TITLE:
Effects of Avocado Farming on Livelihoods and Biodiversity: Perspectives of Smallholder Farmers in Hai and Rungwe Districts, Tanzania
AUTHORS:
John Boniphace, Reuben M. J. Kadigi, Joseph R. Kangile
KEYWORDS:
Avocado Production, Exportation, Smallholder Livelihoods, Biodiversity Conservation, Perceptions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Agriculture production has long been regarded as an important sector for social
and economic progress in most developing countries. However, it is also increasingly
viewed as posing threats to biodiversity and the environment at large, hence the
need for striking a balance between the two goals (economic progress and biodiversity
conservation) through the adoption of environmentally friendly and healthy farming
practices. In this paper, we use the case of avocado production in the Hai and Rungwe
districts of Tanzania to investigate the opinions of smallholder farmers about the
effects of avocado production on livelihoods and biodiversity. Specifically, we
use the Likert’s scale method to analyse and compare the opinions. The study findings
show that smallholder producers had positive perceptions about the effects of avocado
production on livelihoods and biodiversity. They viewed avocado farming as the most
profitable business compared to other agricultural commodities. The effects of avocado
on livelihoods were highly rated ranging from the lowest mean rank of 4.008 for
the livelihood and market supports, to the highest of 4.3271, out of 5, for the
livelihood protection threshold indicators. There were significant inter-district
differences in opinions about the effects of avocado farming on biodiversity, especially
for “water” (p = 0.002)
and “fauna” indicators (p = 0.001) in
which the Rungwe district registered relatively larger values than the Hai district.
The paper underscores the need for the government and other development partners
to support smallholder farmers so that they are enabled to produce high-value, and
environmentally friendly avocados for the export market.