Challenges facing small and medium enterprises in marketing of the vegetables to the up markets: case of northern corridor of Tanzania Lushoto, Kilimanjaro and Arusha
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Date
2008
Authors
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Tanzania’s climate and growing conditions are favourable for a wide variety of fruit,
vegetables and flowers. Marketing of agricultural produce has become highly complex and
difficult involving very large and long marketing channels, a larger number of middlemen.
many types of physical, social, economic and marketing facilitating functions and
services. Despite the fact that many efforts made by the government, NGOs and other
stakeholders to improve SMEs viability, many challenges are still facing them in market
of their vegetables and thus the essence of conducting this research. A purposive sampling
procedure was use to choose 50 farmers and traders in the seven villages around the
Northern corridor of Tanzania for the study. Key informants interview based on checklists
and the question administering were used as tools for data collection. Direct observations
as a method of data collection were also employed to evaluate vegetable production
process and marketing activities focusing on producers and consumers. The findings show
that the main problems facing farmers in marketing vegetable in the Northern corridor of
Tanzania are: lack of farmers’ organization and flexibility to face competition in the free
markets, high prices of inputs, high transport costs and postharvest losses. There are also
different in priotized problems faced by the vegetable growers in Lushoto, Kilimanjaro
and Arusha. In order to increase production of vegetables for domestic as well as export,
the following should be considered by the government: efficient handling, grading and
sorting, improved transport facilities, improving the vegetable marketing and export
system. While the preceding is a pre-rogative of government in private sector, ought to
provide support in strengthening farmers initiated infrastructure, and in organizing small
fanners for efficient marketing of their vegetable produce.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Vegetables, Lushoto, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Small-medium enterprises, Northern corridor