Warehouse Receipt System And Its Contribution To The Small Scale Cashew Nut Farmers In Masasi District, Mtwara

ABSTRACT

The study is about the warehouse receipt system and its contribution to the small scale farmers in Masasi District. The general objective of the study was to assess the contribution of warehouse receipt system to the small scale cashew nut farmers‟ development in Masasi district. The specific objectives were (a) to identify the roles of stakeholders in implementation of the warehouse receipt system in cashew nut marketing; (b) to examine the contribution of key stakeholders in implementation of warehouse receipt system for the benefit of farmers; and (c) to assess the overall performance of the warehouse receipt system in cashew nut industry. The sample size for this study was 96. A combination of strategies was used in this study that is, both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Also the cross sectional survey design was used and data were being collected at once from different groups of respondents. Both probability and non-probability sampling methods were used. Data indicate that, the system assures availability of cashew nut market every year, though there are some limitations that have become obstacles for the system performance. The study indicates that the challenges of the system are such as the delayed provision of inputs, high charges levied on inputs, installments system of payments and low price of cashew nut. Some suggestions from the cashew nut farmers are such as: Effective government supervision, early payments as well as remunerative price of cashew nut through appropriate indicative price. The study recommended that there should be timely payments, effective supervision during auctioning and indicative price reflecting the cost of production.