




Linking farmers to markets, particularly in the dryland areas, is critical to agricultural transformation, according to the scientists who conducted a study1 of the contractual preferences of grain producers in Niger and Nigeria. Farmers do not have easy access to inputs and product markets in the Sahelian countries. As a result of these missing input markets and lack of market opportunities for the main crops (sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut), there are few incentives to use modern technologies. Consequently, only a small amount of farmers’ production is traded. When assured of a ready market, farmers are willing to adopt supply-enhancing technologies and achieve more marketable surpluses.