Tanzanian warehouse receipt scheme
Rising food prices are having a devastating effect on the poorest people, particularly smallholder farmers in developing countries. A short video being screened during the Second Consultation Session on the Eighth Replenishment illustrates what can happen when smallholder farmers get access to both credit and storage facilities for their grains and what impact that can have on rural incomes and food security. The video features the IFAD-supported Agricultural Marketing Systems Development Programme (AMSDP) in Tanzania and a warehouse receipt component that enables smallholder farmers to store their harvest and then sell it when prices improve. While waiting to sell their grain, farmers can also use it as collateral to borrow cash from a credit cooperative.
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I Spy
To the market vendors who sell him vegetables and rice, Stanley Mchome is just another customer, albeit one who asks a great many questions. But in reality, Stanley’s inquisitiveness is far more than friendly banter. When he’s not tending to his rice fields in Northern Tanzania, Stanley is a “Mkulima Shushushu” – Kiswahili for “market spy.”
Source: IFAD
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The First Mile Project
The First Mile is a pilot project that encourages small farmers, traders, processors and others in the market chain to work and think collaboratively, not competitively, to improve their access to markets and customers. Mobile phones, radio, e-mail and the Internet are just some of the communications tools being used to connect those in isolated communities. And while technology is important, trust and relationship-building are the primary goals.
Source: IFAD

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