Agriculture
Market instability chokes pigeon pea farming
December 22, 2020 / Bester Kayaye
Price fluctuations are the major setback to the advancement of pigeon pea farming in Malawi, a representative group of the crop’s farmers the Nandolo Farmers Association of Malawi (NFAM) has said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Mining and Trade Review, NFAM Chairperson Susan Chimbayo said that lack of profitable and reliable markets, insufficient finances and high interest rates are among the factors that derail the capacity of the crop to contribute enormously to the country’s economic growth.
Chimbayo explained that the marketing performance of the crop was greatly affected by import restriction cap set by the Indian government in 2018. With the cap in place, prices dropped to as low as MK30/kg until the Malawi government intervened, a development which saw prices rising to as high as MK230/kg in the 2019-2020 season.
“Prices of pigeon peas from 2019 to 2020 have ranged from MK250 to MK365/kg. this has renewed farmers’ interest to grow the crop,” she said adding that the market condition has generated high demand on the market and thus makes prospects for 2021 lucrative.
She said farmers under the association benefit from a deliberate policy where registered members attract a premium of MK20-MK30 above market prices. “This means farmers under the association get better rewards compared to non-members.”
However, she said there is a need to put in place deliberate policies to encourage production of pigeon peas as well as protecting farmers from vendor exploitation through licensing and monitoring buyers.
“So far we are lobbying for an exporting quota to India so that Malawi can export raw and value-added pigeon peas as other countries like Tanzania and Mozambique do,” she said pointing out that the association and government can partner to promote value addition using processing plants which are currently lying idle across the country.
NFAM plans to establish a factory under Nandolo Trading Company. The company will be responsible for procurement and marketing of pigeon peas on behalf of farmers.
Chimbayo commended the market linkage the association has with Mozambique based Royal Group of Companies which has improved purchase prices of pigeon peas from MK50 to MK230.
The association is composed of pigeon pea growers aiming at achieving increased production as well as maximizing returns from pigeon pea production. It has about 10,682 members working in 33 member cooperatives in Southern Region of Malawi.
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