Browsing by Author "Samwel, Peter"

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    Smallholder farmers’ perceptions and responses to agricultural production vulnerabilities in Tanzania: the case of Rufiji, Mbarali and Sumbawanga Districts
    (University of Dar es salaam, 2019) Samwel, Peter
    This study examined smallholder farmers’ perceptions and responses to agricultural production vulnerabilities in Rufiji, Mbarali and Sumbawanga districts in Tanzania. It involved identification of the major agricultural production vulnerabilities among farming households, to assess smallholder farmers’ awareness and perception of agricultural production vulnerabilities, to examine smallholder farmers’ response mechanisms to agricultural production shocks and to intervention measures for addressing agricultural production vulnerabilities. The study employed mixed research methodology, using primary data collected from six villages. The villages were chosen from three districts in order to capture the diversity and enrich an understanding of local perceptions and responses to various shocks affecting smallholder farmers. Secondary data sources were also utilized. Primary data collection methods involved in this study were questionnaires, indepth interviews, focus group discussions, non-participant observation and transect walks. Secondary data were collected through documentary reviews. Overal study findings reveal that there are various sources of production shocks including rainfall variability, poor access to agricultural inputs, crop pests and diseases, land degradation and the conflicts between farmers and herders. The local people are highly aware of these sources of production shocks and their impact on household welfare. Thus farming households have adopted different response options such as agricultural intensification, income diversification and migration. Farmers recommended local policy and intervention strategies for supporting them such as facilitation of access to credit and subsidies, reinforcing and strengtherning informal social networks, supporting income diversification activities and introduction of crop insurance system. Other intervention strategies include introduction of participatory village land use plans, promoting information access and training to smallholder farmers and enhancing access to small-scale irrigation technologies. Based on these findings, this study recommends that policy makers and researchers should concentrate on understanding farmers’ perceptions in view of using local knowledge in the design and implementation of intervention strategies. The strength of farmers’ perceptions is that it is the outcome of farmers’ actual experience, and it is based on understanding of the local context. It is recommended that for further research, one such study may focus on a comparative study to assess the contribution of various coping strategies on the welfare of farming households. The current study has identified three broad categories of response strategies namely agricultural intensification, income diversification and migration. A rigorous research is needed to assess these alternative strategies and come up with the most suitable ones based on local contexts.