Adoption and Economic Benefits of Harvest and Post-Harvest Loss Management Technologies in the Maize and Rice Value Chain in Tanzania

Abstract

Reducing harvests and post-harvest losses is among the government's priority agenda to address the challenges of food security, poverty, and nutrition in Tanzania. Using survey data from different actors along the maize and rice value chain in Tanzania, this study (1) assessed the advanced technologies and traditional technology for managing crop harvest losses adopted by smallholder farmers and market actors, (2) determined the crop losses at different actors in the value chain, (3) evaluated the willingness of actors in adopting the technologies for crop harvest and post-harvest technology, and (4)  assessed the economic benefits of advanced technologies and traditional technology for post-harvest losses in the study area. The study employed a cross-sectional research design whereby the interview method was used for data collection. Mult-stage random sampling techniques with three stages were employed to select a sample of 180 respondents. Data analysis employed in this paper included both descriptive and inferential analysis. The results indicate that the majority of respondents used traditional technology for crop harvest practices and advanced technology for post-harvest practices. The results also show that respondents who use advanced technology incur a lower loss than those who use traditional technology. The results also show that the majority of actors experience difficulties with the availability, accessibility, and affordability of the advanced technology, although they use it in post-harvest practice. The binary probit model result indicates that age, education, and value chain economic activities significantly influence an actor's decision to adopt technology for harvest and post-harvest losses. Therefore, the government should provide subsidies for crop harvesting technology, especially combined harvesters, to enhance availability, accessibility, and affordability for farmers. Moreover, the agricultural development programs should focus on creating education, awareness on crop harvest and post-harvest loss technologies for reducing loss.