Determination of profitable crop production options for Bashay irrigation schemes in Mbulu district, Tanzania.

The study was conducted in Bashay irrigation schemes of Mbulu District. The main objective was to determine the profitable crop production options for Bashay irrigation scheme. A cross sectional single-visit survey involving 100 farmers from Mangisa and Diyomat villages was conducted representing up and down stream respectively. Descriptive Statistics, Gross Margin, Multiple Regression and Linear Programming model were used as analytical tools. The findings revealed that majority (68%) of household surveyed cultivate 0.1 to 0.4 ha. The analysis on crops profitable levels using GM revealed that garlic gives the highest GM of TZS 2 687 915 and 2 275 000 per hectare in the upstream and downstream respectively. Others crops in the order of decreasing GM was onion, potatoes, maize, and beans, with GM of TZS 1 678 010 > 383 312.5 >356 237.5 >295 710, respectively, in the upstream while in the downstream the GM was TZS 515 835 > 285 857.5 > 282 715 > 133 010 for onion, maize, potatoes, and beans, respectively. The differences in GM in the two scenarios are mainly due to water availability whereby farmers at upstream have more access to water for irrigation. The multiple regression output results indicate that farm size, labour and capital input are the major factors that significantly (p<0.05) influence crop profitability. The LP results revealed that in the upstream garlic, onion and beans fall in the final optimum plan with maximum net revenue of 1 838 777.5 TZS/ha while in the downstream, maize and garlic are the profitable crops with maximum net revenue of 1 096 045 TZS/ha. The overall LP results revealed that for the Bashay irrigation schemes garlic and onion are the most profitable crops with net revenue of 1 891 117.5 TZS/ha. It is therefore, recommended that in order to maximize crop profitability, garlic, onion and beans are the best crops production in the upstream while garlic and maize are the best option in the ownstream, but generally garlic and onion are the best production option to be adopted in Bashay irrigation schemes.