“Modern” farming and the transformation of livelihoods in rural Tanzania

Katherine A. Snyder (), Emmanuel Sulle (), Deodatus A. Massay (), Anselmi Petro (), Paschal Qamara and Dan Brockington ()
Additional contact information
Katherine A. Snyder: University of Arizona
Emmanuel Sulle: Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape
Anselmi Petro: Mbulu District Council
Dan Brockington: University of Sheffield

Agriculture and Human Values, 2020, vol. 37, issue 1, No 3, 33-46

Abstract: Abstract This paper focuses on smallholder agriculture and livelihoods in north-central Tanzania. It traces changes in agricultural production and asset ownership in one community over a 28 year period. Over this period, national development policies and agriculture programs have moved from socialism to neo-liberal approaches. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we explore how farmers have responded to these shifts in the wider political-economic context and how these responses have shaped their livelihoods and ideas about farming and wealth. This case study clearly debunks the idea that rural farmers are slow to respond to “modern” farming methods or that smallholder farming is stagnant and cannot reduce poverty. While changes overall are very positive in this rural community, challenges remain as land sizes are small and markets often unreliable. This research cautions against a shift in emphasis to large-scale farming as a strategy for national development. It suggests instead that increased investment in supporting smallholder farming is critical for addressing poverty and rural well-being.

Keywords: Rural livelihoods; Smallholder agriculture; Agrarian change; Iraqw; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-019-09967-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:37:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-019-09967-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10460

DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09967-6

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture and Human Values is currently edited by Harvey S. James Jr.

More articles in Agriculture and Human Values from Springer, The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().