Market Information System and the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange
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Date
2007-07
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A.A.U
Abstract
The majority of Ethiopian population lives in the countryside and makes a living by
producing agricultural products. Farmers in the rural areas sell their agricultural products to
merchants from the cities at very low prices. This is because farmers do not have the option of
getting market information of agricultural products in the major market places other than their
localities. Due to this fact, the livelihood of farmers is deteriorating day by day.
This has a direct impact on the Ethiopian economy since the economy strongly depends on
agriculture. To improve the livelihood of farmers, it is important that they get market
information to enable them sell what they have at reasonable and fair prices. Hence, efficient
and practical way of providing up-to-date market information to farmers is highly needed.
The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange is established to create a better market environment for
farmers as well as consumers. ICT is one of the three pillars of Ethiopia Commodity
Exchange. Using tools of ICT, one can provide accurate market information to farmers and
traders in rural areas.
The majority of the population in the rural areas is not educated enough to use computers. In
addition, implementation of computer based Market Information System may require
installing computers and computer network in the villages of rural Ethiopia. This kind of
venture can be very expensive. Furthermore, the necessary infrastructure, such as electricity,
for setting up computer networks is not available in most rural parts of Ethiopia. Hence, a
solution which is not too costly to implement and at the same time easy to use is needed.
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Keywords
Ethiopia Commodity, Market Information