Abstract:
High incidence of poverty in semi-arid region of central Tanzania is one of the major development challenges in the area. This has mainly been caused by failures of major crops due recurrent drought. Production of high value horticultural crops under irrigation such as grapes could be one of the strategies to reduce the severity of poverty levels and food shortages in the area. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Dodoma urban district to (i) assess the role of grapevine farming on household income and welfare of small scale farmers, (ii) examine the factors that affect grapevine farming, and (iii) identify strategies for improving grapevine farming. Household food security status and consumption expenditure were assessed and used as proxy indicators of the household welfare. The study involved a total of 252 respondents (126 grape farmers and 126 non-grape farmers). Data were collected through interviews using semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 20. Results show that grape farming contributes to more than one third (35.6%) of total household income and plays an important role in household welfare. Average household consumption expenditure for grape farmers was twofold higher than that of non-grape farmers (173,833 vs. 84,485 TZS;t = 13.3, p< 0.001). Score on household food insecurity index for grape farmers was 8.51 being lower than 11.9 for non-grape farmers (t = -5.7, p< 0.05). Nevertheless, there are a number of challenges in grape farming. These include low price of grapes, high costs of inputs, limited access to market, prevalence of pests and diseases, inadequate storage facilities and limited access to quality seedlings. This study gives insights into grape farming as a mitigation strategy of food shortage and the overall household welfare under the changing environmental and socio-economic circumstances.
