Browsing by Subject "quality assurance"

Food and Forest Development Finland (FFD) and Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) have a project called “Quality standards for enhanced market access for smallholder farmers in Tanzania” and it aims to improve Tanzanian smallholder farmers access to GLOBALG.A.P. certification. This master’s thesis study is made as a part of the project and the main aim of this study is to answer the following research questions. “What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of GLOBALG.A.P. certification to smallholder farmers in Tanzania?” and secondly, “What is the cost of certification and do farmers get premium price for certified products?”. This study is carried out as a qualitative case study. Data is sourced from a farmer survey in Tanzania and from an interview with Finnish certification specialists. As theoretical basis, Resource-based theory and the concept of competitive advantage is utilized. Previous studies and literature are also reviewed. Horticulture has an important role in Tanzania’s national economy and demand for fruits and vegetables is increasing. Tanzanian fruit and vegetable production is characterized by small-scale farming, poorly organized farm management and issues with market access and product quality. International export markets, especially in Europe, are demanding quality certification by third party. GLOBALG.A.P. (GAP= Good Agricultural Practice) is the largest agri-food certification scheme and the most demanding certification used in fruit and vegetable production. All big multinational retailers are demanding certification to ensure food safety and sustainability of the production. Getting GLOBALG.A.P. certification is a challenging task for smallholders in developing countries such as Tanzania. Farmer surveys were conducted in three different agricultural areas in Tanzania and over 360 farmers are represented in the results. A SWOT analysis was based on the survey results. Results revealed that smallholders have high expectations for the benefits of certification. Expectations of gaining access to local and global markets and for gaining improved negotiating position are confirmed by previous studies. Group certification is also revealed as a strength, as well as improved farm management skills. According to experts and previous studies, increase in prices is not guaranteed with certification. Instead, a wider customer base and economic benefits compared with non-certified farmers are likely to be achieved. GLOBALG.A.P. certification can be seen as a source of competitive advantage to smallholders. The greatest weaknesses of certification are, according to smallholders, the costs of certification, extra work and expensive investments on their farms. Poor infrastructure raises concerns. As external opportunities smallholders expect to gain higher profits, gains in exports and contracts with buyers. They are aiming towards commercial farming. The threats that worry farmers the most, are issues with re-certification, volatile returns in the markets and losing contracts with buyers due to quality issues.