Can organic farming be an alternative to improve well-being of smallholder farmers in disadvantaged areas? a case study of Morogoro region, Tanzania
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Date
2015
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Publisher
ISERD
Abstract
This study assessed the contribution of organic farming to improvements in the well-
being of smallholder farmers as measured by crop productivity, profit, and food security among
smallholder farmers in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The results showed that organic farmers
had diversified crops and availability of water for irrigation, and they had better selling
situation of their crop products. It also showed significant differences in profit and food security
between organic and conventional/traditional farmers. Profit among organic farmers was
revealed to be more than ten times of profit among conventional/traditional farmers, with less
expenditure for farm activity and higher income from their crops. Food security was analysed
using food consumption score and dietary energy comsumed, and showed significantly better
results among organic farmers. The factors that significantly influenced productivity included
sex of the household head, number of household member, access to constant markets, and
livestock keeping. The number of years of practising organic farming showed a significant
association with profit, and livestock keeping and age of the household head had significant
impacts on food security. It was revealed that there are challenges to organic farming, including
difficulty of land preparation, access to markets, getting premium price for organic products,
and contamination from other non-organic farms. In conclusion, organic farming has the
potential to improve the well-being of smallholder farmers in disadvantaged areas, especially
with regard to profit and food security. Therefore, it is recommended that more emphasis
should be placed on the promotion of organic farming by agricultural stakeholders.
Description
IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2016) 7-1
Keywords
Organic farming, Smallholder farmers, Disadvantaged area, Alternative development