Contract Farming as a Determinant of Promoting Tea Marketing Channels for Small Producers in Phu Tho Province

Contract farming between farmers and firms plays an important role in promoting access to the markets for small producers, especially in the less developed and developing countries. It is shown that contract farming provides farmers with the stable sale of their crops and agrobusiness firms with a steady supply of agricultural products required by the market. This paper focuses on analyzing benefits of tea producers that sign contracts with companies in term of tea marketing channels. By analyzing the data collected through 110 surveyed farmers in Thanh Son and Doan Hung districts in Phu Tho province, the study found that contract farmers received lower price than non contract farmers did in exchange for higher stability of price and better market access. As a result, it is highly recommended that small tea farmers should participate in contract farming in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam.Peer reviewe