Effects of Agricultural Extension Services and Hybrid Seeds on Maize Smallholder Farmers in the Mtwara Region: The Case of Maize Farmers In Mtwara Region.

Mchomvu, Ibrahim Islam (2022) Effects of Agricultural Extension Services and Hybrid Seeds on Maize Smallholder Farmers in the Mtwara Region: The Case of Maize Farmers In Mtwara Region. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

Microsoft Word - Submitted Version Download (610kB)

Abstract

Productivity growth from scientific advances provided by biotechnology and other plant breeding initiatives holds great promise for meeting the world's growing food demand. This justifies investments in agricultural research and development, which have resulted in the development of hybrid seeds and a focus on agriculture training in Africa. This study focuses on how hybrid seeds and agriculture training solve food security issues while increasing farmer yield and income. The study examined the potential heterogeneity in yield, income, and food security benefits from using hybrid seeds and agriculture training in a sample of 335 maize-producing households in Mtwara region in Tanzania. Findings showed that, overall, the adoption of maize hybrid seeds and agriculture training such as line planting, weeding, top dressing, and fallyarm worms monitoring and control increased maize grain yield by about 1.17 ton/ha and maize income by about $73/ha. The use of hybrid seeds and improved agricultural techniques also reduced the likelihood of reporting mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity by 32.1, 18.5, and 4.2 percent respectively. The results also show that, while treated farmers have smaller average land sizes than control farmers due to the cost of farming inputs, the absolute quantities produced are quite low due to smaller land holdings. This implies that the treated farmers only allocated an average of 0.32 ha of land to the use of hybrid seeds and agricultural technique adaptation, which may not be enough to produce enough maize to feed a household of about 5 people for the entire year. The study recommends more budget allocation on agriculture national budget which will help to hire VAEO all over the country so that farmers can be trained on the best agriculture techniques. Keywords:

Actions (login required)

View Item