Land Degradation in Tanzania : Village Views
1997
Dejene, Alemneh | Shishira, Elieho | Yanda, Pius | Johnsen, Fred H.
Declining soil fertility due to inadequate farming practices, deforestation and overgrazing are among the primary impediments to increased agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. These causal factors, driven by social, economic and political forces, manifest themselves in market, policy and institutional failures, inappropriate technologies and practices. This is also the case in Tanzania where over 90 percent of the population is rural and depends on land resources for its livelihood. This study examines the most significant issues affecting levels of productivity and land quality at the community and village level, where local land users take decisions on cropping and livestock management. The specific objectives of the study were to examine farmers' perceptions, particularly their understanding and interpretation of factors and indicators which they link to soil erosion and fertility decline, the level of degradation of crop and pastureland, and the institutional capacity to implement soil conservation and fertility measures with particular regard to land tenure policies, local organizations and extension service. The investigators also sought to identify the technologies, best practices and indigenous knowledge used by households to control erosion, enhance soil fertility, and increase crop and livestock productivity among smallholders.
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