Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies' existing potential in adopting Climate Smart Agriculture among Smallholder Farmers in Bukoba District, Tanzania

Abstract

Although the agriculture sector plays a crucial role in providing 90% of the world's food and employment opportunities, it is increasingly affected by climate change, resulting in decline in productivity and food insecurity. To address these challenges, Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) has been adopted globally, with many places using co-operatives to assist smallholder farmers. However, there is a lack of scholarly research on the potential of Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies (AMCOS) to adopt CSA in Bukoba District, Tanzania. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies’ existing potential in adopting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) among smallholder farmers in Bukoba District-Tanzania. A total of 384 smallholder farmers members of co-operatives were used to collect using semi-structured questionnaires while personal interview was also used to collect qualitative data from key informants. The analysis involved both descriptive statistics for quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative data. The findings from the descriptive analysis showed that smallholder farmers were generally neutral and disagreed with the idea that AMCOS were instrumental in facilitating the adoption of these practices. Specifically, they expressed neutral and disagree views on access to agricultural credits, availability of training/ capacity building, access to extension services, and access to improved crop varieties through AMCOS. In particular, a total 362(94%) of the farmers disagreed and strongly disagreed with the assertion that they had access to fertilizer through AMCOS. However, it was noted that AMCOS primarily focused on collecting, storing, and selling smallholder farmers’ produce, with more than 90% engagement in these activities. The study concludes that AMCOS in Bukoba have not prioritized CSA, focusing mainly on marketing activities. It is recommended that AMCOS should integrate CSA into their operations and plans and commit resources, balancing production and marketing responsibilities. Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture should guide AMCOS by providing clear policy directives, technical assistance, training, and monitoring to promote sustainable farming practices.