Browsing by Author "Maro, Festo"

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Agricultural growth and poverty reduction in Tanzania 2000- 2010: where has agriculture worked for the poor and what can we learn from this?
(2011) Mashindano, Oswald; Kayunze, Kim; Maro, Festo; Da Corta, Lucia
Agriculture is an economic activity important to achieving the poverty reduction strategy goals of Tanzania. Growth in agriculture has made contributions to GDP, foreign exchange earnings, and income poverty reduction. However, despite high growth, the growth pattern in agriculture (which employed about 70 percent of the population between 1998 and 2009) is not reflected in poverty reduction, particularly in rural areas. Using quantitative and qualitative data collected from rural farmers in Mwanza, Newala and Rukwa regions, this paper unpacks growth and poverty transmission routes, identifies growth barriers for agricultural incomes, and analyses where agricultural growth has occurred and if that growth has been transmitted into poverty reduction. Findings indicate that the pattern of economic growth in the past decade was largely influenced by the service and industry sectors; and less by agriculture where annual growth has been slow, following persistent low and declining productivity caused by low utilisation of fertiliser and improved seeds, and the low rate of mechanisation. Evidence gathered from our six research sites also noted barriers to production and markets. Trade and export of cashew nuts and non-traditional items like mango and cut flowers were important routes for income growth, but poor farmers had limited access compared to their richer counterparts. We conclude in this paper that further measures are needed to stimulate higher productivity and income growth associated with new technology, secure markets, mixed farming (diversification of crops and livestock) and efficient institutions (warehouse and credit schemes).
Employment patterns in clusters of foreign agricultural investments farms in rural areas
(Scientific Research Publishing, 2022) Maro, Festo; Broegaard, Rikke; Lazaro, Evelyne; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Ravnborg, Helle Munk
Employment outcomes from foreign land-based agricultural investments (FAI) are contested despite existence of paucity in literature on why individuals seek such employment. This paper assesses individuals’ motives for seeking or not seeking employment in FAI farms using multiple correspondence and cluster analysis to understand employment seeking patterns and their association with age, gender and household poverty. Analysis based on stratified proportionate random cross-sectional data collected in Karatu, Iringa and Njombe districts from populations near foreign farms. Three FAI farm employment seeking patterns were established namely individuals motivated by lack of employ- ment alternatives, individuals preferring FAI farm employment and individ- uals who were curious to learn new knowledge, ideas and skills. FAI employ- ment seeking pattern was independent of age or gender but it was signifi- cantly associated with household poverty ( p = 0.05). Individuals seeking FAI employment due to lack of employment opportunities frequently belong to poorest households while individuals belonging to less-poor household pre- ferred employment for curiosity to learn. Therefore, FAI doesn’t move indi- vidual out of poverty or make individual poor but is frequently attractive to individuals from poorest households with limited employment opportunities while those from less-poor household is a preferred employment for addi- tional source of immediate income.
Working or not working in commercial farms and uptake of agricultural technologies in Rural Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture., 2022-07-31) Maro, Festo; Mutabazi, Khamaldin
Abstract Commercial farms investment plays important role in agricultural technology spillovers but less is known on specific channels influencing neighboring farmer’s uptake of agricultural technologies. This study analyzed the effect of farmer’s working in commercial farms on agricultural technologies uptake intensity. Multiphased study design was used to randomly and proportionately to collect a sample of 1,203 farmers from three independent samples in Karatu, Iringa and Njombe. Nearest neighbor matching estimator was used to estimate the effect of working in commercial farms after testing for a balanced matching and control samples. In Karatu the intensity of agricultural technology uptake of farmer worked in commercial farm was 0.28 larger but not statistically significant. But if the farmer had not worked uptake intensity is reduced to 0.27 which was statistically significant at 5% p-value. In Iringa the intensity of agricultural technology uptake to farmer working in commercial farm on average is 0.45(P< 0.05) significantly large. In Njombe, on average agricultural uptake intensity is 0.20 not statistically significant compared to uptake intensity of 0.23 which is statistically significant at 5% p-value had he/she not worked in commercial farms. It implies in areas where commercial farm producing different crops to neighboring farmers uptake of technologies is more on soil conservation than growing new crop or seed varieties. But in areas without landscarcity and investor’s crop being similar to crops produced by small-holder farmer, it was found farmers grow new crops or new seed varieties, use soil conservation practices, tractor and ox-plough. It was concluded that commercial farms should be promoted while considering crops produced by neighboring smallholder farms and land availability to farmers, if uptake of agricultural technologies to neighboring farmers is the policy expectation. Keywords: employment, commercial farms, uptake of agricultural technology, matching estimation