An appraisal of the African Food Marketing Board system: The Nigerian experience

Abstract

African Food Marketing Boards are an important component in the system promoting development among Africa's small farming sectors. They contribute to the stabilization of producer prices and incomes, to the reduction of post-harvest losses and to the development of market outlets for farmers' produce. Private sector traders competing in the same markets have enjoyed greater flexibility and have been able to undermine these boards and as a result their functions have not been performed and the goals for which they were created have not been realized. The problem they were to resolve remains. This paper argues that the solution is not to dissolve the boards and hand over to private traders but rather to reconstitute the boards, removing the constraints which have prevented their efficient and effective performance. © 1987.