Sorghum Production Constraints, Trait Preferences, and Strategies to Combat Drought in Tanzania

Andekelile Mwamahonje, John Saviour Yaw Eleblu, Kwadwo Ofori, Santosh Deshpande, Tileye Feyissa and William Elisha Bakuza
Additional contact information
Andekelile Mwamahonje: West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 50438, Ghana
John Saviour Yaw Eleblu: West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 50438, Ghana
Kwadwo Ofori: West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 50438, Ghana
Santosh Deshpande: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru 502324, India
Tileye Feyissa: Institute of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia
William Elisha Bakuza: Makutupora Centre, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Dodoma P.O. Box 1676, Tanzania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: Sorghum is an important food crop for people in drought-prone areas of the world. The production in Tanzania has been ≤1 t ha −1 for a decade. The study was conducted in Iramba, Ikungi, and Kongwa districts to identify factors influencing the sorghum production, adoption rate, and strategies to address drought in Tanzania. The study involved 240 respondents for individual interviews and focus group discussions. Thirty respondents participated in individual interviews while ten farmers participated in the focus group discussion per village. Our study found that birds, poor soil fertility, and drought were the major constraints across the study districts. Drought tolerance, high yield, and early maturity were the most preferred traits by farmers across the study areas. Farmers addressed drought stress in sorghum by practicing early planting early maturing varieties in November and using drought-tolerant varieties. However, most farmers failed to name the diseases and pests affecting sorghum. This study highlights basic information for plant breeders to incorporate traits preferred by farmers in breeding programs when developing new sorghum varieties for sustainable production. The study shows the importance of involving farmers to identify the problems and solutions of sorghum production to increase the adoption rate.

Keywords: adoption rate; drought tolerance; pests and diseases; sorghum production constraints; traits preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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