Once farmers start participating in the market, they no longer remain the same. By talking to other farmers and listening to experiences from other parts of the country, they stop being passive price-takers. They become active co-creators of the marketing experience. Through the mass market, farmers find their voices by exchanging phone numbers and sharing Read more about Mass markets build farmer confidence and transform behaviour[…]

Formal institutions do not have the data required to build African economies The amount and quality of data required to transform African economies cannot be found in statistical agencies, universities, reserve banks or any government institution alone. For agriculture-driven economies, value chains, farmers and mass markets possess the data badly needed for reality checks. To Read more about Formal institutions do not have the data required to build African economies[…]

Mass markets offer new grounds for interpreting African economic realities It is only through working with mass markets that African policy makers and researchers can make informed decisions that support genuine collaboration and learning.  People who don’t understand mass markets assume these fluid institutions are all about buying and selling commodities.  Yet the diversity of Read more about Mass markets offer new grounds for interpreting African economic realities[…]

African leaders who really care about food systems transformation cannot ignore what is happening in the mass market. Ignoring these markets is ignoring more than 70 percent of actors who handle food after it has been produced. In most African countries, mass markets or territorial markets are the true centre of gravity for local food Read more about We cannot achieve food systems transformation by ignoring mass markets[…]