Avocado Production and Farmers Strategy for Earning Livelihoods in Njombe, Tanzania

Abstract

The avocado is a fruit with healthy and economic importance to smallholder farmers. As a crop, it is referred to as the green gold of Tanzania. This study investigates the contribution of avocado farming to farmers livelihood assets. The study was conducted in two wards in Njombe Town Council, namely Kifanya and Ramadhani. The study used mixed methods to collect the data including household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 180 avocado farmers were selected through simple random sampling. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 20), while qualitative data were analysed through factual and logical interpretation of the findings. Pearson Chi-square was used to test the statistical significance of the variables. The results showed that avocado farming had a positive contribution to the farmers livelihood assets. The contribution was in terms of financial, social, natural and physical assets. Despite its contribution to livelihood assets, farmers reported various challenges, including pests and diseases, poor extension services, shortage of capital and climatic variations. This study recommends increasing the extension services provided to the farmers with respect to production and marketing processes