Abstract
Using the Mann–Kendall Test to analyze data from a survey of 400 farmers, this study compared the rate of adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) in two contrasting villages of Mnyakongo and Ugogoni locating in the Kongwa District, a semi-arid zone in central Tanzania. Results exhibited that the level of CA adoption was <10% of the total households. The trend of CA adoption was determined at the coefficient of R2 = 0.95, 0.90, 0.68 and 0.57 for mulching, crop rotation, agroforestry and little tillage, respectively. Despite little tillage and crop rotation having high acreage under CA, the rate of mulching adoption was significantly higher than that of others. Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the CA adoption and crop yields or environmental sustainability (p < 0.05). Maize, sorghum and millet yields were significantly greater under CA (1.7 t ha−1) than no-CA (0.7 t ha−1). Particularly, maize yields were increased from 1.3 to 2.3 t ha−1 from 2000 to 2015 under CA when it was intercropped with legumes. The majority farmers (>70%) asserted that CA had optimized their yields for both food and economic incentives. Thus, this study recommends the adoption of CA in the semi-arid agro-ecological zones.
Highlights
The significance of soil or environmental conservation to limit soil degradation has been advocated since 1903 [1]
The present study focused on the semi-arid agroecological zone in Tanzania, where maize, sorghum and millet are the major crops, because this semi-arid area is the most vulnerable to climate change impacts and environmental degradation
The retention of soil moisture, conservation of soil fertility, and control of soil erosion were among the contributing factors that attracted farmers to adopt conservation agriculture (CA)
Summary
The significance of soil or environmental conservation to limit soil degradation has been advocated since 1903 [1]. To increase fruit production and environmental conservation in organic Australian vineyards, both mulching and composite are used as conservation agricultural practices [5]. This practice increases crop yields and environmental conservation in various areas of the country. The increasing extreme of weather changes especially for temperature and precipitation has significantly impacted the nutrient cycling and soil moisture in most of Sub-Saharan Africa [6,7]. These weather changes could intensify in the future as various climate models have been predicting further climate alterations. A crop production system and its productivity are to worsen with possibly high outbreak of diseases, pests and pathogens
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