Global Value Chains and the Uptake of Innovative Technology in Vanilla Production among Women Smallholder Farmers in Bukoba Rural District, Tanzania
Neema Ngowi
Department of Procurement and Supplies Management,
College of Business Education, Mwanza, Tanzania
Email: neyngowi67@gmail.com
Abstract: This study looked at how women smallholder farmers’ involvement in the global value chain fosters innovation in vanilla production. The study concentrated on the importance of vanilla associations, the adoption of innovative vanilla production technology, and the obstacles preventing women producers from participating in global value chains. Additionally, the study uses a cross-sectional, quantitative research design, collecting data through a survey. Moreover, the multistage cluster sampling technique was used; focusing on women’s involvement in agricultural cooperatives and wards with notable vanilla output. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were therefore used in the data analysis. The results showed that pollination technology (25.1%) and farm preparation technology were the most often adopted technologies (24.4%). These findings show that women who grow vanilla are primarily implementing useful farm-level innovations that directly raise crop quality and yield. With a standardized regression coefficient of β =.194, p =.005, the regression results further demonstrated that pollination had a positive and statistically significant impact on innovation. This implies that better pollination techniques are crucial to fostering innovation in the production of vanilla. The substantial effect of vanilla association, recorded (β = .248, p = .003), which provided additional support for the findings. This suggests that vanilla associations provide farmers with production knowledge, where pollination technology demonstrates a positive innovation spillover effect, showing that global value chain participation can enhance farmers’ innovation when supported by local institutional linkages. However, 33.9% of barriers to women vanilla growers’ participation in global value chains were due to lack of training.
