Development of horticulture extension support system for the small holder farmers: A case of Tanzania

Abstract

Horticulture as part of agricultural sector plays the role for food security, economic growth and nutrition improvement in developing countries. It draws attention for most governments as the main source of employment. Following the governments’ recognition of agricultural extension as key facilitator for achieving high crop productivity and an enabler to knowledge resources, number of extension officers have been recruited to help farmers. However, these extension officers cannot reach every farmer due to lack of enough resources and cultural barriers. Consequently, uniform availability of clear information for vegetable cultivations, on crop requirements, climatic information, pests and diseases is a challenge. Meanwhile, there are number of extension support systems that do not meet all the requirements. On this study, a survey that included 145 small holder farmers and 30 agronomists from three regions located in three main horticultural zones in Tanzania was conducted. The data collected through questionnaires and interviews. The findings depicted that a significant number of farmers are not so familiar with ICT enabled horticulture extension support systems. The analysis results also indicated few technological systems that do not yet serve all the farmers. Therefore, in this study an ICT-enabled horticulture extension support system has been developed to help farmers make proper decisions on vegetable cropping systems. The application provides information such as best sowing period of the crop based on weather data in a particular location, crop harvest day, crop requirements, crop pests and disease. Accessibility of this information will help to improve vegetable crop productivity.