Factors influencing use and extent of use of storage systems among smallholder rice farmers” in Kyela District,Tanzania

Abstract

Rice is the second staple food and cash crop produced in Tanzania after maize, it contributed to national economic growth, food security and source of employment for millions of populations. However, smallholder farmers lack knowledge of the proper postharvest management; thus, they become unaware and unknowledgeable decisions on the storage technique to use and as a result a lot of their produce are wasted. Therefore, assessment of factors influencing use and extent of use of crop storage system in Kyela district is needed. The specific objectives of this study are: to characterise the smallholder rice fanners based on the storage systems they use, to determine the factors that influence the use of storage systems in Kyela district, and to detennine the factors that influence the extent of storage of rice among the smallholder rice farmers in the Kyela district. A survey of a sample of 267 smallholder rice fanner in Kyela district from three wards of Katumba songwe, Makwale, and Mwaya was conducted using semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics analysis (i.e., the double hurdle model and Logit model) were conducted using STATA software. Descriptive statistics indicated that users of the storage system had higher on-farm income, more education, participate more in group membership, had more access to extension service, training and credit than non-users. The Double Hurdle Model (DHM) revealed that the male household head, household size, access to training, access to agricultural extension services, and on-farm income were found to have a positive and significant effect on smallholder farmers’ use of a storage system. In addition, the extent of smallholder fanners‘ use of storage systems was positively influenced by male household head, access to training, access to agricultural extension services and on-farm income, while negatively influenced by fann size. Finally, the Logit model revealed that the choice of storage system type was significantly and positively influenced by age, marital status (married), access to training, and quantity of rice harvested, while household size, total storage cost, and on-fann income had a negative influence. This study recommends that smallholder farmers need training on how to use storage systems effectively because rice farming predominates in the research area. Also, more effort should be directed to promoting post-harvest storage systems at various levels (home, community, and national), through agricultural extension services by private/intemational institutions, and governments.