Analysis Of The Limiting Factors In Soil Water Management Practices Of Small Holder Farmers In Magamba Sub-Catchment Of Lushoto District, Tanzania

ABSTRACT 

It is increasingly difficult to ignore the role of soil water management practices in watershed conservations. Watershed degradation has been a major intimidating problem in many catchments of developing countries, Tanzania inclusive. The general objective of this study was to analyze the limiting factors in soil water management practices of small holder farmers in Magamba sub-catchment of Lushoto District, Tanzania. Primary data was covered by use of structured questionnaire (for 100 smallholder farmers), researcher observation, and interview guide and in-situ soil moisture measurements (for 60 farm plots) based on different types of soil water management practices. Secondary data sources used constituted both unpublished and published data sources on limiting factors of small- holder farmers in soil water management practices and their effects on soil moisture. Qualitative technique for data analysis involved description of different types of soil water management practices. Quantitative data was analyzed using analysis of variance and regression statistical analysis. StataSE version 11.0 and Microsoft excel 2007 computer programs were used for analysis. Predominant types of soil water management practices identified included physical measures (fanya juu and bench terraces), agronomic measures (mulch, guatemala grasses and agro-forestry farming) and chemical measures (organic and chemical fertilizers). The study also found capital problems, low training and low technical assistance, market problems, lack of education, slope, physical distance and nature of crops as major limiting factors in soil water management practices in the study area. For soil moisture measurements, there were great variations across the three sections (lower, middle and upper) and on different types of soil water management practices in the sub-catchment. The p value= 0.0024