Factors influencing cropping patterns for agriculture in the mountainous area of Tanzania: Case study on northern slope of Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania

Cropping patterns include specific aspects related to the cultural and socio-economic background of an area, although previous studies on the cropping pattern in mountainous areas often considered of the cropping patters from an agro-ecological point of view, pointing our the diversity of environmental conditions across the elevations or environmental requirements of the crops. In the present study, the cropping patterns in the area were analyzed from the viewpoint of the background of the area as well as agro-ecological point of view. The background of the area should include the geographical distribution of the villages and its relation to urban areas, marketing of commercial crops, dietary customs, etc. Many types of combination patterns of crops and sequences were observed in the area. Most of the cropping was regulated by the elevations where most favorable environment was optimum for these crops, whereas some crops were found in a wide range of elevations beyond their optimum environmental requirements. The cultivation of these crops even under unfavorable environmental conditions was considered to indicate the farmers intention to harvest them for subsistence, when they were major staple food crops in the area Varieties of the major commercial crops differed among tuners and villages. Because of the location of the villages, shipment of the products the formers to a large market was easy, which enabled formers to select some commercial crops according to their preference. Cropping patterns were found to depend on several factors, besides ecological conditions, including socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. These factors resulted in the diversity of the cropping patterns in this area, which appeared to be confusing and disorganized at first sight Conversely, the observation of the cropping patterns reflected the ecological environment as well as the characterizes of the area surrounding the farmers.