Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

1 IntroductionTanzania’s agricultural development plans aim to stimulate and facilitate sustainableproduction in the smallholder farming systems (URT 2000). The government’spriority is to introduce participatory technologies that are environmentally andsocially acceptable and that can sustainably ensure poverty alleviation, and food andnutritional security. Planning, coordination and implementation of developmentplans in Tanzania are all highly decentralized. Government authorities in the districthave this responsibility, and so do key stakeholders in planning and implementingagricultural programmes. At the grassroots some agricultural project activities arefacilitated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based andfaith-based organizations, and some local initiatives.Agricultural plays an important role in the economy of Tanzania as it contributessignificantly to the country’s GDP; it accounts for 60% of export earnings andemploys 84% of the rural population. Crucial components of the agriculturalsector are food crops, at 55% of the total agricultural GDP, livestock at 30%, andtraditional export crops at 8% (URT 2004a).For many years, the agricultural production of small-scale farmers has generallybeen low, constrained by low soil fertility, erratic and unreliable rainfall, and poorproduction techniques (Shetto 1998). According to Elwell et al. (1998), agriculturein Tanzania is characterized by extensive ploughing, which has proved to be one ofthe major causes of land degradation.Many interventions have been introduced in an attempt to solve these problems; mosthave had zero or at best marginal impact on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers(URT 2001). Technologies introduced in the district include contour cultivation, useof inorganic fertilizers, agroforestry (improved fallowing), and organic farming. Sincethe late 1990s, several agricultural researchers and extensionists have been consideringconservation agriculture as an alternative that can improve the livelihoods of smallscalefarmers through improved crop production. The GTZ/TFSC project with itsconservation tillage, cover crops and subsoiling components started in 1996 with theSelian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI). In January 2000, FAO supported a visitby a team from Brazil to Karatu. The team, which also came with a few jab plantersand the no-tillage seeder, discussed and presented the Brazil conservation agriculturemodel. The IFAD/FAO study on saving labour, with focus on reduced tillage practicesand use of cover crops, started in October 2002 in Karatu. SARI has been keen inmost of the conservation agriculture interventions in the northern region.Conservation agriculture aims to conserve, improve and make efficient use ofnatural resources through integrated management of soil, water and biologicalresources. It has the potential to increase crop production while simultaneouslyreducing erosion and reversing declining soil fertility, improving rural livelihoodsand restoring the environment (FAO 2000). The fundamental principle of thistechnology is to achieve sustainable soil productivity through rotating crops,reducing disturbance of the soil structure, protecting soil from direct climatic effectssuch as solar radiation, rain and wind, enhancing water infiltration, and buildingup soil organic matter and soil organisms.Karatu District 57