Differentiation of Subsistence Farming Patterns Among the Haya Banana Growers in Northwestern Tanzania

Abstract

i The Haya, densely settled in the western Lake Victoria basin of Tanzania, have developed a unique banana-based farming system over centuries. The land use is char- acterized by intensively cared home garden called kibanja, and open grassland, lweya where cattle grazed. Cattle manure has much contributed to the farming in kibanja. Household survey revealed current farming patterns that have differentiated since the in- dependence of Tanganyika in 1961. Lweya has become important also as major bitter cassava fi eld (musiri) of due to increased land pressure, decline of cattle husbandry, and decline in soil fertility. At the same time penetration of cash economy has given market values to ba- nana, their staple crop. Consequently many households became musiri-dependent while some specialized on kibanja farming. Despite increased cultivation in lweya, the prime importance of kibanja continues due to preference in banana and sociocultural appreciation. Lweya has served as a buffer against various internal and external impacts, providing options for individual households. Thus the social differentiation process took place under the fi eld of rural dynamics deep-rooted in their inherent recognition of the environment.