Good for who? : supermarkets and small farmers in South Africa : a critical review of current approaches to market access for small farmers in developing countries

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small‐scale agriculture is one of the few tools available to support improved rurallivelihoods on a significant scale in South Africa. Access to output markets is a keyobstacle for small farmers in generating higher incomes. Thus, the rise of modernmarkets (supermarkets in particular) is generally viewed as positive for the ruralpoor, although most commentators accede that there are challenges to beovercome in obtaining access to such markets. A literature survey indicates amainstream point of view about the reasons for modern market exclusion, as well asthe most appropriate policy responses. This viewpoint is characterized by anassessment that the 'fault for market exclusion lies largely with small producers –their personal characteristics, their production methods, and their location – ratherthan with these markets themselves. The corresponding logic is that if these issuesare addressed small farmers will almost certainly be included in modern marketsupply chains.It is this study's assertion that much of the research that has been undertaken todate is in fact incomplete, because it has excluded two key issues: The dominantsupermarket business model; and the actual position of small farmers in thosecountries with high levels of supermarket concentration.An examination of the supermarket model suggests it is inherently hostile towardsmost producers, and that modern supermarket supply chain management strategiesaim to maximize the extraction of value from other chain participants. Smallerproducers are particularly hard hit by this strategy. The South African food retailmarket structure resembles that of industrialised countries rather than developingcountries, and the largest local supermarkets probably have sufficient market shareto exercise significant market power. Therefore, we should expect that the positionof South African small farmers is similar to that of small farmers in industrialisedcountries, who are increasingly excluded by modern supermarket‐led supply chains.In light of this analysis, most of the current policy initiatives responses to addressmarket exclusion seem woefully inadequate. Improving the quality of production,and small farmers' access to skills and assets is important and necessary, but thisstudy proposes that these actions on their own are not sufficient to guaranteeaccess into modern supply chains. Insufficient research attention has been given tounderstanding how markets themselves become barriers to entry. This is a vital gapin local rural development policy: A market system that favours large over smallfarmers has the potential to exacerbate rural inequality and to neutralize policyaimed at supporting small farmers.Government needs to take the development of marketing opportunities specificallyfor small farmers more seriously, understanding that they face a very different set ofmarket access challenges than do large farmers. They need to encourage andsupport the type of food networks and marketing structures that will have thegreatest positive benefit on small farmers and the communities that they live in. Thisrequires a different view of the workings of market networks, and a more criticalassessment of how these impact on rural livelihoods.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University