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17(5.8%) were aged between 16 and 25 respectively. The findings imply that, most of the
respondents interviewed were mature and responsible people as were found engaging in different
socio-economic activities in the area. They were therefore in a position of giving not only the
information needed, but also relevant one to meet the purpose of the study.
This was considered important because most of the demographic events that determine
population dynamics such as birth, death, dependency ratio and mobility are highly associated
with the age variable. Physical strength depends also on age. Therefore, land acquisition and
additional income can be influenced by age of a person. This indicates that majority of
respondents were in active age and they can influence land acquisition in the society and living
in rural areas means they would require land.
Table 4.1: Age groups of the respondent
Age groups
Below 16 years
Between 16 and 25 years
Between 26 and 35 years
Between 36 and 45 years
Above 45 years
Total
Frequency
3
7
17
37
56
120
Percent
2.5
5.8
14.2
30.8
46.7
100.0
women. The findings were consistent with the results revealed in a study by Cheryl (2001) who
came up with similar observations with more men being involved in cash crop production than
women in Ghana. The reasons for this trend were linked to the fact that in rural areas men are
often viewed as being responsible for producing cash crops, while women are responsible for
producing substance crops for home consumption. Because of their limited access to essential
production resources, such as land, labour, and inputs, womens role in crop agriculture is often
restricted to producing subsistence food crops with low potential to generate income. Besides
this, it is believed that female farmers are very good in vegetable production and also assist their
male counterparts on their farms.
According to URT (1997), it was revealed that the proportion of women to men shows a
departure from the usual Tanzania pattern. In rural areas where 82% of women live, the
importance of women as producers of wealth is out of proportion to their number. Women as a
group are more vulnerable to health risks because of gender inequalities in terms of social and
economic domains.
Frequency
15
65
35
5
120
Percent
12.5
54.2
29.2
4.2
100.0
Frequency
109
11
120
Percent
90.8
9.2
100.0
Frequency
116
6
120
Percent
96.7
3.3
100.0
Frequency
80
26
5
9
120
Percent
66.7
21.7
4.2
7.5
100.0
example, FAO (2009) indicated that, hopes that policies would bring about positive and durable
results remain unmet. The remaining main policy bottlenecks include those that pertain to land
tenure and land distribution to different segments of the population, marketing of agricultural
commodities and inputs, and price regulatory frameworks. In Ethiopia, for example, the
inappropriate agricultural policies related to land distribution, collectivization and rigid price
regulation have been identified as one of the constraints to investment in agriculture and hence a
handicap to productivity.
In Kenya persistently large public borrowing and high lending rates have discouraged investment
in agriculture. Even though Tanzania has instituted several agricultural reforms and strategies
including the agricultural development framework in the early 1970s and Agricultural Sector
Development Strategy (ASDS), most of the policies had no significant impact on the majority
smallholder farmers especially women. In Uganda, despite the adoption of the Plan for
Modernization of Agriculture in 2002 the smallholder farmers still receive a disproportionately
small amount of developmental resources.
No doubt, some of the inability of government to implement these programs stems from weak
administrative and technical capacity particularly in ministries of agriculture. Institutional
support to agricultural development in the four countries studied has been inconsistent and
largely inadequate. As elsewhere in Africa, institutions responsible for agricultural development
need to be strengthened, with an emphasis on well-functioning markets and risk management
(FAO, 2009).
As the experience of successful agricultural reformers shows, the importance of market oriented
reforms for sustained productivity improvements in agriculture cannot be overstated. For
example, the increase in rice output and productivity in Vietnam during 1981-1994 can be
ascribed mainly to market reforms and in spite of modest growth of most inputs and with limited
technological change. The key factor among the Vietnamese market reforms was an institutional
change reform of land property rights, which markedly improved the economic incentives of
farmers to use the land efficiently (Che et al., 2006).
At the same time, the experience of Tanzania illustrates that market reforms are necessary but not
sufficient for raising agricultural productivity. Even though the country undertook substantial
market-oriented reforms during the 1990s, agricultural performance remained disappointing. The
main bottlenecks to farmers more effective supply responses to improved incentives were
structural limited access to markets, credit and inadequate infrastructure (Danielson, 2002).
Hence the combined experiences of Vietnam and Tanzania show the importance of reforming the
institutional framework underpinning agriculture as well as the complementarities of reforms in
the area of infrastructure, access to markets and to credit.
4.4 The Effects of Agricultural Inputs Prices on Coffee Production in the Area
4.4.1 The influence of inputs purchase on coffee production
With respect to one of specific objectives of this research that intended to identify whether the
cost of agricultural inputs affect coffee production and in line with the research question asking
whether agricultural inputs prices affect coffee production in the study district. The findings of
the study indicated that out of 120 respondents, majority 116 (96.7%) were not purchasing inputs
and only 4(3.3%) purchase inputs.
Frequency
4
116
120
Percent
3.3
96.7
100.0
Frequency
82
34
116
Percent
70.7
29.3
100.0
farmers constituting 16 (13.3%) of the total farmers said the price is average while a small
number of farmers 5 (4.2%) of respondents said the price is low and about 10 (8.3%) of the total
sample could not acknowledge on the prices of inputs. In this regard therefore, majority of
respondents were in opinion that the prices of inputs are very high. This could be the reason why
most of the farmers in Karagwe District do not use inputs for coffee production.
The results are in line with other studies pertaining to factors affecting coffee production Karanja
and Nyoro (2002) in the a study on Coffee Prices and Regulation and their Impact on
Livelihoods of Rural Community in Kenya revealed that the escalation of coffee production costs
due to major increases in the cost of purchased farm inputs as a major cause for the coffees
decline in productivity. Not only that but also, a large variety of studies in different regions of
Nigeria have identified the scarcity and high cost of inputs (labour, agrochemicals, and fertilizer)
as major impediments to raising the productivity of smallholder farmers (Ojo 2005; and Adejoh
2009).
Table 4.8: Farmers' perception on inputs prices
Variables
High
Average
Low
I don't know
Total
Frequency
89
16
5
10
120
Percent
74.2
13.3
4.2
8.3
100.0
Frequency
11
7
2
100
120
Percent
9.2
5.8
1.7
83.3
100.0
Frequency
45
75
120
Percent
37.5
62.5
100.0
warming are mostly aimed at limiting further warming, not to rapidly reverse it. Complexity and
uncertainty make it hard to be precise but it is generally accepted that climate change will affect
smallholder coffee producers. Rising temperatures are expected to render certain producing areas
less suitable or even completely unsuitable for coffee growing, meaning production may have to
shift and alternative crops will have to be identified. Incidences of pests and diseases will
increase whereas coffee quality is likely to suffer, both factors that may limit the viability of
current high quality producers. More coffee may need to be grown under irrigation, thereby
increasing pressure on scarce water resources.
Table 4.11: Reasons for increased or decreased coffee output
Variables
Droughts
Heavy rains
Humidity
Temperature
Total
Frequency
81
35
2
2
120
Percent
67.5
29.2
1.7
1.7
100.0
The unpredictability of rainfall and steadily increasing air temperature is posing threats to
agricultural production in Karagwe of the climate-dependent nature of agricultural systems and
lack of coping capabilities. Climate change impact studies have shown that the productivity of
agricultural activities is highly sensitive to climate change. The effect of changes in climate on
agricultural activities both physical and economic has been shown to be significant for low input
farming systems, such as subsistence farming in developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that
are located in marginal areas and have the least capacity to adapt to changing climatic conditions
(Rosenzweig and Parry, 1994; Reilly and Schimmelpfennig 1999; Kates 2000; and McGuigan et
al., 2002).
4.6 The influence of market policy reforms on coffee production in the area
Following structural adjustment reforms, Tanzania implemented substantial liberalization of
export crop markets, dissolving marketing boards and allowing private agents to operate as
traders and exporters. The transition from government controlled policies to liberalized markets
has been in operation for most developing countries since 1980, but the impacts of these policies
on agricultural productivity are not clearly understood. For that reason the study wanted to know
what contribution does market policy reforms has to smallholder coffee production in Karagwe.
Results are shown in Table 4.12.
Frequency
72
22
26
120
Percent
60.0
18.3
21.7
100.0
to those who offer highest prices, unlike how it before liberalisations where farmers could only
sell to one price set by the co-operatives.
Table 4.13: Marketing channels
Variables
Co-operatives
Private traders
Total
Frequency
19
101
120
Percent
15.8
84.2
100.0
Frequency
98
22
120
Percent
81.7
18.3
100.0
2013). Price acts as a signal for shortages and surpluses which help farmers respond to changing
market conditions, the study wanted to know impact of price volatility on smallholder coffee
production. Results are shown in Table 4.14.
Frequency
Percent
26
21.7
35
29.2
59
49.2
Total
120
100.0
The study also investigated the price at which the farmers sold their output last season
(2013/2014). Observations on the distribution indicated that majority of the farmers 96 (80.0%)
were selling their coffee at price equals to Tshs. 1200 per kilogram. About 15 (12.5%) of the
farmers were selling their coffee at Tshs. 1000 per kilogram, while 5 (4.2%) sold coffee at 800
per kilogram, and about 3 (2.5%) sold coffee at 1300 per kilogram. Very few ranging from 1
(0.8%) sold coffee at 900 per kilogram. Therefore, majority of respondents sold their coffee at
Tshs. 1200 per kilogram as shown in the Table below.
Table 4.16: Coffee prices offered per kilogram
Price (Tshs)
800
900
1000
1200
1300
Total
Frequency
5
1
15
96
3
120
Percent
4.2
.8
12.5
80.0
2.5
100.0
Frequency
Percent
22
18.3
40
33.3
16
13.3
25
20.8
Soil exhaustion
2.5
Limited land
2.5
5.0
4.2
120
100.0
Total