The Effect of Social Networks on Performance of Fresh Tomato Supply Chain in Kilolo District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of social networks on performance of fresh tomato supply chain in Kilolo District Tanzania using Social Capital Theory and Transaction Cost Economic Theory. Tomato production and marketing has been identified as being important in poverty reduction mainly because it can offer employment and thus income to smallholder farmers and traders. However, smallholder farmers and traders in Kilolo District face high transaction costs in production and marketing of their produce and thus they rely on social networks to reduce transaction costs. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. A simple random sampling technique was used to select smallholder tomato farmers while snow ball sampling technique was used to select tomato traders. The sample size consisted of 242 respondents. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents. Data were analysed using means, percentages, independent samples T-tests and multiple regression analysis. The study found that membership in socio-economic groups; network size, tie strength, and network density have significant positive influence on performance of the fresh tomato supply chain in the study area. The study also found that level of education had positive influence on the performance. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that social networks have significant positive influence on performance of the fresh tomato supply chain in the study area. It is recommended that the government should recognize the importance of informal social networks and strengthen the existing social networks.