food markets as better expressions of democracy[…]

The sum of community knowledge is greater than the sum of individual expert knowledge

Posted on by eMKambo

While it is true that community knowledge is broader and deeper, most African farming communities hesitate to make decisions without consulting an extension officer. The need to cross-check and verify facts through an extension officer can be counter-productive if it causes farmers to stop experimenting and learning from their innovations. Surveys by eMKambo over the Read more about The sum of community knowledge is greater than the sum of individual expert knowledge[…]

Revisiting the role of informal markets in distributing income

Posted on by eMKambo

Informal markets have existed for centuries, as contexts where communities make sense of their resources and exchange value. However, urbanization has given these markets a more pronounced role particularly in meeting the needs of different classes of consumers and farmers. In many African countries, informal markets are the fastest ways for transferring income from buyers Read more about Revisiting the role of informal markets in distributing income[…]

Building a case for decolonizing Agricultural Value chains

Posted on by eMKambo

Identifying and explaining each agricultural value chain’s nodes is a better way of revealing the extent to which a value chain can lift people out of poverty and contribute to broader development aspirations. The longer the value chain, the more contribution to socio-economic development. Most agricultural commodities produced by smallholder farmers are characterized by very Read more about Building a case for decolonizing Agricultural Value chains[…]

Opportunities to enrich your agricultural decisions with data

Posted on by eMKambo

With the importance of data and evidence in African agriculture gaining momentum, eMKambo has historical data that can enable diverse value chain actors to understand their agribusiness planning, budgeting and decision-making. Over the past five years, eMKambo (www.emkambo.co.zw) has been collecting data from more than 20 agricultural markets in Zimbabwe. Major parameters of the data Read more about Opportunities to enrich your agricultural decisions with data[…]

Making marginalized farmers ready for the impact of globalization

Posted on by eMKambo

Although digital technology is beginning to show potential for increasing the impact of individual knowledge, in most African marginalized communities, community knowledge will remain important for a long time. Unfortunately, many development interventions are meddling with African communities’ capacity to make sense of knowledge. Development actors sincerely want to help marginalized communities but their strategies Read more about Making marginalized farmers ready for the impact of globalization[…]