IN IN T R 3


 Tanzania, a land of diverse
environments, lies on the east
coast of Africa. Ninety percent of
its 20 million people are in the
rural sector.
 Small-scale farmers dominate
in agricultural production, with
most of them farming plots of
one to three hectares. The
majority of farm operations are
carried out by hand. In spite of
its potential, Tanzanian agricul-
ture has been characterized by
stagnant production for the last
two decades. Among the many
factors contributing to this
disappointing performance are
unfavorable market conditions
for exports and imports, poor
infrastructure, and the lack of
production incentives for
farmers.
 Another contributing factor:
Although Tanzania's commodity
researchers and extension
personnel are well-trained and
dedicated, they have had relatively
little success in inducing farmers
to adopt newly developed crop
production recommendations.
Too often, researchers working
with a single commodity focus in
the relative isolation of the exper-
iment station had not paid
sufficient attention to farmers'
priorities. As a result, methods
developed under on-station condi-
tions often requiring intensive
labor, high seed density, and high
fertilizer levels were inappro-
priate under the limited resource
conditions found on most small
farms.
 Frustrated extension person-
nel, in turn, had not been able to
persuade farmers to embrace
new methods that didn't properly
answer their needs. The Farming
Systems Project was developed in
the late 1970's, in response to a


recommendation from the
Ministry of Agriculture's previous
research project supported by
USAID. This earlier project noted
the need for development of more
relevant, near-term technologies
which could be achieved through
closer linkage among research-
ers, extensionists, and farmers in
Tanzania.


Majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro
rises above fertile farmland
in northern Tanzania.
On-station experiments
include varietal trials such
as this Tegemeo sorghum
plot at the Ilonga Agricul-
tural Research Institute.