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Market institutions benefiting smallholders in contemporary Meru, Tanzania*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2012

Ellen Hillbom
Ellen Hillbom*
Affiliation:
Department of Economic History, Lund University, PO Box 7083, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Smallholders in developing countries can potentially benefit from access to local, regional, national and international markets as they intermediate between rural and urban demand for agricultural products and smallholder supply. This study investigates how smallholders in Meru, Tanzania make use of the various marketing channels that are available to them, and argues that the variety of potential marketing channels and easily accessible market information enables smallholders to weigh advantages and disadvantages with varying market opportunities and form rational decisions. It presents a case where producers, consumers and traders are the principal agents in building market institutions through what should be characterised as endogenous processes. As these market institutions correspond to smallholders' needs, they may be able to play an important role in the overall process of agricultural development in the area.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 657 - 679
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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Footnotes

*

This work has been made possible through financial support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Department of Research Cooperation (Sida/SAREC) for the project ‘Development through dynamic rural–urban exchange’. The author acknowledges valuable comments from two anonymous referees.

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