Enhancing intra-regional grain trade in Eastern Africa through market information systems: The case of the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network (RATIN)

Abstract

The Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) focuses on promoting intra-regional trade in Africa in order to expand access to markets by the small holder farmers and traders. However, the lack of market information still remains a challenge, not only to farmers, but to all stakeholders in the value chain, as well as governments. Therefore, market information is largely considered a public good and its impact in facilitating and promoting regional trade can lead to increased earning for farmers, reduced transaction costs, increased regional trade, price stabilization, and improved food security. The provision of the market information system by the EAGC, the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network (RATIN), is discussed in this paper. A description of RATIN is provided with a discussion of the structure, conduct, and performance, as well as an examination of how RATIN has contributed to increased regional trade for grain in the Eastern Africa region, including a discussion regarding the challenges, lessons learned, and some conclusions.