Abstract:
Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is potentially one of the planet’s most valuable plants for
human use, however it is under researched and used only to a limited extent. The
Moringa is a tree crop raised for food rather than timber, and could be described as a
food market on a trunk. The tree yields at least four different edible parts; pods, leaves,
seeds, and roots. Beyond edibles, it provides products that contribute to village life and
self-sufficiency across Africa and Asia. However limited research base and a lack of
knowledge make it difficult to identify and manage value chain innovations which
could improve utilization of the crop. This research was intended to explore the
Moringa value chain, giving special attention to its governance and coordination. Data
collection was done using interviewer administrated structured questionnaire with
three categories of respondents; farmers, intermediaries and consumers. The sample
was identified using a combination of multistage sampling and snowball sampling. Two
distinct value chains were identified relating to pods and leaves respectively.
Descriptive statistics shows that other than the male head of the household, traders are
the key decision makers in production activities. The decision to grow Moringa has
significant relationship with factors like demand for Moringa pods in the market,
tolerance to drought, low cost and high yield of Moringa. Inferential analysis showed
that Sales decisions were influenced by; price, convenience of transport and
transparency of the transactions. Application of the Mann-Whitney test indicates that
Moringa leaf value chain showed a greater level of coordination than the Moringa pod
value chain. Consumer preferences lie with pods rather than leaves. RBQ test results
confirmed that the unavailability of leaves in the market contributes to this. Results
revealed that the demand for both pods and leaves is year round, however seasonality
has a significant impact on consumption patterns indicating a positive demand trend
and future opportunities.
