An agricultural commodity exchange is based on a free market system and facilitates trade between farmers and buyers in agricultural goods and provides daily prices of farm produce. It has the potential to transform the Ethiopian agricultural market as it has done in other Sub-Saharan African countries like Zimbabwe. The benefits for the agricultural sector include improved market access and communication, increased competition, and ultimately more efficient and cost-effective markets. Moreover, a successful commodity exchange also allows for all sectors to participate and can thus increase the economic productivity of the country.

Making markets work requires an efficient and sustainable flow of information that many poor countries lack. Market Information System (MIS) have the potential to fill the gap by providing all the players in the market with the resources to overcome the greatest market obstacles such as high transaction costs, weak competition and even inform policy decisions. To achieve the potential of MIS, Ethiopia can learn from the other sub-Saharan countries that have experimented with and successfully implemented various MIS models.

Another important aspect of an effective market is the quality of the goods that are sold. Standards to ensure the quality of goods are thus significant determinants of the effectiveness and productivity of markets. For the purpose of promoting competitive markets as well as protecting consumers from dangerous and unsafe products that may be found in the markets, the state can take a leading role in setting and enforcing quality standards.

Dimensions of the nature, scope, and complexity of collective action in Kenya have evolved over many years. In studying collective action, the aim is to understand why and how people participate in networks of trust. The purpose of this study was to investigate the different objectives that farmers pursue through collective action with the aim of understanding the patterns of people’s participation in collective action, identify factors that influence people to join groups, and identify the costs and benefits of participating in activities of groups. The study was carried out in four sites spread across the highlands of central Kenya. Data was collected from a total of 442 households, focusing on whether members of those households belonged to groups and if so, what type of groups these were and their activities. In addition we looked at how these groups functioned and identified some of the contributions members make to these groups and the benefits from the same. The analysis shows that collective action is used to accomplish a range of activities for different socioeconomic categories and that the majority of households in central Kenya engage in some form of group activity.... The study suggests that where institutions and policies that promote individual or private sector growth are weak, collective action can help to overcome these weaknesses and connect individuals in these institutions and policies.