A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi

This paper proposes a new approach to monitoring farmer prices in low-income developing countries. This crowdsourcing approach involves broadcasting radio jingles inviting farmers to report the prices and locations at which they sold their crops to a toll-free call centre, with weekly prizes to ince...

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Main Authors: Baulch, Bob, Kok, Seng Kiong, Jolex, Aubrey
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Informa UK Limited 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139720
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author Baulch, Bob
Kok, Seng Kiong
Jolex, Aubrey
author_browse Baulch, Bob
Jolex, Aubrey
Kok, Seng Kiong
author_facet Baulch, Bob
Kok, Seng Kiong
Jolex, Aubrey
author_sort Baulch, Bob
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper proposes a new approach to monitoring farmer prices in low-income developing countries. This crowdsourcing approach involves broadcasting radio jingles inviting farmers to report the prices and locations at which they sold their crops to a toll-free call centre, with weekly prizes to incentivize reporting. An application to Malawi illustrates the feasibility of this approach in a setting where internet connectivity is limited but mobile phone coverage is reasonable. The majority of farmers reporting sold to assemblers or small traders and received substantially less than official minimum farm gate prices. Non-parametric analysis shows that farmer prices vary according to bargaining power and sales volume but not by distance to the point of sale. These findings may be explained by the fragmented and monopsonistic nature of food markets in Malawi, and farmers’ mode of transport to the point of sale.
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publishDate 2024
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spelling CGSpace1397202025-10-26T12:51:41Z A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi Baulch, Bob Kok, Seng Kiong Jolex, Aubrey farmers developing countries monitoring and evaluation prices Information and Communication Technologies This paper proposes a new approach to monitoring farmer prices in low-income developing countries. This crowdsourcing approach involves broadcasting radio jingles inviting farmers to report the prices and locations at which they sold their crops to a toll-free call centre, with weekly prizes to incentivize reporting. An application to Malawi illustrates the feasibility of this approach in a setting where internet connectivity is limited but mobile phone coverage is reasonable. The majority of farmers reporting sold to assemblers or small traders and received substantially less than official minimum farm gate prices. Non-parametric analysis shows that farmer prices vary according to bargaining power and sales volume but not by distance to the point of sale. These findings may be explained by the fragmented and monopsonistic nature of food markets in Malawi, and farmers’ mode of transport to the point of sale. 2024-06-02 2024-02-28T14:47:02Z 2024-02-28T14:47:02Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139720 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Baulch, Bob; Kok, Seng Kiong; Jolex, Aubrey. 2024. A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi. Journal of Development Studies 60(6): 874-894. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2023.2291320
spellingShingle farmers
developing countries
monitoring and evaluation
prices
Information and Communication Technologies
Baulch, Bob
Kok, Seng Kiong
Jolex, Aubrey
A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title_full A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title_fullStr A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title_full_unstemmed A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title_short A new approach to monitoring farmer prices: Method and an application to Malawi
title_sort new approach to monitoring farmer prices method and an application to malawi
topic farmers
developing countries
monitoring and evaluation
prices
Information and Communication Technologies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139720
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