Awareness and Application of Existing Agroecological Practices by Small Holder Farmers in Mvomero and Masasi Districts-Tanzania

Abstract

A survey study was conducted to assess the level of awareness and application of existing agro-ecological practices by small holder farmers in Mvomero and Masasi districts in Tanzania. The selection of farmers to interview and the villages in the respective districts was based on their long history of producing cassava and maize. A structured questionnaire was used to identify the type of agro-ecological practices, agricultural information sources accessed by farmers, training on agro-ecological practices, type of crops grown in the study areas and kind of livestock kept. Results indicated that the most applied agro-ecological practices were diversification (80.5%), the use of farmer saved seeds (78.2%) followed by intercropping (72.9%) and lastly, agro-forestry (3.2%). The highest percentage of farmers (30.4%) reported to receive information on ecological organic agriculture from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (SAT, SWISS AID), 27.5% were using own farming experience, 21% reported to receive the information from government extension officers, 13% from friends or neighbours, 4.3% from government institutions (SUA, Agricultural Training Institutes) and 3.6% received information from agricultural input suppliers. Generally, 50% of farmers had received training on agroecological practices indicating the level of awareness. Lack of knowledge among farmers was one of the key factors that hamper the wide application of agroecological practices. There was a need for farmer’s capacity building through training to enhance wider application of agroecological practices hence progressive agricultural production increase.

Determinants of the Implementation of Agroecological Practices among Smallholder Farmers in Singida District, Tanzania

“…This means, that more than half of household heads can read, write and follow agroecology training instructions and likely had a positive influence on the adoption of agroecology practices. The findings of the study are in agreement with [27] who found that majority of household head farmers in Masasi and Mvomero districts have primary education.…”

“…During FGD, non-FRN participants failed to explain what agroforestry is all about, suggesting that they were unaware of it as well benefits associated with it. The findings conform to [27] results of those farmers in Mvomero and Masasi districts poorly implemented agroforestry practices due to inadequate knowledge about the practices.…”

“…The results imitate key informants' findings that "…educated farmers were willing to implement new interventions". The results conform to [32], [27], and [33] results that educated farmers were likely to pay attention to any interventions that prove to have positive effects to increase crop yields.…”

Evaluating Limitations of Agroecological Practices and Stakeholders’ Response: A Case of Uluguru Mountains Landscape in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

“…The increasing population and demand for food in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led to the adoption of conventional farming associated with the use of synthetic chemicals and other agricultural inputs to increase agricultural productivity (Emeana et al, 2018). Despite the possibility of the use of synthetic agricultural inputs to increase food production per unit area, unregulated and uncontrolled farming activities associated with the practice lead to environmental degradation, ecological set-up depletion and output produced may impair public health (Emeana et al, 2018;Marioara, 2019;Constantine et al, 2021). After International Symposium on Agro-ecology held by FAO in 2014, governments, civil societies, the private sectors, academia, and research institutions in countries of the world were urged to come together to share experiences and points of view regarding the benefits and challenges of agroecology (Mitra et al, 2020).…”

Development of Mobile Application for Enhancing Agro-Vet Services Accessibility to Poultry Farmers, of Tanzania

“…Currently, poultry farmers rely on word of mouth, friends and family members [6], while others use their own experience in farming [7]. This method makes farmers use lots of effort in trial and error methods to improve their production from what they hear and from other farmers' experience, and others use drugs without proper prescription from the officers.…”