Exploring farmers’ perception, knowledge, and management techniques of salt-affected soils to enhance rice production on small land holdings in Tanzania

Abstract

Salt-affected soils among the key constraints to land productivity in irrigated rice schemes, posing a decline in grain yield. This study was conducted to explore the farmers’ perception, knowledge, and management practices of salt-affected soils in selected rice irrigation schemes of the representative districts in Tanzania. Whereas salt-affected soils were perceived as one of the constraints in the studied irrigation schemes, the extent of coverage and the severity of the effect are rarely documented. Therefore, the primary hypothesis of this study is that salt-affected soils could have an effect on rice production across irrigation schemes; and that farmers differ in perception, knowledge, and coping mechanisms. The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach was employed to explore the farmers’ information from Mbarali, Iringa, Same, and Moshi districts, whereby 323 rice-growing farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Moreover, 120 farmers were involved in focus group discussions and 24 key informants. Our study showed that a majority (78%) of farmers attributed a decline in rice yield largely to salt-affected soils. The perception of farmers on the extent to which they experience salt-affected soils in their rice farms differed significantly (χ2 = 50.373; p = < 0.001). In contrast, farmers’ responses on salt-affected soils across the districts were not significantly (χ2 = 6.133; p = 0.408) different, which is an interesting result indicating that salt constraints were equally important in rice producing irrigation schemes. Enhancing farmers’ knowledge and providing effective and affordable management technologies can improve rice production in small land holdings affected by salts.

Keywords:

• improved livelihoods
• irrigation schemes
• soil health
• salt stress
• indigenous management practices

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Food security for the apace growing population has become the main agenda in almost all developing countries due to environmental constraints and climate change that translate into poor agricultural food production. There is an increasing concern from rice farmers, especially in irrigation schemes on the decline of rice grain yields caused largely by the increasing effect of soil salinity. Rice is the second staple after maize in Tanzania, and also contributes to employment through various chains of its production and consumption. Updating the information on the challenge of salt-affected soils is expected to provide the appropriate management options, which will increase rice yield, farmer’s income and food security. Therefore, this study was conducted to obtain the current situation of salt-affected soils from farmers’ experiences and available options to cope with the challenge. This is the primary (key) information for the intervention of stakeholders, including researchers and policymakers, to find an appropriate management option and pay attention to the increasing level of food insecurity resulting from rice cultivated in salt-affected soils.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Climate-Smart Africa Rice Project, grant No. 19-03-KU for the financial support. Authors are also grateful to the rice farmers of Mbarali, Iringa, Same, and Moshi districts for their willingness and sharing of experience during data collection. Sincere thanks are to the agricultural extension staff who devoted time in accomplishment of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Climate-Smart Africa Rice Project Danida, grant No.[19-03-KU].

Notes on contributors

M. M Omar

Omar, M. M is a researcher at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), under the Ministry of Agriculture in Tanzania. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in Soil Science and Land Management, based at the Department of Soil and Geological Sciences of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. His area of research is on “Characterization, Mapping and Developing a Management Tool for Salt-Affected Soils in Selected Major Rice-Growing Areas of Tanzania”. This paper aimed to increase awareness of the existing information on salt-affected soils and document the available management options, especially for rice growing farmers, as an effort of improving grain yield and farmers’ food security and income through small land-holdings. His broader research interests include soil inventory, land management, soil and water conservation, and agriculture climate-related challenges.