Abstract:
Ruvuma Region has been receiving subsidy fertilizer since the reintroduction of the
NAIVS programme by the government of Tanzania in 2003/04 crop season. The current
study examines the performance of small holder farmer’s maize production in terms of
Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and its determinants in Tanzania especially in Ruvuma
Region, since it is one of the major maize’s producing regions in Tanzania. More
specifically the study was undertaken to estimate the TFP of maize production in Ruvuma
region, to determine socio-economic factors influencing TFP of maize production and to
assess the effect of input subsidy on TFP of maize. The study used secondary data for the
year 2008 before the National Agricultural Input Voucher Scheme (NAIVS) and 2012
after NAIVS programme. The data was obtained from the Department of Agricultural
Economics and Business, University of Dar es salaam office. Factors that affected maize
TFP growth were also identified using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model while the
Chow test was used test the effect of input subsidy of TFP for maize produced by
smallholder farmers. The Results reveled that NAIVS programme had a significant effect
on TFP for maize production. In 2012 farmers maize TFP growth was higher (TFP=2.35)
compared to 2008 (TFP=1.30) and this is equivalent to average productivity growth of
1.05 between 2008 and 2012 and the difference was highly significant (t= 3.282). There
are also factors affecting TFP of maize in 2008 and 2012. Such factors are; household age,
farm size, maize quantity harvested, quantity of fertilizer and voucher receipt. The Chow
test indicates that the NAIVS programme positively contributed to improving maize. The
study recommends that NAIVS should be upscaled and made sustainable. It also suggests
that, the productivity of smallholder farmers can be enhanced by the use of fertilizers to
improve agricultural yields particularly now that the government is promoting
industrialization.A
