Spotlight on Radio Marketplace in Morogoro

| June 5, 2017

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Farmers need information about many things when they are growing crops: good seeds, soil fertility, low-cost inputs, how to recognize disease, and how to ward off pests. This information helps them make decisions that help them harvest as much as possible.

But to ensure they get the best return for their hard work, they also need market information.

That is why Abood FM in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania, has turned their farmer program, Kilimo Bora, into a “Radio Marketplace.”

June is harvest time for soybean farmers in Morogoro. So when the farmers tune in to Kilimo Bora at that time of year, they want to hear about market opportunities and prices.

A Radio Marketplace program is a market information program supported by Farm Radio International. The program explores a different marketing topic each week, interviewing farmers, vendors, processors, transporters, policymakers, and input dealers. Topics can include: the power of marketing in groups, the benefits and challenges of contract farming, and identifying just who the buyers and processors are for a particular crop.

One recent episode of Radio Marketplace on Kilimo Bora gave listeners a tour of Tanfeeds International’s operations. The mini-documentary explained how the company processes soy—along with maize and other ingredients—to make high-protein animal feed and soya oil for human use. The program gave managing director Faustin Lekule an opportunity to explain the qualities Tanfeeds looks for when it purchases soybeans from farmers.

These kinds of discussions give farmers the information they need to negotiate with buyers. Radio Marketplace programs address the “four Ps” of marketing: right product, right place, right price, and right promotion. By better understanding who their buyers are and what the buyers’ needs are, farmers can better negotiate a fair price and make the best decisions for themselves, whether that means grading their product, growing the right varieties, or simply selling as a group.

In Lungo village in Mvomero district, soybean farmers like Hidaya Muhidini Kipila and Elikunda Emanuel Kuanjama have formed a group. They negotiated with Tanfeeds early, agreeing on a contract that sets the selling price of soybeans at 1,100 Tanzanian shillings ($0.50 US) per kilogram at the farm gate, and 1,200 Tanzanian shillings at the factory gate.

Mr. Lekule explains that this type of contract, made before harvest, includes negotiations on price, buying season, packaging, quality, mode of payment, and timing of payment. He prefers to buy from farmer groups, and will only buy from individual sellers if the groups do not produce enough to meet his production needs.

Because the farmer group has already negotiated a contract, broadcasters Mohamed Issa and Mariam Maruzuku recently discussed contract farming on Kilimo Bora, to ensure that farmers understand contract farming, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Mohamed Issa

Mohamed Issa checks Uliza on his laptop at Abood FM.

On Kilimo Bora, the Radio Marketplace program also includes two ICT components: an Uliza question of the week and a beep4tips.

Each week, listeners are asked a question on air. They can call in with their answer and record comments or questions for the broadcasters. Farm Radio’s Uliza program displays the survey results online, so that broadcasters can use this information while planning their radio program. Uliza also shows broadcasters the recorded answers and questions from individual callers, which they can play on air. Mr. Issa and Mrs. Maruzuku can incorporate these farmer voices into a vox pop segment or ask the questions when interviewing an expert. A live phone-in segment also gives listeners the chance to share their comments or ask questions on air.

The beep4tips component of provides listeners with the phone numbers of soybean purchasers like Tanfeeds International in Morogoro. Callers send an SMS message saying “SOYA” to 15088—a short code that doesn’t cost them anything. The reply message asks them to respond with a number from 1 to 5 that corresponds to their region. Then the callers receive the phone numbers and names of purchasers in their area.

With the information on Radio Marketplace, soybean farmers can get the best price for their product, whether that involves joining a group and negotiating a good contract, or connecting with traders and buyers promoted on Radio Marketplace.

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, www.idrc.ca, and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada, www.international.gc.ca

Photo: A shopkeeper in Longido District, Tanzania, with her radio.