Soil Conservation Practices By Smallholder Farmers In Agro-Pastoral Systems: A Case Of Serengeti District

ABSTRACT 

The study sought to explore soil conservation practices by smallholder farmers in agro-pastoral systems in Serengeti District in Tanzania. The study used a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Data collection employed both primary and secondary data. The main methods were household questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, and direct observation. The analysis of data involved the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) versions 16.0 and Microsoft excel. The study identified various soil conservation practices in use by smallholder farmers in the study area. The soil conservation practiced were; shifting cultivation (48%), monoculture (31.7%), tree planting (33.3%), and application of manure (75.6%), contour farming (48%), and intercropping (82.9%). It was found that intensive use of farms with poor agricultural intensification like shallow fallow period, improper intercroping, monoculture and improper contour farming contributed to low level of soil fertility in the study area. The study recommends that, government support is required to increasing access to technology and innovation on agricultural inputs in order to encourage smallholder farmers to practice soil conservation in response to the growing population. It is more important for the government to educate smallholder farmers on soil conservation practices by providing each village with Village Agriculture Extension Officers (VAEO).