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Growth in population and income, as well as urbanisation, are contributing to the growing consumption of high-value foods in developing countries. However, public and private investments targeting high-value agricultural markets are constrained by limited information on the quality dimensions of the market, the nature of traditional retail formats, and consumer segmentation. This paper presents a simple and appropriate methodology to provide such information, and applies it in Tanzania to animal-sourced foods. It features a rapid survey, which is then aligned with nationally representative survey data. The results show that Tanzanian consumers demand, and are anticipated to continue demanding, relatively good-quality animal products but in rather low-valued product forms. Consumer segments are differentiated by level of wealth and by choice of retail format and retail product form, rather than by quality per se.

Enhancing access to output markets for smallholder farmers is recognized as an effective tool for poverty reduction: the more smallholders produce and sell to the market, the higher their income and overall livelihoods. The underlying assumption, which is rarely spelled-out, is that market access represents a major incentive for smallholders to shift their production objective from subsistence to commercial, i.e. to set up sustainable businesses, be they either small or large, around their agricultural assets. This paper relies on the Uganda 2011/12 National Panel Survey (NPS) to investigate the linkages between access to market and dairy farmers’ self-reported subsistence and commercial production objectives. Market access, including both market participation and intensity of participation, is found to depend on a variety of observable farmers’ characteristics. Market participation, however, does also depend on whether the farmer considers himself or herself as commercially-oriented. There are thus some unobservable characteristics, such as smallholder’s risk attitude and willingness to invest in dairy, that influence farmer’s decision to participate in markets, and that are difficult to capture using traditional household and farm level data. This makes it challenging for decision-makers to design and implement policies that utilize markets as a tool out of poverty.

Aflatoxin is a human health threat in many developing countries. This study examines Kenyan milk consumers’ behaviour toward aflatoxin by way of choice experiments. Further, the willingness to pay for different types of milk and aflatoxin status awareness was assessed. Five attributes were selected to describe milk products: milk processing technique, fat content, packaging, price and aflatoxin-free certification. Results indicate that awareness of aflatoxin is high, and that consumers are willing to pay a significant premium for milk that is certified as aflatoxin-free. Results also show, however, that the substantial majority does not know how to avoid aflatoxin-contaminated milk. The results indicate a great need for further education and awareness-raising programs throughout the Kenyan dairy value chain, and a potential for market-based solutions to aflatoxin control in milk.