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MARKET ACCESS AND SUNFLOWER MARKETING: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS TO SMALL SCALE FARMERS IN TANZANIA Enock S. Ugulumu Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands Eno L. Inanga Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands ABSTRACT Using data drawn from a sample of 229 small scale farmers in Singida region- Tanzania, this article presents findings regarding an assessment of market access in developing countries like Tanzania, an imperative aspect which seems to hinder small scale farmers from accessing both domestic and international markets. Based on the analysis, it was established that the perceptions of sunflower producers as regards identification of sunflower buyers and quantity demanded was pessimistic as indicated by a whopping 76.6% of respondents, an attitude that implies poor coordination and clarity of information flow between sunflower producers and buyers. On the other hand, respondents were asked to rate whether there were buyers’ quality preference specifications attached to the sunflower produced. Responses indicated no clear association between buyers and producers of sunflower on the aspect of quality. 64.2% of respondents disagreed while only 18.8% agreed that there were buyers’ specifications on quality. Majority of sunflower producers however agreed that sunflower value chain essentially contributed to value addition as well as cost reduction. 57% of respondents ascertained that the sunflower value chain facilitated them in value addition while 79% implicated that it aided the cut down of operational costs. |