Browsing by Author "Magesa, Mawazo M"

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    Access and use of agricultural market information by smallholder farmers: measuring informational capabilities
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2019) Magesa, Mawazo M; Michael, Kisangiri; Ko, Jesuk
    While farmers sell their crops, middlemen provide a linkage between them, markets and buyers. Middlemen have good knowledge of working conditions of markets and have access to agricultural market information. Due to poor access to markets and agricultural market information by smallholders, there is a feeling that middlemen benefit more while farmers sell their crops. Good access to markets and market infor- mation may help farmers bypass middlemen while selling crops and thus benefit more. Thus, it is best to improve the informational capabilities (ICs) of farmers in agri- cultural marketing. Thus, this research measured ICs of farmers accessing market information, through a program NINAYO, while selling their crops. The research uti- lized the informational, psychological, social, and economic dimensions of the empowerment framework in identifying capability indicators to formulate survey questions. Data were collected from smallholders in six regions in Tanzania. The anal- ysis utilized measures of life satisfaction and results showed that about half of the variation in the dependent variable, satisfaction with capabilities, was explained by the model. Backward elimination analysis confirmed that life satisfaction is multi- dimensional. Robustness test confirmed a positive relationship between satisfaction and capabilities. Overall, results confirmed ICs are multidimensions, their improve- ment empowers farmers in agricultural marketing.
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    Towards a framework for accessing agricultural market information
    (The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 2015) Magesa, Mawazo M; Michael, Kisangiri
    Making markets work for the poor in rural communities involves different stakeholders. Management, development partners, private sector and NGOs are accustomed to ensure enabling infrastructure is provided. Access to markets requires good transport and low transaction cost accompanied with recent market information. To provide market information to rural community, stakeholders may initiate the program by providing funds and finding the means of ensuring the sustainability of the program. Delivering market information requires established ICT infrastructure and capable staffing. Thus, a framework to access agricultural market information requires management to provide infrastructure and funding, and also to ensure rural areas are equipped with the technology.