Linking Small-Scale Farmers to Market

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of institutions supporting the marketing system in linking small-scale farmers to markets following market liberalisation in Tanzania. The study used the Agricultural Marketing System Development Programme (AMSDP) as a case study. In particular, the study sought to: • Examine the impact of assets owned by household farmers on agricultural output market participation; • Assess the level of market orientation of small-scale farmers in the study area; • Identify transaction cost factors that influenced the decision of farmers to participate in agricultural product markets in the Arumeru district; and • Suggest measures that could improve the efficiency of agricultural output markets in Tanzania. Basing on the above objectives, the study was designed to test the following hypotheses: i) Households with more endowment (assets) were likely to participate in agricultural output marketing; ii) Access to information had a positive significant impact on small-scale farmers' participation in the agricultural markets in the study area; iii)The level of market orientation increased with the access to agricultural output markets; and iv)Obstacles that farmers encountered were likely to reduce farmers' participation in agricultural output markets. The study was conducted in Arumeru district, Arusha region, in the northern highlands of Tanzania. The district was selected because it was one of the areas where AMSDP was operating. As a matter of fact, Arumeru was among the first districts in which the programme started operating in 2002. A cross-sectional research design was used in this study. This design enabled the researcher to collect data at a single point once and use the collected data in a descriptive way and for the determination of relationship among variables. Limited time for field work and the nature of the research justified the use of this design.