TITLE:
Contribution of Farmers’ Organisations on Smallholder Farmers Market Access: A Case of MVIWATA in Morogoro District, Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Sadick Alex, Omary Magasha, Flora Valentine Mlage
KEYWORDS:
Farmers’ Organisations, Rural Farming, Market Accessibility, Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.9,
September
23,
2024
ABSTRACT: Farmers’ organisations have been suggested as a tool to improve living conditions for farmers in poor countries by improving their market situation, productivity and access to information. This study examined the contribution of farmers’ organisations on smallholder farmers market access in Morogoro district. The study used cross-sectional design whereby systematic random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 204 farming households (102 MVIWATA members and 102 non MVIWATA members). Data were collected through interview, focus group discussion and observation and were analysed for descriptive statistics, Chi-square and probit model. The findings show that majority of farmers (79.4%) who were members of MVIWATA shifted from poor to average perception on market access while 18.6% shifted to good perception after joining MVIWATA. Probit model results showed that, Membership in MVIWATA increases farmer’s market access, the model further indicated that, membership in MVIWATA increased significantly (coef = 0.47499, p p p > 0.05). The study recommended that the government and other stakeholders should put more effort into supporting MVIWATA and mobilising more farmers to join farmers’ organisations. Emphasis should also be made on marketing issues through policy intervention, as it appeared to be one of the main barriers to expanding market access.