Round potato production in southern highlands of Tanzania : market preferences, farmers’ variety selection, and profitability

This study investigated the market orientation of round potato farmers in the southern highlands of Tanzania. A market oriented farmer, assumed to be a maximiser of short run profit, is expected to select varieties with higher profit potential and in accordance with market preferences and would allot more acreage to a more profitable crop than those needed for home consumption. Thus, this study sought to achieve the following objectives: to determine the market preferences for round potato varieties; to determine factors guiding farmers‟ selections for varieties they produce; to analyse the profitability by varieties; and to analyse the market orientation of the round potato farmers. A sample of 510 farmers was obtained in Njombe, Mbeya Rural and Nkasi Districts. Preferences for round potato varieties was analysed by using a mini market survey of 155 respondents. The collected data was analysed by using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Gross margin (GM) analysis, logistic regression and ANOVA models, and commercialisation index (CI) were adopted for data analysis. The overall results showed that red-skinned round potatoes were preferred to white/purple-skinned ones whereby consumers associated colour with dry matter content. Farmers‟ criteria for variety selection included seed tuber availability, market demand, price, and common practices. Econometric results indicated that gender (p<0.01), education level (p<0.05), prices of previous season (p<0.01), location (p<0.01) and extension services (p