Value chain mapping and marketing efficiency of smallholder cowpea farmers in Capricorn and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province

Marketing plays a major role in agricultural production and this is because agriculture has the potential to provide the majority of smallholder farmers with employment and income. However, for smallholder farmers to enjoy the benefits provided by agriculture they need to have a reliable market for their produce. This paper therefore examined cowpea value chain mapping and marketing efficiency among cowpea farmers in Ga-Molepo of Capricorn district and Bela-Bela of Waterberg district. Primary data was collected through face to face interviews from 80 smallholder cowpea farmers using structured questionnaire. Value chain map, descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model were used to analyse the data. The study findings showed that 66% of the smallholder cowpea farmers were market efficient and 34% were market inefficient. It was also revealed that women were more involved in cowpea production than men. Results of binary logistic regression model employed indicated that age, household size, years in schooling, years in farming cowpea, income generated from selling cowpea, quantity of cowpea sold and occupation of the farmers had positive significant influence on marketing efficiency in the study area. The paper therefore recommends that increased investment in education and training opportunities for smallholder farmers for better profit making and stakeholders in agriculture value chain in the study area should come together for proper coordination of activities to further enhance efficiency.