The Role of Agriculture in the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Tanzania

Agriculture’s importance to poverty reduction goes far beyond its direct impact on farmers’ incomes, however, the economic steady and fast grow has not shown significant reduction of poverty. The challenges caused by limited access to “opportunities” led to rural households operating in the small land for subsistence with very slim profit that limits saving ability. This paper aimed at assessing agriculture’s wider role during economic growth and its impact on poverty reduction. The study found that increase in population (household size in rural area) and poor public services in rural exacerbating poverty and accelerate shifting from agriculture to non-agriculture activities especially educated youth, thus, structural transformation. However, there is considerable room for improvements in allocating available resources efficiently to ensure farmers benefit from the growth. Enormous efforts have been myths to the smooth changes which call for serious attention to the planners to review strategies, policies and programme. Keywords: Agricultural, Economic growth, Inclusive Growth, Poverty, Tanzania *This paper discussion reflects the views of the authors, not necessarily those of the CAAS or FAO (or its member governments)

Does the Improvement of Productivity of Maize and Rice Reduce Poverty? Comparison Case Study for Tanzania and Togo

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of most of that provides two thirds of employment and generates over one third of Gross National Income. Maize and rice are dominant cereal crops produced and consumed most by poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), as most studies relate poverty and income with no relation to the productivity or environment of the poor people. This study is aiming at determining how the improvement of productivity of major cereal crops (maize and rice) has managed to contribute to the reduction of poverty for Tanzania and Togo. Based on the data from 1961 to 2013, the analysis show that the productivity of both countries for cereal crops has been marginally increasing but the increase in population has caused high demand for food and exuberate poverty for their people. Farmers will continue to face low productivity and marketing risks, which in turn increase the variability in production and income growth of the sector. Special attention is needed to improve the productivity of maize and paddy which are not internationally traded, but consumed by the poor and traded locally. However, due to scarcity of resources cost-sharing could be a necessity and ultimate solution for the poverty reduction for weak economies countries. Keywords: Productivity, Poverty, Maize, Rice, Tanzania, Togo

Seroepidemiology of Leptospira serovar Hardjo and associated risk factors in smallholder dairy cattle in Tanzania.

BackgroundSmallholder dairy farming is crucial for the Tanzanian dairy sector which generates income and employment for thousands of families. This is more evident in the northern and southern highland zones where dairy cattle and milk production are core economic activities. Here we estimated the seroprevalence of Leptospira serovar Hardjo and quantified potential risk factors associated with its exposure in smallholder dairy cattle in Tanzania.MethodsFrom July 2019 to October 2020, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in a subset of 2071 smallholder dairy cattle. Information about animal husbandry and health management was collected from farmers, and blood was taken from this subset of cattle. Seroprevalence was estimated and mapped to visualize potential spatial hotspots. The association between a set of animal husbandry, health management and climate variables and ELISA binary results was explored using a mixed effects logistic regression model.ResultsAn overall seroprevalence of 13.0% (95% CI 11.6-14.5%) for Leptospira serovar Hardjo was found in the study animals. There was marked regional variations with the highest seroprevalence in Iringa 30.2% (95% CI 25.1-35.7%) and Tanga 18.9% (95% CI 15.7-22.6) with odds ratios of OR = 8.13 (95% CI 4.23-15.63) and OR = 4.39 (95% CI 2.31-8.37), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed the individual animal factors that were a significant risk for Leptospira seropositivity in smallholder dairy cattle were: animals over 5 years of age (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.05-1.9); and indigenous breed (OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.47-5.26) compared to crossbred animals SHZ-X-Friesian (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 0.99-2.21) and SHZ-X-Jersey (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.43-1.63). Farm management factors significantly associated with Leptospira seropositivity included: hiring or keeping a bull for raising purposes (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.34-2.71); distance between farms of more than 100 meters (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.16-2.64); cattle kept extensively (OR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.36-3.91); farms without cat for rodent control (OR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.16-3.02); farmers with livestock training (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.15-2.27). Temperature (OR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.18-2.26), and the interaction of higher temperature and precipitation (OR = 1.5, 95%CI 1.12-2.01) were also significant risk factors.ConclusionThis study indicated seroprevalence of Leptospira serovar Hardjo, as well as the risk factors driving dairy cattle leptospirosis exposure in Tanzania. The study showed an overall high leptospirosis seroprevalence with regional variations, where Iringa and Tanga represented the highest seroprevalence and risk. The study highlighted the urgent need to understand the human exposures and risks from this important zoonosis to develop control measures and awareness of the problem and quantify the economic and production impacts through abortion and milk loss. In addition, given that the available data was limited to Leptospira serovar Hardjo, the study recommends more studies to identify serologically the most common serovars in cattle for targeted vaccination and risk reduction