Abstract:
Production and consumption of round potatoes have been increasing in Tanzania. This is evidenced
by the increase of the urban street chips vendors; local smallholder crisps processors; and large scale
processors such as CRISPO Company at Iringa. The increase in consumption of round potato is due
mainly to increased economic activities, population increase, urbanisation, increase in number of fast
food restaurants, and tourism which change eating habits and consumer preferences towards easy to
cook, pre-prepared and processed foods such as potato chips and crisps. It is also known that there are
various round potato varieties with different characteristics such as size, shape, taste, yield, and
processing qualities. Thus, different varieties may have different markets and hence profitability.
According to economic theory, a farmer is expected to grow varieties that promise to yield the
maximum profit. However, studies done in other countries indicate that smallholder farmers were
guided by factors other than profit maximisation. Therefore, this study analysed the optimisation
behaviour of smallholder round potato farmers in Southern Highlands of Tanzania basing on four
questions. How do farmers allot land to various crops? What guides farmers’ selection for the round
potato varieties they grow? Are there variations in profitability among round potato varieties? And are
round potato farmers maximisers of profit? Results show that there were variations in profitability
among varieties. Also, farmers’ decisions regarding variety selections, time of sale and acreage
decisions were not guided by profit maximisation. Selling price of the previous season and
profitability did have any effect on variety selections. The study concludes that smallholder round
potato farmers were not optimisers of profit. Understanding farmers’ optimisation behaviour and
variety preferences is important in informing relevant policies as input to the current government
effort of commercialising smallholder production, poverty reduction, and future variety development
and diffusion.
