Browsing by Author "Alphonce, Christian Baruka"

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    Reducing the marketing costs of a co-operative union in Tanzania: application of operations research to study the marketing of coffee
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1992) Alphonce, Christian Baruka
    This study is an attempt to apply operations research methods to a practical problem. It deals with reducing the marketing costs of coffee marketed by Kagera Co-operative Union (KCU). The union markets coffee from four of the districts of Kagera Region namely Bukoba, Muleba, Karagwe and Ngara. The marketing costs are taken to be the difference between the price paid to farmers and the price obtained from the Tanzania Coffee Marketing Board (TCMB), less taxes. A zero one mixed integer linear progamming model has been developed for minimizing the coffee marketing costs. The model is used to determine the optimal coffee transportation schedule from Routes to district branch transit godowns, and from the district branch transit godowns to the BUKOP godown in Bukoba where coffee is cured and thence transported to the TCMB godowns in Tanga. The problem was solved using XA professional Linear Progamming System on a personal computer. The system can handle large scale linear progamming problems as well as mixed integer programming problems. The results show that the optimal coffee transportation schedule under present conditions reduces the marketing costs by about 18%. It has been discovered that Kagera Co-operative Union has enough coffee transportation facilities, contrary to the stated fact, that the Union faces acute shortage of them. What is required is their proper mobilization. The major constraint facing Kagera Coperative Union, as discovered in this study, is the BUKOP coffee curing capacity. If this capacity is increased, more reduction in the marketing costs can be realised. The solutions also show that increasing Kemondo Bay godowns storage capacity by one kilograme has a potential of reducing the marketing costs by 57 cents per kilograme.