Market infrastructure and its impact on agricultural profitability in Mpanda district, Tanzania
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Date
2013
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Several factors such as cost of inputs, unreliable rainfall and poor market infrastructures
and road are known to affect the performance of the agricultural sector in Tanzania.
Therefore, this study investigated the influence of roads on maize profitability in Mpanda
district. Specifically the study examined the effect of road infrastructure on cost of input
in areas with poor and good roads. Furthermore, the study examined the effect of market
accessibility by roads on the profitability of maize farming and evaluated the factors
influencing profitability of maize farming in the study area. Purposive sampling was
employed to select five wards based on categorical difference in areas with good and bad
roads. Simple random sampling was then applied to select 125 respondents. The study
found that the mean cost of inputs in areas with poor road infrastructures were higher than
that of areas with good roads. At the same time, maize farming was found to be more
profitable in areas with relatively good roads than in areas with relatively difficultly
passable roads. Farmers from areas with relatively good roads get an average gross
revenue of 1 066 417 Tshs/ha from maize farming while farmers from areas with
relatively poor roads get an average gross income of 356 905 Tshs/ha. The study also
found an existence of significant relationship between maize profitability and several
socio-economic factors that included gender, age, farm size, credit access market
accessibility and price road conditions. However, few factors like availability of extension
service and types of labour used were recommended for further investigations due to their
inconclusiveness.
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Keywords
Market infrastructure, Mpanda district, Tanzania, Agricultural Profitability