Commercialisation des produits agricoles vivriers dans la Province du Sud-Kivu (RDC) : mesure de l'intégration des marchés ruraux

This article analyzes the current system of marketing of food products in the province of South Kivu and its implications for producer prices and market integration. The study results are twofold. First, we find that the food producers hold only a small share of the marketing margin, while the bulk of the margin is captured by intermediate traders. Second, we find that the markets for bean and sorghum are integrated, which may be explained by the preponderance of these products in the diet of the population. On the other hand, market integration of maize and cassava is low, which may be due to the difficult market access conditions, in terms of taxes and red tape, rampant insecurity, inadequate means of transport, poor roads, as well as lack of information, with the information asymmetry working to the disadvantage of small-scale food producers. Finally, our analysis of the evolution and variation in average prices of food products confirms that the City of Bukavu is the area of consumption, that Katana is the collection area of food products and that Nyangezi although rural, is not a major collection area, and actually is a food deficit area with rampant malnutrition.