Farm size and total productivity in selected maize producing districts in Tanzania: Implications for sustainable agro-industrial development

This paper examines the relationship between farm size and total factor productivity (TFP) in mainland Tanzania, using a Cobb-Douglas production framework and survey data. Our analysis highlights two important contributions: The examination of a wide range of planted maize fields and the evaluation of the association between farm size and total factor productivity efficiency across maize cropping systems (that is maize-pure stand, maize-mixed with legumes and maize-mixed with non-legumes). The regression results indicate a positive relationship between farm size and TFP across all maize cropping systems, contradicting the usual negative relationship between farm size and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and casting doubt on the viability of a smallholder-led development strategy. Besides farm size, household size, field slope, source of water and measurement errors, significantly influenced TFP across maize cropping systems. The positive relationship between farm size and TFP implies that sustainable agro-industrial development can be realised through promoting both farm size categories. In addition, sustainable supply of raw materials for agro-based industries will largely depend on both increases in productivity and farm sizes. However, speeding up the process of formalizing land tenure and providing in-depth advice on suitable husbandry practices will improve land productivity and consequently enhance aggregate factor productivity of maize. Key words: Farm size, productivity, maize-cropping systems, agro-industrials, Tanzania.