Farmers’ perceptions of Tobacco production constraints and Cost of production for price determination in Tanzania

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is one of the major cash crops grown worldwide. In Tanzania, an area of 107 thousand hectares is dedicated to tobacco production, with the potential to reach an average yield of 519 million kilograms. The current harvested yield of 1.65 thousand kg/ha is considerably below the potential yield of up to 2.4 thousand kg/ha using the common variety K326 under research. The objectives of this study were to investigate farmers perceptions of the tobacco cost of production, constraints affecting production, and their management approaches in Tanzania. Seventy eight percent of respondents reported yield losses in tobacco during production, harvesting, curing and grading. Adoption of good agronomic practices, timely fertilizer application, transplanting, weeding, insect and disease management, topping, harvesting, curing and grading will increase yield and price. However, the majority of farmers rarely adopt these practices due to limited capital, weather, knowledge and inputs. Their perception of the cost of production was varied based on the scale of production and input used, while neglecting food as one of the charges. To effectively determine tobacco price, studies on the cost of production per unit hectare, including all factors of invention and fertility status, are of crucial importance.