Market Power & Economic Consequences of Post-Harvest Losses in Rwandan Dry Bean Markets
| dc.creator | Jones, Michael S. | |
| dc.creator | Alexander, Corinne E. | |
| dc.creator | Smith, Bruce | |
| dc.date | 2017-04-01T15:36:11Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-09T08:03:30Z | |
| dc.description | To date there is extremely limited knowledge of the economic consequences of post-harvest losses for smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa. Major contributors to economic losses are price penalties for poor quality marketed grain. This study investigates farm-gate level discounts demanded by rural Rwandan bean traders for insect-damaged dry beans. We use a simplified contingent evaluation methodology with physical grain samples to elicit seasonal damage discount schedules, gathering data from 270 trader interviews in 25 regionally-diverse rural markets, in periods of both grain abundance and grain scarcity. We find that while levels of 5-10% grain damage can generally be sold with a moderate discount, grain with 20-30% damage is largely unmarketable. We additionally use a two-stage model to investigate physical and non-physical drivers of buying insect-damaged grain and, if so, the demanded discount intensity. Results indicate that while grain damage levels play a central role, large volume traders penalize damage less while traders in the seed market, storing before re-sale, or purchasing heavily from farmers (vs. other traders) penalize damage significantly more. Findings have helped develop more evidence-based extension programming for the Post-Harvest Task Force of the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture. Additionally, derived discount coefficients help evaluate the cost-effectiveness of technologies throughout the region which prevent post-harvest damage. | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.22004/ag.econ.170659 | |
| dc.identifier | https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/170659/files/Market%20Power%20and%20Economic%20Consequences%20of%20PH%20Damage%20-%20AAEA1%202014.pdf | |
| dc.identifier | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/170659 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/595098 | |
| dc.language | eng | |
| dc.publisher | ||
| dc.source | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/170659 | |
| dc.title | Market Power & Economic Consequences of Post-Harvest Losses in Rwandan Dry Bean Markets | |
| dc.type | Text |