Abstract:
This study was conducted in three wards of Kilosa District (i.e. Rudewa, Chanzuru
and Mabwerebwere) to assess the effects of land tenure and farm fragmentation in
the district. A sample of 90 households was selected for the study. Thirty households
were selected from each ward. The general objective of the study was to assess the
existing land tenure systems and farm fragmentation and their effects on agricultural
productivity. The specific objectives were to identify the existing land tenure
systems in the study area, to assess factors causing farm fragmentation and to assess
the effects of farm fragmentation on agricultural productivity. Linear regression and
correlation techniques were used to analyse the factors causing farm fragmentation
and correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between farm
fragmentation and agricultural productivity. Customary land tenure (78%) was the
most prevalent type of tenure system in the study area. The regression analysis
indicates that farm fragmentation is greatly influenced by household size and
education level of the heads of household and was statistically significant at P < 0.01
and the distance from homestead at P < 0.05. The results from correlation analysis
indicate that that public land and customary tenure systems are positively associated
with the level of farm fragmentation at P < 0.1 and 0.01 respectively. Furthermore, it
was observed that age of the heads of household and the distance from homestead
are positively associated and statistically significant at P < 0.1 and P < 0.01 levels
respectively. From the study results, it is recommended that policy makers should
intervene by reframing land policies in order to provide land security which will
facilitate land use and increase agricultural productivity. It is also recommended that
government intervention in land administration is of crucial importance to improveiii
lad uses which allocate rights in land use as well as land-use regulation where by
land-use planning and enforcement and the adjudication of land use conflicts are
controlled.
