Socio-economic factors affecting small-holder tea production ;A case study of the Korogwe tea sub scheme,Tanga region
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Date
1980
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SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE.
Abstract
Tills thesis presents a case study of the Llorogwc tea sub-scheme in Tanga Region.It e:s?mines socio-economic factors affecting small holder tea production under the 1979 farming system. Fifty tea-growers were picked from a sampling frame covering1,500 smallholders using a stratified random sampling appro-.ch based on plot size of tea.The farmers were interviewed in August-October, Questionnaires used and method of data analysis are described.1979.
An average farm family load 9 people eating at home and cultivated on average 2.3 ha, of which 42 percent was for cash and the balance was for food crops. Computed food production by a typical farm
family was on average below family annual minimum requirements by 6percent of calories and 37 percent of protein in 1979.If families are to be self-sufficient, food production must be increased. On
average, a farm family received Shs. 7,300 from crop sales in 1979, of which 42 percent vias from tea and 32 percent from cardamom.Effects of the following factors on tea production were studied: (l) Distance from tea farms to green-leaf buying centres.Daily pluckings were limited by the number of possible round-trips per day during buying hours. (2) Producer prices.Increased prices motivated farmers to
pluck more in the short-run but transport to markets for the increase frequently was not available. (>)fertilizer distribution, which frequently was not satisfac tory. (4)
As many tea bushes are immature, age in years had a statis- tically significant effect on yield of tea pex* ha. (5) Use of desirable husbandly practices and a proper plucking rate tended to increase yield per ha but an increase in tea area,
fter allowing for other factors in the regression analysis, tended to reduce tea yield per ha.In an analysis of use of desirable husbandry practices, number of extension contacts was the most important single affecting variable. A third analysis indicated that area in cardamom was the most important single variable affec-ting total income per farm.Tea yield per ha, age of tea bushes in years and coffee area were also influencing..Two basic analyses run by linear programming indicate that: In plan 1, where each fanner was required to maintain the government 0.60 ha tea quota, the optimum plan was 17 percent more profitable than the 1979 farming system.Crops included were 1.1 ha of
cardamom, the required 0.6 ha of tea, and two crops for subsistence, namely 0.4 lia of bananas and 0o6 ha of beans. Plan 2 allowed farmers to respond to direct economic influences.This was 13 percent more profitable than plan 1, with the same food crops and only cardamom (1.7 ha) included as a cash crop.both plans 1 and 2 based on combinations of low and high producer prices for tea, cardamom and coffee , respectively, is also described. Under all of the plans considered, available family labour is underutilized in most months. Thus, development of other sec tors oi* the economy to use this surplus labour v.nuld be highly desirable. The future development of cardamom depends largely on a limited external market dominated by India, the largest producer.requirement tint farmers maintain 0.60 ha of tea The looks rational as tea provides regular employment and income to farmers.Based on this analysis, either tea prices should be increased or
cardamom prices reduced (or both) if tea is to be an economically- viable crop. Coffee was not profitable under the conditions speci-fied.Other features of the analysis indicate tint the 24 million kg target of made tea by 1981 in Tanzania looks unrealistic. Under the ejd-sting situations, tliis target may be reached by 1935 when tea bushes planted by 1976 become mature.viii
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Keywords
Socio-economic, small-holder, tea, tea production, Korogwe scheme