This report summarizes the findings from an innovative study to collect the prices that farmers received for maize and soybeans during the 2020 main marketing season in Malawi. This study builds on a previous pilot crowdsourcing study covering farmgate prices for pigeon peas and chickpeas in 13 districts in the South between August and October 2019.
In this study, farmers reported the price at which they sold their maize or soybeans by calling or texting a toll-free number managed by Farm Radio Trust. The reported prices were compared to the minimum farmgate prices set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The findings show that 75 percent of maize farmers and 90 percent of soybean farmers sold their crops below the official minimum farmgate prices. On average, prices received by these farmers were approximately three-quarters of official minimum farmgate prices.
Read and download the report here. (PDF 430 KB)
Authors: Dennis O. Ochieng and Bob Baulch
