Implications of non-governmental organizations’ roles in the success of agricultural public-private partnerships: A case study of Tanzania’s Southern agricultural growth corridor partnership initiative

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasingly involved in public–private partnerships (PPPs) as key players in delivering services and goods. This paper explores a unique scenario in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) PPP initiative, in which NGOs serve as secondary partners. These NGOs augment an already established PPP as the partnerships revolve around the NGOs’ donor-funded projects. Drawing on the institutional logics perspective, the paper examines how NGOs’ roles within the context of PPPs influence the success and sustainability of a soybean strategic partnership. Based on interviews with actors involved in the partnership, focus-group discussions with smallholder farmers, and key informant interviews with leaders of farmers’ groups and SAGCOT Center Limited staff, the paper identifies two key roles NGOs play in the partnership. First, building farmers’ capacity through training in soybean production and processing to foster inclusiveness; second, mediating between companies and smallholder farmers by linking them to input suppliers and soybean buyers. The paper highlights the partnership’s vulnerability, stemming from NGOs’ roles shaped by competing logics within the partnership and the nature of their donor-funded projects. Also, the phasing out of NGO projects has weakened the soybean strategic partnership. The study argues that the NGO’s role in promoting inclusiveness depends on aligning partnership interventions with the NGOs’ institutional logics. It recommends expanding NGOs’ roles to include strengthening farmers’ associations and institutionalizing sustainable farmer-private-sector linkages to ensure long-term inclusiveness and resilience within agricultural PPPs.