Building Trust in Agribusiness Supply Chains

In the absence of a certified seed system, potato farmers in Asia must purchase replacement seed tubers from an informal seed system. With no third party assurance that the seed tubers purchased are of good quality, the farmer's decision to purchase seed may be influenced by the long-standing relationships that have been established between buyers and sellers. Trust is the critical determinant of a good buyer-seller relationship. Through maintaining communication and the making of various relationship specific investments, a conceptual model is proposed which suggests that seed suppliers may engage in trust building behavior which should result in the preferred seed supplier enjoying a greater share of the farmer's patronage.