Yellow Maize Value Chain and The Role of Agricultural Cooperative Societies

Despite the efforts made to limit imports of yellow corn and try to control the price policy of feed to secure the poultry industry, which is a major source of animal protein, the implementation measures lost their way. In 2015 the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation submitted a proposal approved by the Prime Minister stating the imposition of fees estimated at 500 EGP for every ton of yellow corn imports used in the poultry industry, which achieves a return of about 600 million EGP annually, which is deposited in a fund to balance crop prices. However, the Ministry of Trade intervened and stopped the decision after a complaint it received from the importing companies. This was followed by the state’s establishment of the Contract Cultivation Center in accordance with Republican Decree No. 14 of 2015, which would promote contractual planting of crops and facilitate the marketing of crops, especially strategic crops, but the center is still not activated. Which leads us to ask, is there a role of agricultural cooperatives in marketing the yellow corn crop? Are agricultural cooperatives the entity capable of efficiently marketing the yellow corn crop? What are the marketing policies that stimulate farmers? The research aimed at identifying the role of agricultural cooperatives in marketing the yellow corn crop, through identifying the current status of the yellow corn crop and analyzing the value chain of the yellow corn crop. The research found the following: The relative importance of the cultivated area increased from about 7.3% in 2014 to about 14% in 2018. The average area of ​​the yellow corn crop represents about 10% of the total average area of ​​cereal crops, which is estimated at 7.6 million feddans, during the period (2014-2018). By comparing the agricultural price with the import price in the port of arrival, we find that the import price is higher than the farm price during the years of study, in addition to the high average import price over the average farm price, as it was estimated at 3016 pounds compared to about 2,633 pounds as an average farm price during the period (2014-2018). Domestic consumption of yellow corn also increased from about 6.2 million tons in 2014 to about 11.6 million tons in 2018, with an annual average of about 9.3 million tons during the period (2014-2018), and then the average consumption gap was estimated at 6.9 tons. The respondents from the association directors in the research sample explained that the associations do not distribute any kind of seeds to farmers, and this is not limited to yellow corn but for all crops, and they emphasized that the association’s role is limited to distributing fertilizers only. They attributed this to the lack of financial resources of the associations, the great increase in the price of seeds beyond the capabilities of the financial association, the limited production available from the central administration of seeds, which would not allow covering all the needs of farmers throughout the republic during the season, the lack of financial liquidity to buy seeds from companies for distribution where Companies require sale and payment in advance, not on credit The marketing margin at the wholesaler was estimated at 900 pounds / ton for grains, which represented about 27% of the farm price, while the marketing margin for the retailer was estimated at 950 pounds / ton. By studying the distribution of the consumer pound, it was found that the share of the farmer from the consumer pound is estimated at 57%, while the wholesaler's share is 21% at the level of the research sample in Beheira Governorate, and about 58%, 20% at the level of Assiut governorate. Then, it is noticed that the farmer's share of the consumer pound has increased at the level of the sample governorates, which indicates an increase in marketing efficiency. Where the higher the farmer's share of the consumer's pound, the greater the marketing efficiency. Recommendations: 1. It’s necessary for the state to play an active role in supporting the expansion of the cultivation of yellow corn through the following: · Establishing an official crop supply system, like other strategic crops · It’s necessary for the state to put a protective package to reduce import and support the local product 2. Establishing a qualitative agricultural cooperative societies specializing in the yellow corn crop to support the expansion in the production and marketing of the crop by providing production requirements, providing the necessary information and extension services to farmers and ensuring the marketing of the crop at a fair and appropriate price that achieves a profitable profit margin