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The study aimed to investigate potential of ginger production and its influence to income generation to small-scale ginger growers. Specifically the study focused on estimating the profitability of ginger farming to the smallholder’s growers, analyze their social economic factors affecting ginger productivity, determine the annual household income generated from ginger production and explore the challenges facing ginger subsector. A cross sectional research design was adopted; the sample size of 251 respondents was obtained through purposive and non-purposive sampling techniques. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods for data analysis. Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel (Ms Excel) were used to analyze the data. The data revealed that ginger production is profitable, with the gross margin of Tshs. 8,050,000 per acre and returns to labour was at Tshs. 44,475 per year. The factors included in the model explain the variation obtained in ginger yield with determination coefficients R2 indicates that 78.3% of the variation in ginger yield obtained by farmers is explained by the variables included in the estimated model. The data further, revealed that majority (71.3%) reported that their income accrued from business were between Tshs. 1,000,001 to Tshs. 5,000,000 whilst minority (1.7%) reported that their income were above Tshs. 10,000,000 per annum. The farmers presents the major problems in the subsector to have been affecting ginger farming were price (54.5%), inadequate capital (27%). Others mentioned other factors including poor transportation, drought and unavailability of laborers. The higher returns to labour observed in ginger farming enterprise could have been contributed to adoption and use of labour saving technologies such as oxen-plough and use of improved seeds. The income from ginger contributes significantly to the household income. |
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