The influence of grain traders’ support services on farmers’ adoption of improved varieties of Sorghum, beans and groundnuts in Tanzania

This study examined how the support services offered by grain traders beyond merely purchasing grains influence smallholder farmers’ adoption of improved bean, sorghum, and groundnut varieties in Tanzania. A total of 961 farmers were surveyed, comprising 315 bean, 317 sorghum, and 329 groundnut farmers from 12 major production regions. Data were collected through a household survey using Survey CTO and analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model. Farmers’ uptake of improved varieties is still limited, with adoption rates of 58% for common beans, 35% for sorghum, and 32% for groundnuts. Moreover, results indicate that grain traders’ providing support services beyond buying grains from farmers substantially increased the likelihood of adoption of improved varieties across all the three crops. Specifically, market information provided by the grain trader significantly increased adoption 9 times for sorghum, 8 times for beans, and 10 times for groundnuts, while improved seed credit raised adoption by 3.95 times, 3.23 times, and 8 times, respectively. Input-bundling credit significantly increased adoption of beans (1.90 times) and groundnuts (3 times), market linkage increased adoption for sorghum (5 times), and groundnuts (8 times), and guaranteed markets significantly increased adoption of sorghum (5 times,) and groundnuts (4.16 times). Overall, the research contributes empirically to understanding the role of market intermediaries specifically grain traders in influencing smallholder seed adoption and provides a framework for future studies on trader-mediated seed delivery approach to drive faster varietal turnover.