Conservation agriculture Tanzania_casestudy.pdf - Sokoine ...

Socio-economic contextGender issues and division of labourTraditionally women and youth had limited access to and control of land (Douweand Kessler 1997), even though they were responsible for most of the agriculturalwork. However, with market production of beans, horticultural crops, maize, pigeonpea, milk and poultry being commercialized, both men and women are now fullyengaged in producing and marketing agricultural produce. Economic forces, relaxedtraditional norms, and awareness of women’s rights have contributed to women’sliberation and engagement in business on almost the same par men. Men normallydeal with ox ploughs, tractors and carts, while both men and women transportproduce by donkey. Women still carry loads by basket (see colour section).Many rural households not only depend on crop production but often haveadditional trading activities. Both men and women are responsible for producing thefood crop, and sometimes also the cash crop. Men and boys mostly graze livestock.Women are mostly responsible for collecting water and fuelwood, cooking, andtaking care of children, the sick and old.In some areas of Karatu District, the supply of labour for farming has been decliningover time. Many youths find the system used by small-scale farmers tedious andreturns low, or they do not have enough land to cultivate and opt to either migrateto towns or remain jobless in the village, loitering and becoming drunkards. Youthswant to do away with subsistence farming. Generally, there is enough labour exceptfor some busy periods during the year. The peak demand for labour is duringthe cropping seasons, that is, during July–September and January–March. Acutelabour shortages may be concentrated within a few weeks during critical operationslike planting, weeding and harvesting. During such busy periods, medium- andlarge-scale farmers hire labour, while smallholders ease bottlenecks by working asa group (Meindertsman and Kessler 1997). With the introduction of conservationagriculture technologies, reduced tillage and cover crops have reduced labour onaverage by 40–75% among hand-hoe farmers using the jab planter together withthe ADP knife-roller, and by 60–80% in the draught-animal power (DAP) systemwhen no-till planter was used. (Bishop-Sambrook et al. 2004)HIV and AIDSHIV prevalence rate in Karatu is around 20%, which is higher than the nationalaverage of 8% (Bishop-Sambrook et al. 2004). Awareness of HIV infection andprevention is high although there is little behavioural change to avoid getting thevirus. Some farmers, especially the youth and young adults, have been affected andcan no longer participate effectively in fieldwork, while their relatives have had touse scarce resources for medical care of family members suffering from AIDS. Astudy by Lyimo and Owenya (2002) revealed that AIDS and other diseases haveforced families to sell their assets like land, livestock, household utensils and houses.The result has been a reduced amount of household labour, children droppingout of school, reduced purchase of farm inputs, renting out farmland or sharecropping, family members resorting to hiring out as casual labour, a decline inlivestock and crop production, and a fall in household income. Precious time isKaratu District 67