Natural resource base and agricultural production options in East Uluguru mountains

Abstract

The study was conducted in eastern part of Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania between December 2007 and March 2008. The main objective was to examine natural resource base and agricultural production options in Uluguru Mountains. A cross sectional single-visit survey involving 120 farmers from Konde, Tawa and Kiswila villages was conducted in each village representing high, medium and low altitude respectively. Differences in accessibility to the market were also considered when drawing a sample. Multi-Criteria analysis was applied to assess farmers’ decision making processes. Based on this analysis a decision support tool (DST) was developed to identify best cropping options suitable for specific location. Results show that there are high differences in production options within and across the villages caused by different plot position either at high or valley bottoms. Banana, clove and cassava are ideal crops for Konde village located at high altitude, banana, pineapple and maize for Kiswila village located at low altitude and banana, pineapple and cassava for Tawa village located at medium altitude. Gross margin analysis was employed for analysis of profitability in order to identify crops and livestock’s corresponding specific characteristic of natural resource base. From the analysis, among the crops grown in the study area, cassava was more profitable in Konde and Kiswila villages while pineapple was profitable in Tawa village. For the case of marketability, the most ideal crop was banana for Konde village, maize for Kiswila and cassava for Tawa village. Further synthesis reveals that, banana is the best crop option especially in the high, middle and low altitudes. Promotion of cassava should be taken with care not to exacerbate NR base degradation. On one hand the study recommends promotion of pineapple production as an ideal crop for profitability and effectiveness in natural resource (NR) management point of view. On the other hand the study finds it irrational to promote rice since its husbandry practices involve unsustainable practices of burning of the fields.