Potato Production and Supply by Smallholder Farmers in Guinea: An Economic Analysis

The purpose of the current study was to assess the determinants of the quantity of potato produced and marketed by smallholder farmers in Guinea. Potato has emerged as an attractive cash crop due to its income-generating potential and is one of the main sources of income for the majority of the resource-poor smallholder farmers. Thus increasing production and improving marketing efficiency has the potential for raising incomes of the farming households. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, data was collected from a sample of 90 potato producers in Middle Guinea. Results of the Cobb Douglas production function showed that potato area, improved seed use and fertilizer, positively influenced the potato output, while production losses are negatively associated with the potato output. A supply function used to investigate factors influencing the quantity of potato marketed revealed that quantity produced, price of potato and share of sales four weeks after harvest were positively associated with quantity of potato supplied to the market, whereas quantities retained for seed, food and gifts, and post-harvest losses have negative effects on the quantity of potato marketed. Results also revealed that none of the relevant production inputs used by the sample farmers were efficiently allocated and utilized. Constraints to potato production and supply include lack of funds, poor irrigation, pest and disease, the high cost of transportation, lack of storage facilities among others. Findings, therefore, suggest that government and development stakeholders should encourage and support farmer organizations, develop agricultural and marketing infrastructures, so as to boost agricultural production and farmers’ market access.