The average intensity of fertilizer use throughout Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains much
lower than elsewhere and has been virtually stagnant during the past decade. Farmers’
failure to intensify agricultural production in a manner that maintains soil productivity is
viewed as a key cause of decline in soil quality in many rural areas in SSA. There is
general agreement that the improvements in soil fertility needed to stimulate agricultural
productivity growth, improved food security, and increases in rural incomes will require
substantial increases in fertilizer use in combination with improved land husbandry
practices. Under economic policy reforms in agriculture, the private sector in Tanzania
through input delivery services was expected to create incentives for farmers to adopt new
farming methods. However, the response from the private sector was and still slow. The
study aimed at determining the contributing factors to low participation of the private
sector in delivering agricultural inputs to farmers. Limiting availability and accessibility of
inputs by the majority of farmers was found to be one of the factors . The second factor was
found to be the small market of agricultural inputs associated with poor quality of
extension services offered to farmers. The third factor was low awareness of stakeholders
on the benefits and consequences of implementing the privatization policy. The last factor
was the introduction of subsidy programme which according to this study hindered the
emergence and effective operation of the private sector. Several recommendations were
given to encourage the private sector. These include: improvement of rural infrastructure;
building the capacity of local inputs retailers through training, and trade finance; designing
conducive and stable system of distributing subsidized inputs to poor farmers without
undermining the profitability of inputs retailers; maintaining efficiency and quality of
inputs distributed to farmers by formulating and enforcing regulations; and reducing the
long marketing channels of inputs distribution which contribute to high costs of inputs.
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives