Institutional Constraints as "Rules of the Game": Reflections on Coffee Production and Marketing in Moshi Rural District

The paper contributes to the ongoing discourse in Tanzania about constraints in the agricultural sector performance by using the concept of "institutions as rules of the game" from the New Institutional Economics paradigm. Focusing on coffee, the paper analyses the surrounding regulatory framework (laws, rules, regulations, norms, practices, procedures) and their impact on coffee production and marketing as perceived by key stakeholders. Lessons from two villages where the study was conducted suggest a number of institutional constraints in production and marketing of coffee. These are traditional norms and customs on land rights, regulatory voucher system, quality culture, registration of coffee companies, tax structure and the structure of the apex union. The paper concludes that institutional framework is a major setback in realising the fruits of agricultural sector liberalisation.