Abstract:
The study was conducted in Mbeya rural district. The main objective was to evaluate
the Irish potatoes production and market performance in the district. Specifically the
study aimed at determining economic profitability of Irish potatoes grown by small-
scale farmers; identify existing Irish potato marketing channels and the roles played
by key market participants and to examine the pricing structure of Irish potato at
different levels of market chain with a view towards establishing margins. Primary
data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS computer
programme. Purposive multistage sampling technique was employed to select
districts, divisions, wards and villages. A sample size of 120 respondents was
randomly selected of whom 90 were farmers and 30 were traders. Secondary data
were obtained from institutions and organizations like Mbeya region agricultural
offices, ARI Uyole, SNAL and internet. Study results show that farmers earn Tsh 253
403.90/= / acre, transporters, wholesalers and retailers received a profit of Tsh 2 051
344.90, Tsh 461 029.40 and Tsh 121 675.00 /week respectively. The study also
identified four major marketing channels in the Irish potato marketing system. The CI
of 87.2% was found, implying oligopolistic characteristic which is a tendency
towards monopolistic marketing behaviour. Factors which hinder the expansion of
Irish potato market were lack of capital, high market fees and unstable prices. The
study put forward four major recommendations; (i) Local village stores should be
constructed. (ii) Seed production system should be established (iii) Researchers
should publicize and promote their new varieties (iv) Farmers should be organized
into groups or associations.
