Abstract:
Rice is the second most important cereal in Tanzania and mostly used as a cash crop. The cultivated area of 681 000 ha represent 18% of Tanzania’s cultivated land. The general objective of this study was to examine the rice marketing chain in Mpanda district of Tanzania. Specifically, the study intended to carry out the value chain mapping; analyse economic efficiency of rice marketing system; assessing the distribution of gains and; examine the competitiveness criteria of rice marketing chain. Primary data were collected from four wards in which 120 rice producers were selected. In addition, interviews were undertaken with selected key stakeholders along the chain namely transporters, wholesalers, millers, retailers and consumers. Data analysis involved different techniques such as actors’ linkage matrix, marketing margin and profitability analyses. It was found that wholesalers enjoy the largest share of the marketing margin, where at cross boundary markets, the wholesalers’ profit goes as higher as Tsh. 821/kg as compared to Tsh. 533/kg which is the price received by farmers. This indicates unequal distribution of benefits among actors, where reward to traders is extremely higher than that of producers. The study recommended improvement of effectiveness of warehouse receipt system and village markets in order to secure high prices during off-season. Furthermore, lack of adequate agricultural infrastructure and market information systems was observed to be critical areas of policy concerns. Policies for microcredit institutions on provision of credits to rural farmers are also recommended to improve rice productivity by capacitating smallholder farmers to use modern agricultural machinery.
