Dissertation
The importance of sisal to the communities, nation and globe at large has stimulated the
government to introduce various efforts so as to increase both participation by smallholder
farmers and their productivity. Such efforts include the government entering into
partnerships with various companies to establish a sisal nucleus settlement scheme
responsible for developing business plans to set up marketing and processing
arrangements for sisal grown by smallholder farmers. However, it is yet to be clearly
determined as to which factors determine smallholder farmers’ participation in sisal
production as well as socio-economic determinants of smallholder farmers for sisal
productivity. The current study aimed at determining the drivers for smallholder farmers’
participation in sisal production as well as socio-economic determinants of smallholder
farmers’ sisal productivity in Korogwe District specifically Ngombezi and Mwelya
Wards. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected
once from Ngombezi and Mwelya Wards, Korogwe District, Tanzania. The wards
(Ngombezi and Mwelya) were purposively selected due to availability of many
smallholder sisal producing households. A total of 150 randomly selected households
based on registers availed by estate managers in Ngombezi and Mwelya Wards
participated in this study. Primary data were collected through questionnaire, key
informant interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analyzed using
IBM SPSS Statistics whereby descriptive and inferential statistics were determined.
Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis whereby collected
information were summarized based on themes and objectives of the study. Results show
that the average farm size allocated to sisal within the district was 8.6 ha while the average
households’ sisal yields was 0.62 tons/ha. In addition, Mwelya Ward had higher average
households’ sisal yield (0.64 tons/ha) compared to Ngombezi Ward (0.61 tons/ha). Results
further show that drivers significantly associated with household’s choice to produce sisal
as a first crop were transport mode (P≤0.1), labour amount (P≤0.05) and lastly, financial
support (P≤0.1). In addition, the smallholder sisal farmers were faced by some challenges
mainly infrastructural challenges (13%), financial constraints (11.3%) and poor farm
inputs availability (9.8%). Results further show that factors significantly associated with
sisal productivity were size of land allocated to sisal (P≤0.001), crops produced as first
choice (P≤0.1) and finally, a household’s main source of income (P≤0.05). In addition,
factors determining smallholder farmers’ sisal profitability were sex of the household head
(P≤0.1), size of land (P≤0.05) and amount of sisal harvested (P≤0.001). Therefore, the
study recommends that smallholder sisal farmers should adopt improved farming
techniques and practices that will enable them to improve their productivity. In addition,
agricultural and investment banks should consider financing smallholder sisal farmers so
as to enable them increase their productivity and this will in turn stimulate an increase in
number of smallholder farmers in sisal production.
Ward Estate managers and Village
Extension Officers