Does Post-Harvest Losses Matter on Farmers Profitability? Evidence From Smallholder Grape Farmer’s in Dodoma, Tanzania

Abstract

This study analysed post-harvest losses of grapes and their effects on profitability of smallholder grape farmers in Dodoma. Cross section survey using structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 240 grape farmers who were selected through a random sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test, gross margin and multiple regression analysis were used to achieve the objectives of this study. Results show that, the average quantity of grape yields by smallholder grape farmers’ in Dodoma was 7.7 tonnes/ha. Out of these, 1.65 tonnes/ha equivalent to 20.9% of the total grape harvested were lost. Based on multiple regression model, results showed that post-harvest losses have significant effect on the profit of smallholder grape farmers in Dodoma (p<0.01) by 13.9%. The observation is implied by a lower profit with loss (1.8 million/ha) compared to profit without loss (2.9 million /ha) received by farmers’ from the gross margin analysis. The study concludes that a substantial proportion of grapes produced did not reach the final consumers due to post-harvest losses which had significant effect on farmers’ profitability. It is recommended that reduction in post-harvest losses in grape farming should be of utmost priority in any efforts of improving farmers’ profit. These efforts may entail provision of adequate training to farmers on post-harvest losses and handling techniques to create awareness among actors and investing in post-harvest technologies to prolong grapes’ shelf life, reduce post-harvest losses and increase profit of smallholder grape farmers.