Data management system for sustainable agriculture among smallholder farmers in Tanzania: research-in-progress

Mushi, Gilbert Exaud; Serugendo, Giovanna Di Marzo; Bürgi, Pierre-Yves

doi:10.1080/02681102.2023.2215528

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The literature review identified the challenges facing smallholder farmers in Tanzania, and the knowledge gaps that could be addressed through digital technology. We used the problems identified by farmers to develop the preliminary design of the FDIS for sustainable agriculture among smallholder farmers [15]. In addition, we planned to study e-Government services in agriculture and the opinions of farmers and other stakeholders in Tanzania for the future design of a concrete FDIS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State of Agricultural E-Government Services to Farmers in Tanzania: Toward the Participatory Design of a Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS)

Mushi,

Burgi,

Di Marzo Serugendo

2024

Agriculture

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The projected population increase and drastic climate changes are a great setback to food security through sustainable agriculture. However, governments need to play key roles in supporting the agriculture sector, which creates considerable employment and contributions to most countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) outcomes. In many countries, the governments already support the agriculture sector with services based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to reach many stakeholders, including smallholder farmers. This paper investigated the status of e-Government services in the agriculture sector for farmers in order to understand the functions and scope of e-services, the challenges faced by farmers, both addressed and unaddressed, and the challenges of ICT-based services for farmers and other stakeholders in Tanzania. We used a qualitative research approach to interview the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers, extension workers, and agriculture processing industries. The main finding reveals that e-government services play a major role in the agriculture sector in Tanzania. Our results show that the pre-existing ICT services identified for farmers cannot meet the needs of farmers in a complete farming cycle. Moreover, lack of awareness, digital illiteracy, and poor infrastructure are the major challenges faced by farmers and other stakeholders when it comes to ICT-based services. These results justify the need for a comprehensive digital platform, particularly the proposed Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS) to enable farmers and other stakeholders to access essential services in a complete farming cycle for a more sustainable agriculture.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State of Agricultural E-Government Services to Farmers in Tanzania: Toward the Participatory Design of a Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS)

Mushi,

Burgi,

Di Marzo Serugendo

2024

Agriculture

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“…Widespread adoption of these techniques, coupled with adherence to sound agronomic practices, is essential. Smallholder farmers, who remain dominant in the global agricultural landscape, must be empowered to spearhead climate change adaptation efforts (Mushi et al, 2023;Ndhlovu and Mhlanga, 2023). This empowerment necessitates robust agronomic management encompassing fertilization, irrigation, cropping patterns, and plant protection, in tandem with addressing external factors such as input supply, postharvest handling facilities, and policy regulations (Islam et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water-smart farming: review of strategies, technologies, and practices for sustainable agricultural water management in a changing climate in West Africa

Frimpong,

Asante,

Peprah

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The global temperature increase of 1.1°C over the past decade and human population growth are already escalating competition for water in locations where water is scarce, adversely affecting agriculture. Water-smart farming was developed to address challenges associated with the availability, access and use of agricultural water. It complements practices and goals related to agricultural water in climate-smart agriculture. It encompasses several climate-responsive food cropping systems, water-saving methods, tools, and technologies to grow food sustainably. Effective implementation of water-smart farming can ameliorate the pressing burden of agricultural water competition. Therefore, the conceptual framework of water-smart farming and its principal elements or ideology are introduced in this review. The major pillars of water-smart cropping, which include conditioning and improving the soil’s capacity to capture and hold moisture, basic infrastructure for water harvesting, storage and use as nature-based cropping solutions were elaborated. Further examples of technologies and best practices in water-smart crop farming, such as breeding for drought-tolerant crop varieties, promoting dryland cropping systems, alternate wetting and drying technology, water drainage and control structures, rainwater harvesting, utilization of irrigation reservoirs, cover cropping and intercropping for enhancing soil moisture conservation were presented. The review also briefly shows the contribution of some of these best practices and adaptive technologies of water-smart cropping toward promoting water-saving methods used for growing rice, maize, legumes, cassava and peri-urban vegetables.

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Designing a farmers digital information system for sustainable agriculture: The perspective of Tanzanian agricultural stakeholders

Mushi,

Burgi,

Serugendo

2024

E J Info Sys Dev Countries

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This paper is part of a broader study that aims to design and develop a digital platform that addresses the common challenges of smallholder farmers. More specifically, we analyzed stakeholders' opinions on the farmers' digital information system (FDIS) designed for sustainable agriculture in Tanzania. We used a qualitative research approach to interview 74 key agricultural stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the government subsidy office, agricultural insurance companies, financial institutions, farmers, extension agents and agro‐dealers in 13 regions of Tanzania. The study findings reveal that most stakeholders could adhere to the FDIS design for sustainable agriculture, as it potentially solves common challenges by enabling access to quality farm inputs, credit and insurance services, subsidies, advisory services, and markets for their products. However, the study identified certain factors that could hinder the full potential of the envisaged system, such as digital illiteracy and poor ICT infrastructures in rural areas. By interviewing key agricultural stakeholders, we confirm the potential of FDIS to make agriculture more sustainable in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The FDIS should therefore contribute to food security, environmental protection, job creation and higher incomes, as the agriculture sector becomes more dynamic once it is localized and adapted to the needs of all agricultural stakeholders. In addition, the government is expected to play a key role in setting up the agricultural stakeholders at a national level to help them overcome the challenges involved in exploiting the full potential of the FDIS.

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Data management system for sustainable agriculture among smallholder farmers in Tanzania: research-in-progress

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

State of Agricultural E-Government Services to Farmers in Tanzania: Toward the Participatory Design of a Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS)

State of Agricultural E-Government Services to Farmers in Tanzania: Toward the Participatory Design of a Farmers Digital Information System (FDIS)

Water-smart farming: review of strategies, technologies, and practices for sustainable agricultural water management in a changing climate in West Africa

Designing a farmers digital information system for sustainable agriculture: The perspective of Tanzanian agricultural stakeholders

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