Analyse socio-economic factors influencing cold chain logistics adoption by small-holder farmers in Domboshava, Zimbabwe

Author

Bhaira, Webster

Title

Analyse socio-economic factors influencing cold chain logistics adoption by small-holder farmers in Domboshava, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study looks on an analysis on the socio-economic factors affect the adoption of cold chain logistics among smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe which is a case study of Domboshava area. A simple random sampling method was utilized whereas sample size of 30 farmers was taken. Information was gathered through questionnaires. The analysis list the different socio economic factors which includes, high upfront investments for cold storage equipment, unreliable energy infrastructure, reduced finance availability, a lack of technical expertise, including gender differences in decision-making and resource access. This study’s objectives are, to examine smallholder farmers' awareness and understanding of cold chain logistics in Domboshava, to investigate the infrastructure and cost issues impeding cold chain logistics adoption, to make policy recommendations that might boost smallholder farmers' adoption of cold chain logistics, to determine the impact that farmers' views of CCL and level of expertise they have on their readiness to implement such systems. Tables, graphs are produced using information gathered. The study ends with suggestions that the research underscores that visual, vernacular, and hands-on communication models are urgently needed to boost awareness, without public-private interventions to bridge this infrastructure gap, adoption will remain low, farmers recommended the introduction of farmer-led policy forums, local cooperatives equipped with shared cold rooms, and training incentives tied to infrastructure investment, farmer’s education and technology acceptance, and also women inclusion in agriculture technology systems. As a result, this study advances on, impact of mobile cold chain units on postharvest loss reduction and market price stability in peri-urban settings evaluating operational sustainability and gender-disaggregated benefits, effectiveness of peer led demonstration models in increasing technology adoption especially among low literacy farmers in similar peri-urban and rural contexts, intersection of cold chain logistics with digital agriculture platforms, including apps and SMS systems, to enhance cold storage scheduling, maintenance alerts, and market coordination, longitudinal study on policy engagement outcomes from farmer-led advocacy in agricultural logistics, examining whether bottom-up governance improves technology integration and trust.

Date

June 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Socio-economic factors

Adoption

Small-holder farmers

Cold chain logistics

Supervisor

Mr. Bindu