The role of peasants in alleviating food insecurity in semi-arid Tanzania: a study of five villages in Dodoma district.

This study examines the problem of food security among the peasants. Specifically, it makes an assessment of the impact of peasants participation in the adoption of improved sarghum seed varieties in four villages namely Mvumi Makulu, Chipanga, Mvumi Mission, Chidilo and Mpalanga. All of them are located in Dodoma rural district. The central argument in this study is that suppression of peasants' participation. has been the main cause of food insecurity among them. Interestingly, even intervention strategies which had been put in place with the objective of alleviating food insecurity problems had not actively involved the peasants and as a result no significant achievements have been realized. In view of this argument, the study attempts to review some literature which directly or indirectly propound the paradigm of development from below. The analysis of the historical development of peasant agriculture in this study indicates that since the expansion of the caravan trade up to the time of Structural Adjustment Programmes in the 1980s and 1990s peasant. Agriculture has been interfered with and disturbed. Peasants have largely been induced or even compelled to produce exports crops which would increase earnings for the government of the day, mostly, these crops have been non-food crops which are required to feed industries in the metro pole. The emphasis on cash crops production by colonial as well as post colonial governments has literally enslaved them to cash crop production and diverted their attention from adequate food production. In this study it is indicated that the way and extent of participation of the peasants in the adoption of improved sorghum seed varieties had a positive impact on food security. Peasants were able to produce surplus food. More important the peasants obtained higher yield per acre. Although the findings of the study suggest that there was a significant achievement in the participation of the peasants, compared to what has been depicted in the history, it is additionally inferred that there is a need to improve the interaction between research, extension and peasants' practices so that peasants' knowledge, experiences, priorities and constraints can be taken into account by the other actors.