Sheryl Quaila, Leah Onyangoc, John Rechab, and James Kinyangib

aUniversity of Florida, bClimate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), cMaseno University squail@ufl.edu, leahonyango@gmail.com, J.Recha@cgiar.org, J.Kinyangi@cgiar.org

Private Sector Actions to Enable (or Thwart) Climate-

Smart Agriculture in Small-Scale Farming in Tanzania

Introduction Value Chains & Markets

Objectives

Methods

Input Suppliers

Discussion

Recommendations

References

The United Republic of Tanzania

Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security &

Cooperatives

Northern Zone Agricultural Research &

Development Institute

Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI)

Traders, Trust & Risk

1) To understand the role of the informal private sector as it interacts with Lushoto farmers. • Independent traders (middle (wo)men) • Transporters

2) To follow the value chain of climate-smart varieties and important cash crops,

3) To understand the role of the local formal sector as it interacts with CSA farmers and relevant potential actors.

• Supply chain actors • Local marketing organizations

4) To understand the channels of QDS bean seed dissemination system and market effects of CSA varieties.

• 100 household surveys • Focus group discussions • Semi-structured interviews traders or middle (wo)men, transporters, input providers marketing officers

Small companies and informal trade plays an important role in East African agriculture but are typically out of view. This study examines patterns of and incentives for private sector investments and activities in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in East Africa. Building capacity of private sector entities and improving their coordination with the public sector so that smallholders are not excluded may be key to facilitating the scaling up of agricultural innovations that improve food security for smallholders grappling with a changing climate (Jayne et al. 2006; Gyau, 2015). Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) introduced climate-smart crop varieties and trained farmers in the Quality Declared Seed (QDS) for seed bulking and sales of CSA varieties:

• Beans (drought and disease resistance) - Selian & Lyanmungu

• Potatoes (disease resistance, yield)- Kidinyo & Obama • Maize (early maturing, yield) – Panna & Decapu

Project site: Lushoto District lies in the East Usambara Mountains where population density is high. Crop production occurs on slopes and valleys during the long and short rains. Growing seasons are shifting as a result of climate change and floods more acute.

• 15-20 trucks leave Lushoto per day for Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Zanzibar, and to a lesser extent, Mtwara, Moshi and Arusha.

• Vegetable sales – cabbage, green peppers, tomatoes and carrots – main source of income to purchase inputs.

Seeds

• Farmers report high level of satisfaction with CSA varieties but lament losing local varieties.

• New bean and maize varieties more susceptible to insects.

Oversupply Season (Dar es Salaam) - July/August to October.

• Number of oversupply events in last 10 trips: 1-4.

• Ave. price decrease: 40% for potatoes, 5-20% beans, 5%

cabbage.

• Perishability of vegetables. Ranges from 5-100% of truck

load.

Pre-harvest selling - - 22% of farmers. • Trader buys crop (typically cabbage) two weeks in advance of

harvest when supply is low and prices high. • Farmers with irrigation sell in advance and use proceeds to

buy inputs and hire labor for land preparation for next crop. • As the number of traders on a landscape increases,

competition ensues and a trader buys 3-4 weeks in advance. • In event of crop loss, trader incurs all losses.

• Average no. of crop losses in 5 years: 2. All from floods. • Average amount lost to trader: $750.

Trust • Despite common myths about exploitive traders, farmers have

a high degree of trust towards traders particularly those coming from their own villages.

• Trust can erode as the trader gains in wealth and for those lurking in local markets.

Potato Bean Seed Storage

36%

69%

30%

5%

85%

38%

Selian Lyamungu Kidinyo Obama Panna Dekapu

Adoption of Climate-smart Varieties

Selian Lyamungu Kidinyo Obama Panna Dekapu

BEANS POTATOES MAIZE

% F

ram

ers

• Agricultural trade is dominated by independent traders.

• 80% of traders are from Lushoto and are also farmers; 20% are outsiders, many buying potatoes.

Private

Sector

Farmers

Traders

Market

Buyers

Input Supply

RISKS THAT TRADERS TAKE

Market Oversupply reduced prices, perishability

Preharvest Buying - Floods

Farmers Selling to Trader Types

Villager 69%

Dar origin 8%

Pre-harvest buyer 22%

Input shops established to sell maize seed and fertilizers. • Credit given to smaller-scale input dealers, some farmers. • Maize seed from Panna, Kibo and East African.

• sales increased from 1-2 tons (2005) to 100 tons (2013) sometimes up to 130 tons

• Fertilizers from Yara • 2012 52% of farmers used inorganic fertilizers, today 87%.

• Pesticides/fungicides from Link Forward (China), Barton (Israel), Syngenta (Sweden). • Link Forward products preferred due to cheaper price.

• 2012 48% of farmers used pesticides/herbicides, today 84%. • 40% of agrochemicals on the Tanzanian market are fake.

• Prices for local bean varieties have decreased - gender implications.

• Seed bulking still in its infancy. - 16 farmers selling potato seed to farmers and traders. - 3 farmers selling bean seed

• The Lushoto private sector is localized, mostly informal and forms a significant component of this rural economy. Food crops are often cash crops - with the exception of maize and cassava, which are exclusively used for home consumption – and inevitably are taken by traders to other regions.

• Lushoto traders compete in Dar es Salaam markets with Iringa, Mbeya and Kilimanjaro traders and create significant oversupply events. Other markets are more stable by engaging in sophisticated communication with trucks coming from around the country

• Offering index-based insurance where pre-harvest buying is prevalent is risky.

• Lushoto’s input supply chain is known for its efficient dissemination network. The availability of quality seed and inputs is important but input dealers have an incentive to sell excess agrochemicals.

• The public-farmer seed dissemination model holds great potential to improve farmers incomes and distribute climate-smart varieties.. The QDS system currently restricts seed sales to the ward level but seed laws currently under revision may allow this to scale up to the district level.

• Develop phone app/ICT platform for traders to register and track trucks particularly for Dar es Salaam markets.

• IPM to increase yields and reduce pesticide use should be prioritized. Local input (formal and informal) suppliers should also be trained and have potential to disseminate IPM practices and biopesticides.

• Provide support for Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) that value non-commercial varieties to maintain agrobiodiversity - alongside QDS and commercial seed systems.

• Create mechanism by which seeds lost from drought or market effects can be reintroduced.

Gyau, A. et al. (2015). Landscape approaches to sustainable supply chain management: the role of agribusinesses. In Minang, P. A. van Noordwik, M., Freeman, O.E., Mbow, C., de Leeuw, J. & Catacutan, D. (Eds.) Climate-Smart Landscapes: Multifunctionality in Practice, 295-305. Nairobi, Kenya: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Kristjanson, P. (2012). Are food insecure smallholder households making changes in their farming practices? Evidence from East Africa. Food Security. Pretty, Jules & Zareen Pervez Bharucha (2015). Integrated pest management for sustainable intensification of agriculture in Asia and Africa. Insects, 6:152-182. Rosenstock, T. (2014). Climate Smart Agriculture: Panacea, Paradigm or Propaganda. Poster presented at Lima COP. Sitko, N., Jayne, T.S. (2013). Exploitative briefcase businessmen, parasites and other myths and legends: Assembly traders and the performance of maize markets in Eastern and Southern Africa. World Development, 54:56-67.