Yields of the major food crops: Implications to food security and policy in Tanzania’s Semi-Arid Agro-Ecological Zone
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Date
2017
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Abstract
While Tanzania has been facing food shortage for some decades, little efforts have been
made to elicit optimal crop yields. To limit this problem, there is a need for a robust agricultural policy
that aims at stabilizing agricultural production and socio-economic entitlement among the farmers.
The present study analyses the production trend of maize, sorghum and millet (i.e., staple food
crops) under rain fed agriculture in Kongwa District, the semi-arid agro-ecological zone of Central
Tanzania, and envisage their implications to food security and policy. We collected a set of crop data
(1980–2015) from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. In addition, 400 respondents
were sampled randomly in the study area during household survey while a series of interviews and
discussions were conducted mostly basing on the expertise. The Mann-Kendall Test and Microsoft
excel (window 13) and theme content methods were employed for data analyses. The results showed
that the production trends for maize, sorghum and millet yields have been decreasing at R2 = 0.40,
0.35 and 0.11 respectively and this trend was supported by 80% of the respondents. This decrease was
greatly influenced by the temporal decrease in the mean annual rainfall (R2 = 0.21). The diminishing
production trend has already decreased food security for 30% in the area. Since agricultural policy
can be among the main sources of this poor yields, an explicit and sound agricultural policy should
be the central aspect in planning and implementing agricultural activities.
Description
Sustainability 2017;Vol.9
Keywords
Agricultural production, Agricultural sustainability, Climate change adaptation