Crop production for household consumption and food security: a case study of Musoma rural district
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Date
2010
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
This study was carried out to assess food crop production for household consumption and food security in Musoma Rural district. A multistage random sampling procedure was employed to select 120 households from Musoma rural district. The study used a Gross Margin (GM) model to test the hypothesis that the selected major food crops production for household consumption is not economically profitable. When the GMs of the major crops were compared it was apparent that maize had the highest gross margin of Tsh 421352.10 than other crops. In’general, the results of this study revealed the existence of considerable economic profitability in producing the major crops. Furthermore, the study conducted a comparison of gross margin across different size categories of farms sizes using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique. The ANOVA indicated the existence of a significant difference in the level of GM for the different farm size categories. Binary Logistic model was estimated to establish factors influencing food security in the study area. The results revealed that 48.3% of the populations were food secure and 51.7% were food insecure. The results indicate that food security was positively influenced by farm size, wealth, off-farm employment, access to credit and market. Furthermore, the results revealed that food security was negatively influenced by the household size. However, strategies for sustainable agriculture to enhance food security, like the use of improved inputs and seed and expanding the farm size are recommended. The general conclusion from the research is that policies that would intensify food production and improve off farm employment would enhance food security in the study area.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Crop production, Household consumption, Food security, Musoma rural district