Dissertation
This research investigated the status of coffee cultivation, motivational factors for reviving
coffee cultivation and challenges which face smallholder coffee farmers in Hai district,
Tanzania. A Cross-sectional research design was employed with a mixed method
(quantitative and qualitative). Data was collected from 120 smallholder coffee farmers and
15 key informants from four villages. Household surveys and interviews were used for
data collection. Analysis of quantitative data was done descriptively in which frequencies
and percentages were measured. Inferential analysis, particularly the binary logistic
regression model, was employed to determine the association between the dependent and
independent variables. Qualitative data analysis involves a content analysis. The findings
depict the state of coffee cultivation based on the following factors: starting year of
cultivation, year of reviving, revived acreage, number of seedlings planted, and production
in kilograms. The findings also show several motivational factors; availability of hybrid
seeds, availability of free land provided by AMCOS, possibility of gap filling, assistance
from organizations such as TaCRI and availability of extension services. Furthermore, the
results show challenges in reviving coffee cultivation, such as high agricultural input
costs, price fluctuations, a lack of manpower, a limited amount of land, and challenges
associated with changing weather conditions. The study concludes that other respondents
failed to revive coffee cultivation due to the mentioned challenges. Therefore, it is
recommended that the government with cooperation with NGOs, TaCRI, and AMCOS
should assist smallholder farmers to minimize or completely avoid the existing challenge.