Science and Technology Mailing List Archive

["Dick Tinsley" <<address removed>>]

In my comments through the other theme I have emphasized the importance of the 
private sector as the most cost effective provider of sustainable support 
services to the smallholders.  There are really 2 components to the private 
sector the corporative sector such as the Unilvers, Cargills, etc. and the 
local village enterprises.  I think most people when reflecting on the private 
sector think of the corporate component.  However, I emphasis the village 
enterprise.

These tend to be primarily family enterprises and rarely get bigger than that.  
The most visible example of this would be the Talid Thai wholesale market just 
north to Bangkok and directly across the highway from the Asian Institute of 
Technology.  It is a massive facilitate, but on closer look it is all 
subdivided into individual family operations each with a permanently rented 
floor space that has been customized to the family, etc. For those interested 
if I observed it correctly and in traditional Asian fashion the wives are 
running it and husbands are more formans then managers.

The point here is that this provides a highly fragmented marketing structure 
with each enterprise having only a limited market volume in which to make their 
living.  The fragmentation means their is competition which assures the farmers 
and consumer the best value.  However, it also means a reasonable high mark-up, 
as the minimum mark-up the traders can accept is that which will provide their 
families a reasonable livelihood.

The other aspects is why are they restricted to family enterprises, and not 
expanding. My guess is the lack of trust in trusting administrative  task to 
other people.  This also one reason why the cooperative have such problems as 
they are highly dependent of trust.

Any thoughts.

Dick Tinsley