This study examines the role of the private sector in climate-smart agriculture practices among small-scale farmers in Lushoto District, Tanzania. It finds that the local private sector is mostly informal, with agricultural trade dominated by independent traders from Lushoto. Traders play an important role in connecting farmers to markets but also face risks from factors like market oversupply and crop losses. The study also analyzes the seed systems, input supply chains, and challenges around maintaining crop diversity and reducing pesticide use in the region. It concludes with recommendations like developing ICT platforms to help traders, supporting farmer managed seed systems, and prioritizing integrated pest management.

1. 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
%Framers
• 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.
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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
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