Evaluation of Irish potato production and marketing performance: a case study of Mbeya rural district, Mbeya region, Tanzania

The study was conducted in Mbeya rural district. The main objective was to evaluate the Irish potatoes production and market performance in the district. Specifically the study aimed at determining economic profitability of Irish potatoes grown by small- scale farmers; identify existing Irish potato marketing channels and the roles played by key market participants and to examine the pricing structure of Irish potato at different levels of market chain with a view towards establishing margins. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS computer programme. Purposive multistage sampling technique was employed to select districts, divisions, wards and villages. A sample size of 120 respondents was randomly selected of whom 90 were farmers and 30 were traders. Secondary data were obtained from institutions and organizations like Mbeya region agricultural offices, ARI Uyole, SNAL and internet. Study results show that farmers earn Tsh 253 403.90/= / acre, transporters, wholesalers and retailers received a profit of Tsh 2 051 344.90, Tsh 461 029.40 and Tsh 121 675.00 /week respectively. The study also identified four major marketing channels in the Irish potato marketing system. The CI of 87.2% was found, implying oligopolistic characteristic which is a tendency towards monopolistic marketing behaviour. Factors which hinder the expansion of Irish potato market were lack of capital, high market fees and unstable prices. The study put forward four major recommendations; (i) Local village stores should be constructed. (ii) Seed production system should be established (iii) Researchers should publicize and promote their new varieties (iv) Farmers should be organized into groups or associations.

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