The impact of jatropha farming on food security in Tanzania: the case of rukwa and arusha regions

The main objective of the study was to assess the impact of jatropha farming on food security to small-scale farmers in Rukwa and Arusha regions. To achieve that objective, a simple random sampling was used to obtain jatropha famers. Two hundred and sixty (260) respondents were randomly selected; among them were 130 jatropha farmers, which involved 60 jatropha farmers from Monduli district and 70 jatropha farmers from Mpanda district. Other respondents included in the sample were non jatropha farmers who amounted to 130. Descriptive statistics including the use of means, percentages, minimum and maximum were used to assess the impact of jatropha production on food security as well as socio-economic characteristics of farmers. Through Microsoft Excel, the analysis of the data was also done to assess the contribution of jatropha production to the total household income. The results indicated that intercropping jatropha with other food crops has negative impact on food security. This is because, as jatropha grows it develops canopy which makes it difficult for the intercropped food crops to develop. Eliminating intercropping when jatropha plants are big reduces food production leading to food insecurity. The results indicated also that, the contribution of jatropha to the total household income was smallest compared to other contributors including livestock, maize, black beans, beans and ground nuts. This might be due to the reasons that farmers in the study area do not regard jatropha as a cash crop hence production levels of jatropha in the area are low. In keeping with the major findings of the study the it was recommended that Jatropha stakeholders should consider expansion of jatropha farms goes hand in hand with exploring market for the produce to ensure that farmers gets enough cash from jatropha to be able to buy food for the family. Farmers in the study area should regard jatropha as a cash crop so that much emphasis is put on jatropha production.

Biofuel in Africa (BIA)