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Agriculture is an important source of food and economic survival of rural populations in Tanzania however farming activities are highly affected by rainfall variability which cause loss in crops and livestock yield. This study explored adaptation strategies to rainfall variability, socioeconomic factors influencing maize production in mixed farming systems. Specifically, assessed the trends in rainfall and maize production, determined the relationship between trends, identified farmers’ adaptation strategies to rainfall variability and ascertained the influence of socioeconomic factors on maize yields in the mixed farming systems. The study employed questionnaire survey method to collect household data. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, documentary review were also conducted to complement the information. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were employed using MS excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programs. Annual rainfall and maize yield data for the past ten years were used to study the trends and trend relationship in rainfall and maize production. Results showed increasing trends in rainfall with high inter annual variability and decreasing trends in maize production. The relationship between rainfall trend and maize production was found to be insignificant (p value = 0.927). On the adaptive capacity of the farming system to produce maize, the mixed farming system found to be efficient in adapting to rainfall variability effects with the average maize yields of 2.57 tonha-1 compared to 1.36 tonha-1 in non-mixed. Household size, farm size, the costs of pesticide, and farmers’ access to credits had a significant influence on maize production in the study area. The study recommends that education on environmental management should be done to reduce vulnerability to inter annual rainfall variability, up scaling of the crop livestock mixed farming system to other areas of Tanzania and formation of farmer managed co-operatives to assist in the provision of soft loans with affordable interest rates for meeting the costs of inputs. |
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