Investigating sustainable procurement practices in farming. a case of tobacco contract farming by women in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The primary purpose of this thesis was aimed at conducting an investigation of sustainable procurement practices within tobacco contract farming by women farmers in Zimbabwe. Through the usage of the Stakeholder and Institutional Theories, the reviewed literature, as part of the secondary data analysis stage, was able to vividly expose the gap that not much research on the matter under investigation has been conducted from a Zimbabwean perspective; numerous works on the issue are conducted from a western perspective. The hypotheses of the research as emanating from the objectives were tested on an entity where 100 respondents had their views elicited. The tests sought to ascertain impact on yield and quality. Data was analyzed through the use of SPSS MANOVA test. Tests such as Box’s Test for Homogeneity of Variance-Covariance, ANOVA and Pillai test, amongst others were conducted. From the tests, it emerged that there has been an improvement in the yield and quality of tobacco being produced by women contract farmers who interacted with the company that was the subject of investigation for this study. Findings further reviewed that the narrative that poverty is sexist can be debunked if proper extension efforts are prioritized towards ensuring that women are empowered with the knowledge and skillset needed to make them competitive in the production of tobacco in Zimbabwe. The conclusions of the research opine that more research is needed to ensure that an exhaustive investigation of the phenomena is robustly conducted. The recommendation being to the effect that the nexus between industry and the academia must be enhanced and expedited if ever pragmatic solutions that resonate with the aspirations of the industry are to be derived.