An economic analysis of the small-scale coffee-banana holdings in Moshi Rural. District, Tanzania.
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Date
1979-11
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Nairobi
Abstract
This study was undertaken with the major objectives
of assessing resource availability and resource use by
small-scale farmers in Moshi rural district of lanzania,
with the view to identifying the critical constraints
leading to low farm incomes in the area.
In this
respect, an attempt was made to find out whether the
available resources could be re-allocated between-
alternative uses in order to maximize total farm
gross margins.
A sample of 46 farms were surveyed from four
villages in the district.
The data were summarized
and agregated to form a representative farm model for
the area
The empirical analysis of the input-output
data included gross margin calculations of the
important farm enterprises, and linear programming
analysis, under the existing and improved technologies.
The results of the survey showed that land was
the most scarce resource.
Farmers were also lacking
important inputs and tools for most of their crop and
livestock activities. The results of the fidndings in the empirical analysis,
as well as experience, indicates that under the existing technology,
farmers in the district were efficiently utilizing the available farm
resources and that there was little potential for increasing farm incomes
through re-organization of the current farms set—up.
However, under mixed
and improved technology farmers could greatly improve their farm incomes
through greater intensity in
use, improved methods of production, and
raising productivity per unit area or animal.
Under all the improved and
mixed technology optimal farm plans, excess labour supply was revealed to
be available in most months of the year on the farms.
It was therefore, concluded and recommended that
government in conjunction with other agricultural
development institutions should strive to improve the
quality and quantity of the extension staff.
These
institutions should also review the present heavy
export-tax on coffee in order to make the crop more
profitable to farmers.
Research priority should be given to investigations
on the coffee-banana inter-relationships as practiced by
the small-scale farmers in the district. If farmers were to adopt the mixed and improved technologies
optimal farm plans, the findings of the empirical analysis
indicates that such optimal plans would generate excess
labour supply on the small-holder farms which implicitly could
profitably be employed through establishment of off—farm
activities such as
small scale indust ./es in the villages.
Description
Thesis
Keywords
Economic analysis, Small-scale farmers, Coffee-banana holdings, Low farm incomes, Moshi rural district, Tanzania