Constraints facing smallholder farmers in maize marketing: A case study of Petauke District
| dc.contributor.author | Kaputo, Eugine | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-05-02T12:47:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-05-02T12:47:22Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2008 | |
| dc.description | Student Project Report | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Agricultural Marketing plays an important role not only in stimulating production and consumption, but also in accelerating the pace of economic development. For this reason, it has been described as the most important multiplier of agricultural development. Maize is the most important crop in Zambia and has great potential to improve the living standards of the bulky of the rural population. Smallholder farmers face a number of problems in marketing their maize. This research study was carried out to find out the problems facing smallholder farmers in maize marketing. The study was undertaken in Petauke District in Eastern Province. A sample of 68 respondents was randomly selected and data collected through administration of structured questionnaires. Data collected in this study was organized and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The markets that were available for the smallholder maize producer include: the government through FRA; the Local Markets; farmer Cooperatives; Businesspersons; and Breweries. Problems that smallholder framers faced in marketing their maize were found to be low prices, unstable markets, transportation, and lack of packaging materials. The outstanding of these was transportation. It was discovered that there was correlation between farm income of the smallholder fanner and his /her susceptibility to marketing problems. The reasons that were given by respondents for preferring one market over another were: price; early buying of maizd by market participants; early payments to the farmers; closeness of the market to the fanners; availability of market in areas where markets are not fully developed; and membership to a Farmer Cooperative. Farmers need to recognize the importance of storing maize and sell later in the season when the prices are high in the market. Education of smallholder farmers in carrying out effective marketing decisions that can safeguard their interests is important. Government should encourage farmers to strengthen the cooperative movements in order to be able to have access to a better mode of transport through mobilization of their resources. It is recommended that further study be undertaken to determine factors affecting smallholder farmers' market choice | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/4500 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | University of Zambia | en |
| dc.subject | Corn--Marketing | en |
| dc.subject | Sweet corn | en |
| dc.title | Constraints facing smallholder farmers in maize marketing: A case study of Petauke District | en |
| dc.type | Other | en |