Factors Influencing Adoption of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices: The Case of Small-Scale Maize Farming in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

抄録

Maize is the main staple crop in Tanzania; it is produced in almost all agroecological regions of the country, with production dominated by small-scale rain-fed farming. Maize production in Tanzania is constrained by climate change impacts such as rises in temperature, changes in rainfall patterns, and increases in plant diseases, insects, pests, floods, and droughts. Small-scale maize farmers have low climate change adaptation capacity, as the majority still use unsustainable farming practices such as monoculture, intensive tillage, and burning of crop residues, all of which increase the farmers’ vulnerability to climate change impacts. Sustainable farming practices, in particular Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices such as the ones considered in this study, are believed to contribute significantly to restoring and conserving agroecosystems, increasing maize productivity and resilience towards climate change. This study aimed to identify the common EbA practices adopted by farmers in Tanzania and to determine the factors influencing adoption of EbA practices in maize farming. The study was conducted in the Kilosa district of the Morogoro region of Tanzania. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. Primary data was collected through key informant interviews with the agricultural extension officers and a semi-structured questionnaire survey administered to 350 farmers. The T-test and the Tobit regression model were used for data analysis. Based on the T-test results, commonly adopted EbA practices included crop rotation, maize-legume intercropping, and improved seeds. Based on the Tobit regression analysis, farm size, household income, land ownership, access to climate information, labor, knowledge of EbA practices, and membership in the farmer field schools were found to significantly influence the adoption of EbA practices in maize farming. This study highlighted the importance of the government’s role in increasing EbA knowledge dissemination to the farmers through improving the training facilities in the farmer field schools and increasing opportunities for the farmers to have access to credit from financial service providers, allowing maize farmers to boost their income and become able to adopt more EbA practices.