TANZANIA

Partners

Activities
carried out

NUS identified:

Integrated soil fertility management strategies

Agri-livestock integrated management

Traditional Knowledge

Post-harvest management strategies to avoid mycotoxin contamination

Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)
The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Land recovery
Use of cover crops
Management of high fluoride levels
Assessment of NUS – lablab varieties and their resistance to drought
The three partners operate together in 4 FFRUs across the country, specifically in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions.

Macadamia nuts (Macadamia integrifolia and M. tetraphylla)
Cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao)
Lab Lab Bean (Dolichos lablab L)
Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana)

TECHNOLOGY TESTED

Phenotypic diversity of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) of farming systems in major growing areas in Tanzania.
Evaluation of Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet Accessions for Enhanced Drought Tolerance and Improved Yield in Small-holder Farming Systems of Tanzania

LAND RECOVERY

Land degradation is a big challenge within the FFRUs in Northern Tanzania, especially in Monduli district, where the soil is left without cover, causing the formation of gullies.

Many farmers are using conventional tillage with excessive use of disc plough, clearing and burning of land cover crops and overgrazing which has caused the formation of hard pans and pulverization of the topsoil.

Crop productivity under such degraded soils can be accomplished by practicing conservation methods such as tied ridging, cover crops, mulching, chololo pits, minimum tillage and direct seeding which reduce surface runoff and soil erosion by wind and water, improve infiltration and moisture retention of the soil.

To resolve this issue, ICRAF in collaboration with NM-AIST and TARI has performed several trials and activities:

reconnaissance survey on abandoned lands and the assessment of soil fertility in the district of Monduli and Arusha.
Biophysical Assessment of selected abandoned lands using Land degradation surveillance Framework (LDSF) approach
Assessment of soil fertility is conducted by Tanzanian partners.

SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT

The general objective of this Task is to improve the sustainability and productivity of local agricultural systems through sustainable soil management practices tested in pilot demonstration trials within the study areas.

Evaluation of the effects of integrated use of organic and Inorganic fertilizer on maize cropping system under small-holder farming conditions was conducted in Arumeru and Monduli Districts, Northern Tanzania.

Achieving high maize yield requires an adequate and balanced supply of nutrients as declining soil fertility is a prominent constraint for maize production in most areas of Tanzania.

Many scholars have reported higher maize yields through the application of balanced use of high-quality organic inputs in combination with inorganic fertilizer as compared to the sole application of inorganic fertilizers.

TARI conducted the following experiment:

to assess the effects of Coffee Vermicompost and NPK fertilizer on Yield Components of common bean grown on selected soil of Arusha Region
the identification of potential soil amendments for salt-fluoride impacted soils.

NM-AIST are conducting trials to investigate respectively:

the impact of agricultural practices such as fertilization on the bioavailability of fluoride in the soil.
the identification of potential soil amendments for salt-fluoride impacted soils.

Livestock feeding is an essential component for the completion of the human food chain. Considering the lack of sufficient feed resources available for this productive sector, it is fundamental to redesign and carry out within the FFRUs an integrated research of both livestock and agricultural productions embedding of suggestions coming from traditional knowledge (harvesting of cereals and grazing). For these reasons, a series of surveys has been conducted in the FFRUs to investigate if a new “Integrated Agricultural Approach” could be possible within the SI framework.

In order to identify and enhance a range of best practices used by farmers on Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) and in order to allow comparisons and connections among different African countries, as a first step, a farmer survey was conducted in the project study areas. In this sub-task a validation of indigenous knowledge practices on crop protection with farmers in experimentation trials is foreseen.

RETRIEVING PLANT PROTECTION TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Among the various research packages, Tanzania chose as primary field of action the validation of indigenous knowledge practices on crop protection with farmers and in experimental sites.

Smallholder farmers in Tanzania face a serious pests challenge, as such encountering up to 100% loss of their produce, both in fields and darting storage. While that is the case, some farmers have been exposed to the world of synthetic pesticides, suggestively as the most effective control measure.

However, synthetic chemicals are less affordable by low-income communities, and their impacts extend from the farms, farmworkers and indirectly drifting to non-target humans and animals.

Therefore, TARI performed several trials on field evaluation of a mixture of pepper, neem; fish bean against pests of Lablab purpureus, sweet and common bean. TARI is testing the effectiveness of these home-made bio-pesticides and synthetic pesticides.

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE PRE AND POST-HARVEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Another research package in Tanzania focused on developing effective pre and post-harvest management strategies to avoid mycotoxin contamination in stored food and feed.

NM-AIST