Abstract:
Multi Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) form an important initiative in bringing together
multiple actors along a community value chain to address challenges and identify
opportunities to generate innovations in agriculture. There is limited empirical
information on the performance of MSPs in agricultural sector. The specific objectives of
the study were to identify the existing stakeholders supporting agribusiness development;
to evaluate the roles of stakeholder and to determine the factors influencing willingness of
farmers to participate in MSPs. The study involved 150 households and 40 agribusiness
stakeholders. Data was collected by using structured questionnaire and supplemented with
secondary data collected from various sources. The data collected was summarized by
using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Stakeholder analysis was used to identify stakeholders
in agribusiness sector in Kilombero. The results of regression analysis revealed that
farmer’s participation in MSPs measured the willingness to participate was associated
with some of the household characteristics such as gender of the household head, age of
the household head, education level, membership in association, who makes farming
decisions in the family and accessibility of credits to farmers. The result identified nine
distinct roles such as research, extension and training, inputs supply, social mobilization,
marketing, credit provisions and platform mobilization. Age, gender, education,
household size and accessibility to credits showed significant results as factors
influencing farmer’s participation in MSPs at 1% and 5% levels of significance.
The study recommended the following measures to be taken: increasing awareness and
knowledge dissemination about MSPs by using promotional programs among existing
and future stakeholders such that the concept of MSP is active and known to the
government which would in turn design agricultural policies and programs that would
involve and promote various stakeholders.
