Abstract
Sorghum is an important food crop for people in drought-prone areas of the world. The production in Tanzania has been ≤1 t ha−1 for a decade. The study was conducted in Iramba, Ikungi, and Kongwa districts to identify factors influencing the sorghum production, adoption rate, and strategies to address drought in Tanzania. The study involved 240 respondents for individual interviews and focus group discussions. Thirty respondents participated in individual interviews while ten farmers participated in the focus group discussion per village. Our study found that birds, poor soil fertility, and drought were the major constraints across the study districts. Drought tolerance, high yield, and early maturity were the most preferred traits by farmers across the study areas. Farmers addressed drought stress in sorghum by practicing early planting early maturing varieties in November and using drought-tolerant varieties. However, most farmers failed to name the diseases and pests affecting sorghum. This study highlights basic information for plant breeders to incorporate traits preferred by farmers in breeding programs when developing new sorghum varieties for sustainable production. The study shows the importance of involving farmers to identify the problems and solutions of sorghum production to increase the adoption rate.
Highlights
It is projected that the global population will reach 2 billion people in 2050 due to high birth rates, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia [1]
The analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder farmers growing sorghum in the study area indicated that females (51.7%) had higher participation in sorghum production than males (48.3% and farmers aged between 40 and 50 years old played a major role in farming activities while farmers aged 18–20 participated the least (Table 1)
The traits preferred by farmers in the studied areas included high yield, early maturity, drought tolerance, and pest and disease resistance
Summary
It is projected that the global population will reach 2 billion people in 2050 due to high birth rates, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia [1]. The sustainable use of natural resources such as reforestation, contour farming, and tide ridge, organic application in the soil, and use of the improved technologies is important to increase crop production to secure food for people in semi-arid areas [2]. The current food security status in semi-arid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa is low, which entails risks of hunger [3]. Sorghum adapts well in drought-prone areas with fragile soil in the world; it is regarded as an important crop for food production in long-term use for food security [4]. Tanzania is one of the sorghum producers in East Africa for food and animal feed as well as beer production; its is a gluten-free energy source that is high in dietary fiber and minerals [5,6,7].
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