Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

market to meet their requirements. The seed was provided at no cost to the farmers.However, all households that got the seed are expected to ‘pass on’ the exact amountof seed received, that is, 0.5 kg to a next farmer, ensuring more access to the seedand more application of conservation agriculture—soil cover and crop rotation.Members of FFS groups have benefited from capacity-building interventionsconducted through agricultural implements and inputs support, intensive trainingand set forums for group discussions. Although the CASARD project is in its firstyear of implementation, participating farmers have increased their understandingof the importance of conservation agriculture technologies and practice. Inlocal institutional capacity building, farmers’ abilities in group organization arestrengthened to facilitate mutual learning and the sharing of information andexperience. One of the greatest achievements is the increased morale of differentcategories of farmers, who engage actively in mobilizing locally available resourcesand use their own initiative to bring about changes in crop production. Workingin groups has helped through sharing experiences and resources and has fosteredsolidarity, in so much as farmers are beginning to speak with one voice in relationto hindrances in crop production such as unavailability of inputs and capital, theneed to form credit and saving societies, and the need for marketing mechanisms.Farmers comprehend the soil-related problems that can lead to stable sustainablecrop production even under adverse weather conditions. Group members canexplain clearly what they have been doing and the significant changes they haveobserved in each treatment. The FFS approach has provided an environmentconducive to rapid dissemination and adoption of new conservation agriculturerelatedagricultural technologies and practices.Pathways through demonstration plots: Depending on the individualhousehold, results from the 28 free demonstration plots conducted jointly by GTZ/TFSC and SARI that were aimed at motivating farmers to adopt the chisel ploughwere up or down. Alfred, a pioneer farmer, continued with the conservation agriculturepractices and modified them to suit his environment and economic purchasing power.Out of 15 acres of land, he subsoiled 3 acres in 2001 but he did not continue with thepractice on other plots because it was too expensive for him as an individual to orderthe service from Arusha, 120 km away. He continued producing cover crops andbecome a supplier of lablab seeds, sharing his knowledge with other farmers.Individuals: Alfred is a middle-scale farmer with about 15 acres. He owns atractor and plough-drawn implements such as a ripper, direct-seed planter, andknife-roller, all acquired through a project, and hand hoes. Alfred said, ‘It is difficultto attain permanent cover crops; however, I am on trials. I have observed that fingermillet planted in early January tends to have much biomass, hence it covers the soilwell, and when harvested in July or August it can stay covering the soil up to theshort rains of October or November. Finger millet has more solid biomass thanDolichos lablab, which tends to decompose easily just after harvest.’So suitability of cover crop or crop for permanent soil cover depends on anindividual’s choice. It is based on experience and access to planting materials,direct economic benefits (cash), food security (edible), usefulness as fodder, rainfallamount and distribution.Karatu District 85