Market participation among smallholder farmers in Tanzania: determining the dimensionality and influence of psychological contracts

Abstract

PurposeSmallholder farmers in Tanzania were investigated in this paper to determine the dimensions and influence of psychological contracts on smallholder farmers' decisions to participate in the market.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through structured questionnaires, of which a cross-sectional design was conducted in central Tanzania, the Dodoma region in which 467 smallholder farmers were surveyed. First, a preliminary Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted by involving psychological contracts and market participation items derived from previous studies. This was followed by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to verify the items obtained in the EFA. The regression analysis was then performed to test the causal effects of psychological contracts on market participation among smallholder farmers.FindingsThe path analysis revealed that transactional, relational, and ideological contracts have a positive and statistically significant impact on the participation of smallholder farmers in the market. Therefore, smallholder farmers have own set of expectations for participating in the marketplace. As a result, smallholder farmers' relationships with market participation decisions can be strengthened.Research limitations/implicationsThis study covered only smallholder farmers. However, future studies can include large-scale farmers, because psychological contracts and market participation difficulties also apply to them. This may increase the generalizability of the findings.Originality/valuePast studies have not extensively covered the psychological contracts in smallholder farming, especially in market participation. Based on prior empirical and theoretical research from other disciplines, the findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the psychological contract framework and the significance of multiple psychological obligations between smallholder farmers and market management.

Agripreneurship as a panacea for food security in Tanzania: A systematic review

“…To be successful agripreneurs, farmers need to overcome a number of farm-related constraints to agriculture development [ 15 ]. In Tanzania, the most pressing constraints to entrepreneurial development that are facing local farmers include access to finance, the non-remunerative price for agricultural produce, education, weak market linkages, poor mechanisation, lack of farm inputs, storage facilities, human capital, the weak functioning of the agricultural marketing co-operatives, and overdependence on rain farming [ 29 , 35 , 51 ].…”

“…Studies [ 44 , 50 ] reveal several barriers to participation in agripreneurship, and these include lack of capital, technical support, access to market and financial information, extension services, and the prevalence of environmental factors such as storms. To make the agricultural industry more appealing and attract more agripreneurs, the Tanzanian government is taking serious efforts like liberalising labour laws, introducing reduced interest rates, and implementing favourable policies and programmes like the 2008 National Agricultural Marketing Policy and programmes like "agricultural first," "politics means agriculture," "agriculture is life," and "food as a matter of life and death" [ 29 ].…”

I share because I care! Smallholder farmers’ perceptions of the usefulness of word of mouth for their market participation decisions

“…In this study, the target population consisted of only smallholder farmers, with the head of households being used as the unit of inquiry. To ensure that only smallholder farmers were included in the study, households with farm sizes between 0.5 and 3.5 ha were selected as the inclusion criterion, as farms larger than 3.5 ha are not considered small holdings (Ismail, 2022).…”

“…The measurement items for expertise (exp), strong tie (strg), trustworthiness (trust) and message delivery (womd) were adopted and modified from Ismail and Changalima (2022). Additionally, the measurement items for market participation (mrkp) were adopted and modified from Ismail (2022). Finally, all measurement items were captured using a format of a five-point Likert scale.…”

Complementary feeding practices and the risk of exposure to aflatoxins among infants and young children in Kongwa, Tanzania

“…Maize is an important cereal crop that is cultivated widely in various agroecological regions and consumed by many people in SSA (Macauley & Ramadjita, 2015). Maize is grown for food in all regions of Tanzania (Ismail et al, 2015;Nyaruhucha et al, 2006) where the national consumption is approximated to be > 3 million metric tons annually, and the daily per-capita consumption at 450 g (Smith & Subandoro, 2007). The crop contains high concentrations of energy and carbohydrates (Mamiro et al, 2005), and is used as an ingredient for CFs (Kuhumba et al, 2018).…”