Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

to rehabilitate his land by constructing contours and rotating maize and lablab orpigeon pea, other farmers came to understand. Farmers who did not weed by turningthe soil but just scraped or roughed the weeds surprised their fellow farmers.Mr Chondo helped his wife by convincing the village water committee that sheneeded to irrigate their conservation agriculture farms; she had planted maizeand lablab on one farm and maize and pigeon pea with ripping on another.Conservation agriculture has unsettled conventional farmer preconceptions, sincethese farmers did not practise the norm. This has led some conventional farmers totry out the technology, especially those in field school groups. It will most likely takelonger for most farmers to adopt feeding animals dry feed in zero-grazing unlessthere are active community awareness campaigns and bylaws are established andenforced in a participatory manner.AdoptionMany people are reportedly migrating to the newly established Kilindi District, inTanga Region, about 85 km south-east of Arusha, in search of land. This affects thecontinuity of conservation agriculture in Arumeru District because some conservationagriculture farmers are also moving. The youth, between 20 and 35 years old, do notfind agriculture enticing and most have moved to Mererani, an area where tanzaniteis mined, or to urban areas to start small businesses. However, the young are willingto adopt conservation agriculture because it reduces labour. The elderly likewiseappreciate the reduced labour and increased yield, but they cannot afford certifiedseeds, herbicides and implements. Though some farmers have been practisingconservation agriculture and even purchased herbicides for no-till operations, about40% have never heard of conservation agriculture implements. This means thatconservation agriculture needs to be promoted and scaled up more vigorously.Land tenureLand tenure is of prime importance for sustainable agriculture. Only those whoown or have secure access to their land for a long time are interested in maintainingit. In Sakila, most land is acquired through inheritance; each farmer has an averageof one to two acres. A small-scale farmer who rents land every season is vulnerableto the owner’s demand and change of mind.Large-scale farmers, with land leases for 33–99 years, can invest in long-termconservation agriculture, knowing it will ultimately benefit them. They also can getloans to invest in agricultural operations.Farmers have benefited from reduction of labour and increase in yields, whichmean more food in the household. Cover crops like lablab and pigeon pea are foodcrops that contribute a lot to farmer income.36 Maguzu et al.