Socio-economic impact of advanta hybrid sunflower seeds to smallholder farmers in Dodoma, Singida and Manyara regions, Tanzania
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Date
2021
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Agriculture is considered an important sector in achieving the improvement of wellbeing
and poverty reduction for the majority of smallholder farmers in the rural areas.
However, with the absence of productivity-boosting technologies such as improved
seeds, such improvement in smallholder farmers’ wellbeing and povery reduction may
be hard to achieve. Moreover, for smallholder farmers to be compelled to adopt an
agricultural technology they will need to feel the impact of such technology on their
wellbeing. This study assessed the socio-economic impact of Advanta sunflower hybrids
seeds on smallholder farmers’ wellbeing. The specific objectives of this study were to
(i) determine production performance of Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds and the rest
of the seeds used in the study areas, (ii) analyze the economic performance of the
Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds and the rest of the seeds used in the study areas, (iii)
assess the small-scale farmers’ perceptions on Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds, (iv)
determine factors influencing the adoption of the sunflower hybrid seeds and (v)
determine the effect of Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds on smallholder farmers’
wellbeing.
A multistage sampling technique was applied in which villages were selected randomly
and a sample of 270 smallholder sunflower farmers was also randomly selected. The
household survey questionnaire, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant
interviews were used to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics were used to profile
the farmers in the study areas to their socio-economic characteristics. Productivity and
profitability of various sunflower seeds used in the study areas were analyzed through
yield per acre and gross margin per acre, respectively. The perception was measured
using a Likert scale containing perception statements about Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds, and specifically the Hysun33 variety. A binary logistic regression model helped to
determine the factors that influence farmers’ decisions on whether to adopt or not adopt
Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds. Propensity score matching was used to isolate the
impact attributable to Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds among smallholder farmers.
Results indicate that Hysun33 seeds had the highest productivity of 579.8Kg/acre and
profitability of TZS 263 559.5 per acre compared to other seeds. Just over two-thirds
(67.3%)
surveyed farmers in the study area strongly agreed with all the positive
statements stated about Hysun33 seeds where most agreed that seeds are high yielding.
On contrary, 11.4% of surveyed farmers in the study area strongly agreed with the
negative statements and most agreed that the seeds have a high price. The general
implication isthat farmers perceive positively the seeds except that they are expensive.
Factors such as sunflower yield per acre, smallholder farmer‘s education level (number
of years spent in school), seed price, household size, geographical location and oil
content were significantly associated farmers decision to adopt the Advanta Sunflower
Hybrid seeds in the study areas. Furthermore, results indicate that adopting Advanta
Sunflower Hybrid seeds improves smallholder farmers’ productivity and income. There
is a significant impact of Advanta sunflower hybrid on the yield per acre obtained by
smallholder farmers hence they contribute to the improved productivity of sunflower in
the study areas. Although there is no significant difference between income obtained
from the use of Hysun33 seed and the rest of the seeds, income per acre for adopters is
still above that of non – adopters,implying that adopters have improved their wellbeing
when compared to non-adopters. Therefore, this study recommends that agricultural
development initiatives should promote productivity-enhancing agricultural technologies
because they have the potential to improve smallholder farmers’ wellbeing. Secondly, to
promotethe use of improved seeds such as Advanta Sunflower Hybrid seeds, an effective way is to seriously look into own seed price with consideration of production costs of
the seeds to ensure there are mutual benefits between farmers and seeds producers.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Advanta hybrid, Sunflower seeds, Smallholder farmers, Tanzania, Dodoma, Singida, Manyara