Reference no: EM133284508

Scenario 1 - Agricultural inputs in Jumanji Island

In the country 'Jumanji' the majority of the population depends on farming to make a living and most of them are poor. The country is densely populated, land sizes are small and yields per acre are low. The Jumanji Market-development Facility has the mandate to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers in the country. It cannot change the size of land holdings, but it can try to influence the productivity of the land. To understand why productivity is low it conducts an analysis. JMF staff talks to government departments, farmers, retailers of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides, companies producing and/or importing these inputs, extension workers, and traders to get an idea of what are causes of the problems observed and what could be potential solutions to work on.

These are the findings:

Yields of most crops are 30% to 50% lower than what they could be compared to neighboring countries
The number of agricultural extension workers is quite high, but still farmers complain they "never see one; they only visit the big farmers, not the small ones". Extension workers themselves say they "don't have fuel to go around".

Interviews also showed that agricultural extension workers seem to have a solid basic understanding of agriculture, but struggle to answer specific questions on specific crops in relation to disease control, choice of varieties, etc.

The Jumanji Agricultural Extension Service has received substantial development aid in the past. Extension workers were trained, and motorcycles were provided, but this does not seem to have helped much as turnover among extension workers is high. The local officers in charge admit they are dependent on aid to improve their performance; government "does not care", does not invest in them.

Traders say that they would like to buy more produce from local markets to sell in Jumanji's growing and increasingly prosperous cities. The quality of produce is not always good, but in principle, they can sell whatever they source locally in the city. There is much competition between traders and margins are sometimes really low, as JMF's own calculations confirm.

Farmers complain that it is difficult to make a living. It is not so much that they cannot sell what they grow, but yields fluctuate: sometimes yields are good, sometimes they are bad. It is difficult to find good seed. Some seeds don't germinate at all, and once that happens the season is all but lost. For some crops they can produce their own seed, but for other crops packed hybrid seed is much better - if the quality is good. Then there are diseases. Farmers say they don't know how to control them. "No one in the village seems to know." Sometimes half the crop gets infected. Fertilizer is not always of good quality, but they make their own compost, and by mixing the two they seem to manage. Irrigation is readily available.

Seed companies claim that their seeds are of the highest quality. But when asking further they do confirm having issues with seed multiplication (which should be done on company farms, under strictly controlled conditions, but this is not always the case) and with proper packaging (if the packaging is not good the seed dries out and does not germinate). Companies have been investing in improvements, but admit they have a long way to go, and they admit they are not always sure that they are doing the right thing.

Pesticide companies are surprised to hear that farmer complain about not knowing how to control diseases. All the latest pesticides are being imported into the country and are distributed. The companies work closely together with regional wholesalers to inform them about what kind of products they have, and what to use them for.

Retailers can be found in every village. Generally, they complain about the fact that farmers are often angry with them. There are always complains about seeds. There are always complains about pesticides. It is impossible to tell whether packed seed is good or bad; some have decided to stop selling packed seeds altogether to avoid problems with their clients. Pesticides are also difficult. The dealer comes by every now and then but does not really explain anything in detail; and they struggle to remember. They often discuss with farmers what seemed to work and what didn't and, in this way, learn what to sell.

Question 1: Briefly summarize the scenario as described above and conclude what according to you are the key problems farmers in Faraway are facing.

Question 2: Draft a media release with artwork on the above scenario,