An analysis of the cotton industry in west cotton growing area, Tanzania, by application a mathematical modeling
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Date
1977
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
This study is intended to open a critical and suggestive analysis on Tanzania Cotton Authority operations on the cotton industry in a zonal unit. The study reveals some difficulties of the Authority's operational planning and suggests an approach to improve this planning. The setting up of mathematical models is the basic element of the approach. The study starts with a brief outline of the industry in Tanzania followed by a general quantitative analysis of the collection, distribution and processing of raw cotton. in a tonal unit. The interrelationship between the purchased seed cotton, transportation of seed cotton, cotton lint, cottonseed, fertilizers and insecticides and other factors is studied in detail. After this general survey, special attention is given to the following problems: the distribution of cottonseed to different oil mills. The most economical way of` distributing the cottonseed from ginneries in Shinyanga region has been calculated, results are quite different in comparison with the actual practiece. • the determination of the maximum acreage to be grown with cotton by a small-holder farmer. The farmer is expected to observe all scientific advice on the best husbandry of the crop as he grows more and more cotton. On the basis of the required labour inputs and timing of the agrticultural activities a realistic maximum acreage for a family is calculated. •the scheduling of the distribution of cash for purchases of raw cotton to buying centres (Magulio). Timely purchases of cotton from farmers is a necessary obligation of the Authority. Delayed purchases caused by poor schedules, may lengthen the buying period and a possible reluctance of individual farmers to pick more seed cotton from the fields since the already picked and sorted seed cotton may not have been purchased, and the farmers may not have a place to store extra seed cotton in their homes. An attempts has been made to design a model to schedule the distribution of cash to purchase seed cotton in "magulio"as economically as possible. No attempt has been made to solve the problem completely although a start has been made to solve a very simplified situation. It must be realized that this study has concentrated on a few problems faced by the Authority. However, the study reveals that a systematic approach as worked out in this thesis can help the Cotton Authority to set up an integrated planning
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Keywords
Cotton growing, Tanzania
Citation
Ntulo, W. M (1977) An analysis of the cotton industry in west cotton growing area, Tanzania, by application a mathematical modeling, Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx