The highest price does not always win

Choosing when to sell: Sorghum farmers may accept a lower local price when immediate cash, smaller quantities and faster payment matter more than waiting for a higher-paying formal market.

In August, the Grain Marketing Board was offering USD 432 per tonne for traditional grains, while local informal buyers were paying around USD 222 per tonne. On price alone, the choice seems obvious. Yet farmers in the Dande Valley continued selling small quantities of sorghum locally, often to meet immediate needs such as school fees. 

APT’s 2026 Learning Study helps explain why. Sixty-nine percent of surveyed households said immediate cash needs influenced when they sold crops. And the headline price is only part of the transaction. GMB has minimum quantity and quality requirements, payment is by bank transfer, and payment can sometimes be significantly delayed. A local trader may offer less, but may also buy a small quantity at the farmgate and pay immediately. For a household that needs money today, cash in hand can outweigh a much better price later. 

For APT, the lesson is that better market access is not simply about identifying the highest-paying buyer. It means understanding the whole transaction: price, quantity, quality, transport, payment method and, above all, timing. The challenge is to develop market and aggregation options that capture more value without ignoring the liquidity pressures that shape how farmers actually sell.