Socioeconomic and Agronomic Factors Influencing Vegetable Production in Rural Wards in Tabora Municipality Tanzania

Abstract

The productivity of Tabora Municipality's small-scale vegetable producers is hampered by lack of understanding of market dynamics and agricultural practices. The purpose of this paper was to investigate aspects affecting the production and evaluate farmers' understanding of vegetable growing. A survey was carried out in Ndevelwa, Misha and Kabila Wards. The findings showed that 90% of the respondents agreed that soil fertility and quality were important factors to consider for growing vegetables. Four-fifths (80%), 75% and 77.5% of the respondents in Ndevelwa, Misha and Kabila Wards, respectively, followed suggested agronomic practices. Proper seed selection (51.7%) and watering (65%) were mentioned as important factors that affected vegetable production. Nine in ten (90%) of the respondents in Ndevelwa, 97.5% in Misha and 82.5% in Kabila reported to have access to agricultural extension services. Nevertheless, 60.0% of the respondents in Kabila said that the quality of the services was poor. Regarding marketing, 87.5% of the respondents looked for market pricing trends, and 99.2% of the respondents had access to market data. The commonest routes were local market places (60.8%) and wholesale (67.5%). About 70% of the respondents said that they were satisfied with vegetable pricing, and 60.8% of the respondents cited high costs as a result of supply not keeping up with demand. Agronomic practices, farm size, gender, marital status, and price satisfaction were among the important variables that influenced production. Production was adversely affected by pricing and inadequate extension services. In order to boost vegetable production in Tabora Municipality, there is a need for addressing gender inequities, improving extension services, stabilizing market pricing and promoting agronomic practices.