全球生物学、农业与健康科学杂志

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FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE DECISION FOR MARKETING CHANNELS BY COFFEE FARMERS IN KARAGWE DISTRICT, TANZANIA

Gilbert Jossam Ntimbaa & Adam Meshack Akyoob

Marketing channel choice is among the most complex and challenging decisions facing farmers. This study therefore assessed the factors influencing choice decision of marketing channels by coffee farmers in Karagwe District of Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was employed to collect data from 120 smallholder coffee farmers using semi-structured questionnaire, participatory group discussions and key informants interviews. The data were analysed using qualitative analytical techniques such as descriptive statistics as well as quantitative methods such as regression analysis. The Multinomial Logit Model was employed to determine the factors influencing farmers’ choice for marketing channel. The study found that farmers sell coffee through three main marketing channels namely; Rural Primary Societies (35%), Private Coffee Buyers (46.7%) and Village buyers (18.3%). The Model results show that three factors significantly influenced the farmer’s marketing channel choice namely; Age of household head, price of dry coffee cherry and distance to selling center from homestead. Further results showed that there were wide variations of farm gate prices between farmers selling in different market channels. The study recommends the restructuring of cooperative societies, introduction of formal credit facilities to provide favourable credit to farmers and the establishment of more rural primary cooperative societies’ and private coffee buyers’ buying centers in the remote villages to reduce transportation costs.