Producers’ Organizations and organization of market places

Many capitalizations of experiences of agricultural producers’ organizations were capitalized by Inter-réseaux and the CTA within the framework of the Working group “POs and commercialization”. These case studies show that there is a great diversity of activities which are undertaken by POs to improve access to markets and to better commercialize their agricultural products:
This note illustrates actions that are related to the improvement of the organization and functioning of markets.
Different types of actions are carried out by POs in this direction to improve transparency of transactions between producers and buyers: actions to improve the visibility of supply and potential demand, prices and volumes and in fine a better meeting between supply and demand of products to facilitate commercialization on market places or agricultural fares. Some particular actions of POs are highlighted here:
1. improvement of information on prices and markets;
2. clustering of supply at a unique place on a transparent market;
3. improvement of measures and measurement units of quantities of products;
4. organization of regulated markets and agricultural trade fairs;
5. regulation of the supply of local products on markets.
These actions are derived from the traditional activities of purchase-storage that are carried out by POs or grouped transport of products.
They are also sometimes difficult to organize because they oblige the POs to work not only with members but to work and build collective actions with many actors of the value chain as well as local development actors (traders, local authorities, territorial groups.).
But given the interest and stakes involved in the organization of the market place, these actions are not to be neglected, be they at the level of the PO like at the level of the support organizations which accompany them in their commercialization actions.