1. INNOCENT MHARIDZO - Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe.
2. LOVEMORE CHIKAZHE - Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe.
3. JOSPHAT MANYERUKE - Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe.
4. NILTON MASHAVAKURE - Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe.
Macadamia nuts are now an important cash-generating crop for some farmers in Zimbabwe after out competing crops such as coffee, tobacco, cotton, and tea. The crop is an export crop, which brings in foreign currency to the farmers and the country at large. However, the farmers are far from reaching their potential and are generating very little foreign currency from the nuts sold at very low prices when compared to international prices. This has been attributed to the marketing challenges. This paper’s is therefore evaluating the market linkages in the macadamia nuts industry in Zimbabwe. Data were collected from 105 macadamia farmers in Manicaland Province in Zimbabwe during the period between July and October 2022 with the assistance of Agriculture Extension Services Department. A survey questionnaire in English language with Likert scale type question was administered to selected macadamia nuts farmers. Hypotheses testing was done using the structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS V22. The study results demonstrate that infrastructure development, market information, mode of farming and value addition influence market linkages in macadamia nuts farming industry. Thus, linking of macadamia nuts farmers to competitive markets, avoiding selling at farm gate and middlemen involvement is dependent on how the infrastructure in the area is developed. Also, availability of information to the farmers, the mode of farming used by macadamia nuts and the state of the agricultural product that the farmer is marketing in terms of value addition influence the marketing of the crop. This study expanded the understanding of factors that influence market linkages of macadamia nuts farming in Zimbabwe. Thus, previous related studies did not cover the effect of infrastructure development, market information, model of farming and value addition on the on the market linkages in macadamia nuts farming. Therefore, the current study contributes the marketing and management body of knowledge by expanding the knowledge on determinants of macadamia nuts market linkages in a developing economy like Zimbabwe.
Farming Mode, Infrastructure Development, Market Information, Market Linkages, Value Addition, Macadamia Nuts, Zimbabwe.