Classification Of Chagga Agroforestry Homegardens And Their Contributions To Food, Income And Wood Energy To Communities Of Rombo District, Tanzania

ABSTRACT 

The present study was carried out in 2014 in Rombo District, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in order to classify Chagga agroforestry home gardens and establish their relative contributions to food, income and wood energy to the local communities. The study methodology included random selection of four divisions, one ward from each division, one village from each ward and 30 households per village forming a total sample of 120 households. A social survey was subsequently carried out using questionnaires employed to household heads and checklists of probe questions for key informants. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 and Microsoft Excel Programs. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare means between and within treatments and the Least Significant Difference (LSD) was used to separate the significantly differing means. Results indicated that all five renewable natural resource components of woody perennials, herbaceous crops, animals, insects and aquatic life-forms were present in the Chagga agroforestry homegardens which were in various interactions broadly classified into nine agroforestry systems with the Agrosilvopastoral system being the most widely spread and the Agroaquosilvicultural, Agroaquosilvopastoral, Aposilvopastoral and Silvopastoral systems being, in that order, the least spread throughout the district. Spatial arrangements of components were the most common arrangement forming agroforestry technologies like boundary planting, mixed intercropping and live fences. The Chagga agroforestry homegardens were the major sources of food, income and wood energy for the community contributing about 95%, 86% and 73% respectively. Lack of extension services, pests and diseases and land shortages are the main constraints in the Chagga agroforestry homegardens. Government support in recruiting and training more extension officers to train farmers in appropriate farming technologies and ready availability of improved tree and crop seeds are the main recommended measures for improving the agroforestry homegardens in Rombo District.