Browsing by Author "Zacharia, Nachoa N. M."

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    Estimating marketed supply response for milk in Tanzania: a case study of Mara region.
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1993) Zacharia, Nachoa N. M.
    Observers have begun to respect the ability of traditional farmers to make rational decisions over the past decade. It has been noted that traditional farmers are willing to change production decisions according to changes in prices of inputs and output. Therefore price is seen to be the main determinant of allocative capacity of the farmer. This is the main theme of supply response studies. This study which focused on estimating marketed milk supply observed that there is an excess demand of milk over supply in Tanzania. This is surprising given the fact that the country has a large population of the main types of domestic livestock. The greater portion of the country's population do not get sufficient food with essential nutrients, particularly milk; which is very economical and has an advantage of versatility of uses. The problem of malnutrition in Tanzania is rampant, e.g. malnutrition causes the death of over 10,000 children annually. Due to this problem, there must be same effort to arrest the situation by increasing milk supply as a source of nutrition. This study is an attempt to identify the key determinants of marketed milk supply response in Tanzania (Mara region). Special, attentions is given to the influence of price factors, herd size, disease control, transport and other infrastructures, per capita income and the level of technology. It is expected that the findings of this study will be useful for formulation of policies related to livestock industry especially on milk supply. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was used in estimation using time series data obtained from secondary sources. Linear and non-linear models were used to estimate parameters of the quantified economic variables related to our supply function. The empirical findings showed that farmers have reduced marketed milk supply over the period of study. The problems include lack of price incentives, e.g. the price of milk was considerably lower; thus it played a significant role in lowering milk supply. Other problems are lack of transport infrastructure, technical direction and lack of disease control practices. The study confined itse1f to the conceptual framework of the set hypotheses, therefore, it cannot claim to be exhaustive. This is because detailed data on the characteristics of the dairy economy and application of better analytical tools to identify other causal influences at work have been out of reach in this study. The study sheds light on the sort of measures required to stimulate marketed milk supply. It also suggests a holistic agricultural development strategy which aims at raising efficiency and productivity through scientific researches, development grants and extension services.