Awareness and application of existing agroecological practices by small holder farmers in Mvomero and Masasi districts-Tanzania
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Date
2020-12-15
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Canadian Center of Science and Education
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.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Agroecology, Agroecological practices, Manihot esculenta, Tanzania, Zea mays