Market information sharing; An exploration study on horticultural sector in Dar es Salaam

Abstract

It has been noted that the horticultural sector does not have a clear system to determine both demand and supply that reflects inappropriate market information sharing. This study explored the market information sharing and assessed challenges impacting effective market information sharing in the horticultural sector (vegetables and fruits). The study is qualitative in nature because it seeks to explore information and it was carried out in Dar es Salaam City. The study employed phenomenological design for describing the essence of the experiences for several individuals who have all experienced the phenomenon. Purposive sampling was used to identify the useful groups and then stratified sampling technique was employed to get a total of 34 respondents from the clusters: farmers, middlemen, vendors, and agricultural officers. Interviews and document reviews were the tools used for collecting both primary and secondary data and the data collected were analyzed by the use of MAXQDA 2020. The study found out that the needed information are price, availability of produce, transportation, and delivery and money transaction methods to be used. Secondly, the results show that information sharing in the industry employs two ways, that is, word of mouth and the use of mobile phones. There are many challenges impacting effective market information sharing such as personal interest in providing information, poor knowledge, poverty, unprotected e-business, poor network, and poor transport facilities. Based on the findings, we strongly recommend that education should be given to the entire industry, to formalize the industry, and sharing of the collected market information through various platforms to enhance availability to anybody's needs.