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Tanzanian smallholder farmers, lose up to 40% of their harvests due to poor handling and storage methods. Post harvest Losses (PHLs), are high for different crops, but are of particular concern for grains, especially cereal and pulses which form the base for food and income for the majority of households in the study area.
The study objectives aimed at determining the adoption of different types of PHTs and PHPs used by farming households in Kongwa and Kondoa districts, by mapping types of communication channels related to post-harvest management organized and determining the influence of the mapped communication activities on adoption of the PHTs and PHPs by farmers.
The Cross sectional research design was used to collect data. Population of the study area were 49,769 comprised 30,615 smallholder farmers in Kondoa District and 19,144 farmers from Kongwa District. The study was steered by theory of diffusion and binary logistic model. Mixed methods of data collection were used namely; survey and Key informative interview. The Sample size was one hundred (100) households comprised of 55 households from Kondoa, 45 households from Kongwa Districts and four (4) Key informative interviews.
Findings of the study observed that, demographic variables included age, marital status and education level had a significant influence of (p<0.05) on the adoption of PHTs/PHPs. The observed applied PHTs by households in both districts include Hermetic Bags, Metal Silos, Normal PPC with chemical, and Normal PPC without chemical PICS. The major mapped communication activities in the study areas additionally were local meeting, Extension Officers, VICOBA, Pear to Pear, Awareness campaign and the demonstration and all of them influenced the adoption of PHTs/PHPs at p<0.05.
The study recommends that the Government should collaborate with stakeholders such as GPLP for this case, towards the adoption of PHTs and PHPs aiming to allow more small holders farmers to use the modern techniques and practices. |
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