Factors influencing on-farm common bean productivity in Manyara region in Tanzania

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are an important food and cash crop in developing countries. In Tanzania, different common bean varieues are grown by many farmers. However, productivity of all common beans is still far below the potential and this has impacted on profitability. The objective of this study was to establish factors influencing on-farm profitability of common beans amongst smallholder bean farmers in Babati District, Manyara Region in Tanzania. Multistage sampling was used to select respondents from the four divisions in Babati district (Babati, Gorowa, Mbugwe and Bashnet). The first stage involved a purposive selection of two divisions from the four divisions mentioned. The second stage entailed the selection of six wards from the two divisions, four from Bashnet division and two from Babati division. The fourth stage entailed purposive selection of nine villages from the six wards basing on bean production dominance. Then the final stage employed systematic sampling technique to select 200 bean farmers from the nine villages. Primary data were collected from the field using a structured interview schedule method. Secondary data were obtained from published literature from Babati District Council, Sokoine National Agricultural Library and Egerton University main library. Smallholder farmers’ gross margin as a proxy of profitability was analysed using Gross Margin Analysis procedure. Multiple Regression Analysis was used to analyse factors affecting on-farm farmers’ gross margin. The study results showed that at farm level, an average gross margin of TZS 311,483.56/= (US$148.33) was generated per farmer per season. Farm-gate price, yield, gender, farming experience and off-farm income affected the gross margin realized by smallholder farmers.