The cultivation of rainfed, lowland rice in Sukumaland, Tanzania.

Abstract

Recent agricultural surveys conducted in Sukumaland, Tanzania, drew attention to the importance of rainfed, lowland rice in the studied farming systems. Information from these surveys is used to provide the first detailed description of rice cultivation in Sukumaland. Such a description is needed for a better understanding of the level of importance, the current performance, and the future possibilities of this rice cultivation system. More than a third of rice produced in Tanzania comes from Sukumaland. Farmers increased their rice production quickly when rice cultivation became more profitable in comparison to cotton and other crops. Smaller farm sizes because of increasing population densities also made rice more popular as a food crop, because of its capability to produce high amounts of calories on small pieces of land. Farmers’ innovations, experimentations and agricultural knowledge developed this bunded rainfed lowland rice system in Sukumaland as a way to secure the sustainability of their farming systems. It turned a semi-arid environment into a rice exporting area. Rice management practices follow closely differences in ecology and household characteristics. Selection of rice cultivars is largely determined by water conditions in the field. Future research and extension on rainfed lowland rice in Sukumaland as well as in other parts of Tanzania and Africa will benefit from a proper description of rice cultivation, which includes farmers’ knowledge and diversity at the level of household, rice valley and rice field.