Comparative productivity and profitability of Organic and Conventional Farming of Export Crops in Tanzania G.C. Ashimogo et al

Introduction Rational for switching to Organic farming – Declining prices of traditional export crops – Declining export volumes – Expanding markets for certified organic products – Premium prices for organic products – Stable prices for organic products

Introduction… In Tanzania OA has been practiced for a long time There is need to assess productivity and profitability at OA at farm level

Research questions How does productivity and profitability compare among farms practicing organic and conventional agriculture? What micro-and meso-level factors explain the observed phenomena?

Methods We use crop / enterprise budgets to compare – Revenues – Variable costs – returns The study focused on – Cotton in Meatu district, Shinyanga region (2006/07) BioRe Tanzania limited – Cashew in Mkuranga district, Coast region (2005/06) Premier cashew Industries

Sampling CropOrganicConventionalTotal Cashew Cotton Total

Results - Productivity CottonCashew OrganicConventionalOrganicConventional Area (ha) Production (kg) Yield (kg/ha) Price (Sh/kg) Total revenue (Sh)137, ,2431,824,

Cost structure (Sh/ha) CottonCashew OrganicConventionalOrganicConventional Seeds manure Sprayer rental Chemicals Included in sprayer rental Fuel Marketing costs Total costs Gross margin

Net margins CottonCashew OrganicConventionalOrganicConventional Gross margin Hired labour Family labour Total labour Net margin

Conclusions The whole farm area of OFs were slightly bigger than CFs but not statistically so. Ofs were bigger than those of CFs, although not statistically significantly (cashew farms were established some years before organic certification) OFs had bigger household sizes than CFs but not significantly so. Adoption of organic practices Adoption of ‘GAP’ Relatively more OFs dried and graded their cashew before sale compared to CFs. However, the proportions were not significantly different. Production volume OFs harvested significantly more (than twice as much) cashew nuts than CFs. Incomes OFs recorded significantly more income from sales of cashew nuts during 2005/06 vs. CFs. Although not significantly, relatively more CFs weeded their farms at least once per season vs. OFs. Although not significant, OFs recorded more income from sale of other crops than CFs. However, OFs reported a significantly higher total crop income compared to their CFs counterparts.