Trade experts are rooting for the setting up of bigger Africa commodity exchanges to attract global interest, increasing the cash flow to farmers.

"Exchanges thrive where there is adequate volume and players. It is not easy to achieve these in some single countries. That is why regional exchanges in line with the ongoing integration process are important," said Mr Chris Goromonzi, the managing director of Bourse Africa a commodity spot and derivatives exchange that offers multi-asset class trading in commodities, currencies, bonds and diamonds.

The establishment of commodity exchanges has failed to take off in most of the sub-Saharan Africa, exposing the pre-dominant smallholder farmers to exploitation by middlemen.

This means most farmers cannot access professionalised warehousing and storage facilities.

The most advanced commodity exchange in Africa is that of South Africa which is linked to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Ethiopia also has a wheel functioning commodity exchange. Kenya has the tea auction in Mombasa and the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.

But what experts were alluding at the sidelines of the Africa Green Revolution Forum in Accra, Ghana, are exchanges that deal with immediate consumables like maize, beans and fruits, among others that are principally supplied by the small scale farmers.

Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda trade on low scale under what is known as Warehousing Receipt System, a precursor to Commodity Exchanges.

Kenya has a similar system but done on a small scale.

Earlier, the National Cereals and Produce Board had announced plans to collaborate with partners to establish a regional exchange with the East Africa Grain Council, playing the role of helping to certify warehouses across the region. It was not clear how far those plans have progressed.

Partners in formation of the exchanges have been pushing for the enactment of the National Warehousing Act and a regulatory regime for the commodity exchange which ensures integrity.

The setting up of a commodity exchange will require registered dealers, warehouses, depot receipts, commodity quality, accurate market information system and substantial financing.

Banks are currently reluctant to finance warehousing receipts systems, where farmers are paid on delivery and when their crop is sold because of lack of laws to guide the trade.

Commodity exchanges are seen as a major missing link in the efforts to add value to agriculture sub-sector.