Title: The Development of Irrigated Rice Farming in Tanzania and Associated Socio-Economic Considerations
Abstract: I.IntroductionUntil recently, subsistence agriculture has been dominant in Tanzania.However, the share of the cash crops, especially of rice, has increased significantly in very short time.This is considered to be the result of economic liberalization coupled with a rapid increase in the price of rice,the implementation of irrigation improvement projects and, in some regions, the introduction of high yielding variety.Rice is playing an ever-increasing role in the agricultural production system of Tanzania, with the government policy which is giving special attention to rice.The main reason of this policy seems to be that there is a growing expectation for rice as special crop to feed the rapidly growing population of the country(1).There are two aspects in this concept.One is the contribution of rice production to the rate of self-sufficiency in food stuffs.The other is the contribution to farm economy.In the Lower Moshi Irrigation Project of Kilimanjaro region, it was reported that the introduction of high yielding variety accompanied by the modernized irrigation system and improved cultivation techniques has brought a significant increase in both production and income of the project area5),7),8),9).At the same time, high yielding variety and improved cultivation techniques has spread rapidly since the late 1980s to the surrounding areas where traditional irrigation system was dominant.This spreading made the income per unit area high and stable in most of the area, and even in the small size farmers12).However, there are still several issues remaining associated with the establishment and further development of irrigated rice farming.The author will attempt in this paper to examine these issues mainly from socio-economic point of view, including a previous analysis of trends in the reduction of operating expenses associated with the employment of laborers for rice production13).On the other hand, the history of irrigated rice farming is not so long in Tanzania.Therefore, there are still problems about the way of water use and farm management.Looking at the process of the Green Revolution under the market economy, some latent potential of high yielding variety may be found out together with the latent ability of farmers to adapt to the market economy.Since these issues have a profound effect to the profitability of rice production, one should consider that there may be still more progress in the future rice production of Tanzania(2).Therefore, the author would like to analyze the state of irrigated rice production and associated conditions for its establishment in Tanzania, especially in the areas where high yielding variety has been introduced. II. MethodsTo approach these issues, a survey was conducted on the farmers in the areas of irrigated rice farming.Since the production of irrigated rice is thriving only in Kilimanjaro region and Arusha region, four areas with different irrigation system and cultivation techniques were selected