Abstract:
According to the standard economic theory that treats a person as a maximising agent of short run
profit, it would be expected that farmers would select round potato varieties with the highest profit
potential. However, previous studies treated round potato as one variety and other adoption studies
often assumed that profitability was not important in the adoption of improved varieties. Therefore, this
study analysed the profitability of round potato and the implications for variety selections by using a
sample of 510 farmers drawn from three districts of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The main
question was whether smallholder round potato farmers considered profit potentials or are there other
factors in variety selections? The results showed that Kagiri was the most profitable variety and there
were significant differences in profitability among varieties. However, not many farmers produced
Kagiri because they used their own criteria in order to make profit. Such criteria included the availability
of seed tubers, preferences of the local consumers and processors, common practices, yield, and
suitability for home consumption. It was recommended that the role of plant breeders should go
beyond the crop characteristics, such as, yield potential, response to inputs, and tolerance to diseases,
so as to include both farmers and consumers’ preferences.
