As indicated in Figure 9, cassava marketing system was found to be characterized by an enormous variety of actors, playing slightly different but often overlapping roles, which are distinguished by scale of operation, and buyer/seller clients they serve. They exhibit different degrees of vertical integration, with some serving the same functions that two or more other intermediaries may be simultaneously performing. Figure 9 shows that the actors in Mkuranga cassava value chain include farmers, farmer groups, processors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. Traders are the main players in the fresh cassava sub-sector, while processors, wholesalers and retailers are important in the dry cassava sub-sector. For the moment dry cassava subsector is underdeveloped in the district, but the subsector will be the main focus of VECO progrmme due to its potential in terms of profitability, value addition and inclusion of farmers. Moreover development of this sub-sector will play a role in the industrialization of the cassava industry. The main types of cassava market actors found in the cassava marketing system are briefly described below. Cassava farmers Two types of farmers were identified during the study. The first type was the farmers who are organized in groups. Farmer groups were formed in response to some facilitation from some NGOs, which were promoting cassava production and processing. These farmers have been organized in groups and assisted to integrate production and processing. The farmers were given training in processing and some groups were provided with processing machinery. The second group of farmers consisted of individual cassava farmers. It was surprising to find that these groups had no significant difference from the other type in terms of production practices, implying that the farmer groups so far established have not yet yielded substantial benefits. The difference only lies in the fact that these farmers did not belong to any producer group. Most of the cassava farmers in Mkuranga District are smallholder farmers who cultivate, on average 1-hactare cassava intercropped with other crops. The cassava farmers are critically constrained by low productivity of their activities; poor resources including human resource; and inadequate organization capacity, especially for the producer groups. Traders/wholesale/ bulk collectors Small traders play an important role in collecting cassava and delivering it to either retail outlets or ultimate consumers. These buy cassava in small quantities from farmers and sell it to retailers in Dar es Salaam. The traders use bicycles as the means of transport. In Mkuranga, most small traders collect cassava from farmers and deliver the cassava to household urban consumers and retail outlets such as street vendors and restaurants in Dar es Salaam. Wholesale or bulk collectors buy cassava in bulk quantities from farmers and sell it to retailers in Dar es Salaam. The traders use motor vehicles as the means of transport. They therefore play the role of bulkers in the marketing system. Two types of traders/transporters/bulk collectors were found in the Mkuranga cassava value chain. The first type consists of wholesalers who trade in dry cassava especially flour. One trader at Mbagala reported that he was buying cassava flour from Mkuranga District producer groups and sold the products to other retailers and household consumers. He also received cassava
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