@article{JhaKaecheleSieber2019, author = {Jha, Srijna and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Sieber, Stefan}, title = {Factors Influencing the Adoption of Water Conservation Technologies by Smallholder Farmer Households in Tanzania}, series = {Water}, volume = {11}, journal = {Water}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2073-4441}, doi = {10.3390/w11122640}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3320}, pages = {18}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In Tanzania, the increasing population coupled with climate change amplifies issues of food insecurity and negatively impacts the livelihoods of smallholder farmer households. To address these issues a range of water conservation techniques (WCTs) have been useful. However, the adoption of these WCTs in Tanzania has been limited due to many reasons. With the objective to better understand and identify the factors that significantly influence the adoption of WCTs in Tanzania, the study uses survey data from 701 smallholder farmer households and a bivariate logistic regression, to provide, for the first time, a comprehensive model for the adoption of WCTs in Tanzania that includes a range of individual, household, socio-economic, and farmer perception related variables (factors). The evaluation shows that 120 farmers (17.12\%) adopted WCTs and finds the farmer perceptions of rainfall instability, household wealth, and food security to be crucial. The results suggest that policy interventions should encourage conservation behavior (especially when the rainfall is perceived to be uncertain), emphasize the economic and food security-related benefits of adopting WCTs, include strategies that make adoption of WCTs attractive to female-led households, attempt to reach greater number of farmers via social networks and provide better access to public funds for farmers.}, language = {en} } @article{JhaKaecheleLanaetal.2020, author = {Jha, Srijna and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Lana, Marcos and Amjath-Babu, T.S and Sieber, Stefan}, title = {Exploring Farmers' Perceptions of Agricultural Technologies: A Case Study from Tanzania}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {13}, journal = {Sustainability}, number = {3}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su12030998}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3340}, pages = {21}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The low agricultural productivity of key crops and food insecurity continue to be key issues in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Tanzania. The growing population, depleting resources, and changing climate further amplify these issues. Globally, many agricultural technologies (AgTs) are available as pathways for improved agricultural productivity and food security, however, they have had relatively little success in SSA and Tanzania. This is because the uptake of AgTs is a complex process, which is highly localized, involving multiple actors, stages, and spatial and time dimensions. Smallholder farmers often experience issues of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up throughout the uptake process of AgTs, all of which vary by region. This indicates a need for a systematic and simultaneous understanding of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of AgTs to better guide agricultural strategy and policy interventions in SSA and Tanzania. Moreover, in order to understand the local settings better, a consideration of the perceptions of the farmers themselves, who are the primary actors in the uptake process of AgTs, is key. Acknowledging this, the study takes on a case study approach, using the scaling-up assessment (ScalA) method and three focus group discussions with a total of 44 smallholder farmers to systematically and simultaneously assess the sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of three AgTs (use of fertilizers, improved seeds, and small-scale irrigation) in Tanzania. The study finds that the farmers perceive all three AgTs to be sustainable for the study region. Adoption rates are perceived to be medium for use of fertilizers, high for improved seeds, and low for small-scale irrigation. The most significant constraints for adoption experienced by the farmers are lack of technical physical inputs, marketing facilities, and know-how. Scaling-up is perceived to be well fulfilled for use of fertilizers and improved seeds, but only partially fulfilled for small-scale irrigation, which is the most limited of the three AgTs. The most significant constraints for scaling-up experienced by farmers are a lack of confidence in the added value of the AgTs beyond project activities, marketing facilities, and technical physical inputs. The overall success potential is high for the use of fertilizers and improved seeds, and the average for small-scale irrigation. The farmers' perceptions partially indicate why the bundle of AgTs is lacking in the study region and provide a basis for discussing targeted agricultural and policy interventions in Tanzania.}, language = {en} } @article{JhaKaecheleSieber2021, author = {Jha, Srijna and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Sieber, Stefan}, title = {Factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry by smallholder farmer households in Tanzania: Case studies from Morogoro and Dodoma}, series = {Land Use Policy}, journal = {Land Use Policy}, number = {103}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1873-5754}, doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105308}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7340}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The adoption of agricultural innovations is a critical adaptation mechanism for smallholder farmers to prepare and deal with potential shocks and uncertainty. Agroforestry is proven to be highly impactful at improving the adaptive capacity of farmers, the resilience of local farming systems and in providing diversified livelihood benefits. The adoption of agroforestry in Tanzania is generally uneven, with some successes and some failures and could be better supported. To do so, understanding the most significant factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry is key. Logistic regression (logit model) is used to analyse household survey data collected from 697 smallholder farmers. Results indicate that only 71 farmers (10.19 \%) report planting new trees and actively practicing agroforestry. Farmers who are part of a project, are able to rent land and have a source of seedlings are more likely to adopt agroforestry. When farmers perceive rainfall to be changing, their land rights to be only moderately secure and their right to plant trees to be dependent on obtaining permission from the land owner or family members, they are less likely to adopt agroforestry. If the farmer perceives the land to be relatively fertile and has the intention to improve or maintain the fertility of his plot in the future then the likelihood of adopting agroforestry increases. Policy interventions ought to promote the participation of farmers in agroforestry projects to facilitate knowledge and experience building. Policy interventions should provide a reliable source of agroforestry inputs, such as seedlings to ensure that the resource requirements for agroforestry are well fulfilled. Farmer perceptions of land and agroforestry rights must be emphasized, clarified and streamlined to facilitate better policies. Farmer perceptions related to rainfall and soil fertility highlight a lack of awareness concerning the soil and water conservation benefits of agroforestry. Therefore, these must be better addressed through improved education and extension services. Consideration of farmer perceptions is crucial for the adoption of agroforestry.}, language = {en} }