Entrepreneurial Training Amongst Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania: An Assessment of Effect on Farm Productivity
Abstract
ABSTRACT: This paper sought to assess the effect of smallholder farmers entrepreneurial training and application on farm productivity. It is based on the premise that while some entrepreneurial traits are acquired through birth, some can be learnt
and improved through training and can have effect on productivity. The study is based on entrepreneurial training offered by Mount Meru, a sunflower oil processing company in Tanzania in collaboration with an international NGO, RLDC, to sunflower smallholder farmers in Singida and Iramba Districts. A sample of 384 farmers, fifty percent of whom had received training, was drawn using stratified random sampling. Cobb-Douglas Production function was used to estimate productivity based on the key inputs used, including labour and seeds, with a dummy variable of entrepreneurial training included to capture the effect of training. Results show a positive and statistically significant influence of training on productivity, thus confirming to the theoretical argument of role of entrepreneurial training even amongst smallholder farmers. The implication is that in addition to providing technical agronomic skills, small holder farmers should be provided with entrepreneurial training. To make this sustainable it
could be incorporated in the extension services provided by the extension staff.