CAPACITY BUILDING TO FARMERS FOR MAXIMIZING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT: A CASE STUDY OF ELAKUNOTO GROUP AT MLANGARINI WARD IN ARUMERU DISTRICT DANIEL LOIRUCK A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS IN COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA 2013 ii CERTIFICATION The undersigned certifies that he has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by the senate of the Open University of Tanzania a dissertation titled: “Capacity building to farmers for maximizing agricultural output; a case study of Elakunoto Group at Mlangarini Ward in Arumeru District” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of masters in Community Economic Development (MCED) of the Open University of Tanzania. ……………………………………………… Dr. Mutasa Felician (Supervisor) ………………………………………………… Date iii COPYRIGHT No part of this project may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the Author or the Open University of Tanzania. iv DECLARATION I, Daniel Loiruck, do hereby declare to the Senate of Open University of Tanzania that this project is my own original work, and that it has not been submitted for the similar degree in any other University ……………………………………………… Signature ………………………………………………… Date v DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Jesus Christ and my beloved family. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is a product of joint efforts from different individuals and institutions that provided me with valuable support, encouragement and constructive criticisms during the period of preparing this report. So my sincere gratitude and appreciation should go to all of them. I wish to thank my Supervisor Dr. Felician Mutasa for his constructive advice; support and commitment which made this work a reality. Without his guidance this work could not have taken the present form. Also thanks go to the entire staff of the Open University of Tanzania for their support they extended to me during the whole period of my study. Special thanks should go to my family especially my elder brother Loishiye Daniel Singooi and my lovely wife for their wonderful love, support and encouragement for what turned out to be a far longer process than I had anticipated. Without Jesus and my family support, it would have been impossible to achieve my goal. I would also wish to extend my appreciation to the Regional Administrative Secretary, Arumeru District Council Officials, Mlangarini Ward Officials, Elakunato group members, farmers and all individuals who in one way or another had spared their precious time to respond on the questionnaire for the data of this work. The financial institutions were urged to support the farmers as they have done in commercial agricultural production, by providing credits with favourable terms for the development of the agriculture sector. vii ABSTRACT The community needs assessment (CNA) was conducted at Mlangarini Ward in Arumeru District, Arusha. The goal of needs assessment was to enhance capacity building initiatives to farmers in order to maximize agricultural output. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. A questionnaire was administered to 50 respondents, and Participatory Rural Appraisal methods were used to identify felt needs and rank the constraints and recommendations from the community. The CNA revealed that, the biggest problem within the ability of farmers was lack of knowledge on the agricultural output production, followed by unavailability of seed foundation farms and credit facilities. The training and capacity building for the farmers is expected to be achieved by 100%. This sparked an accepted response of farmers’ interest in agricultural production. This acceptance response of farmers’ interest in the agricultural production indicates the need to extend this project to the rest of rural areas in Arumeru District and to the whole country at large. It is recommended that the government and the development partners should continue supporting farmers in enhancement of agricultural production in terms of skills, technical and financial support. Also, farmers should learn more skills to update their knowledge on quality agricultural production. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................... ii COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................................ iii DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................ 1 1.0 PARTICIPATORY NEEDS ASSESSMENT ................................................... 1 1.1 Background Information ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Community Profile .............................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Geographical Area and Location ........................................................................ 2 1.2.2 Surface Access to the Project Area ..................................................................... 2 1.2.3 Population ........................................................................................................... 2 1.2.4 Climate, Topography and Vegetation ................................................................ 2 1.2.5 Administration .................................................................................................... 3 1.2.6 Institutions .......................................................................................................... 4 1.2.7 Economic Activities ............................................................................................ 4 1.3 Community Needs Assessment ........................................................................... 5 1.3.1 Objectives of Community Need Assessment ...................................................... 6 ix 1.4 Community Need Assessment Findings ........................................................... 12 1.4.1 Respondents Analysis ....................................................................................... 13 1.4.2 General Observation.......................................................................................... 17 1.5 Need Prioritization ............................................................................................ 19 1.5.1 The Prioritization Method Used ...................................................................... 19 1.5.2 Ranking of Priority Needs ............................................................................... 20 1.6 Chapter Conclusion ........................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................... 23 2.0 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION ..................................................................... 23 2.1 Background to the Research Problem ............................................................... 23 2.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................ 25 2.3 Project Description ............................................................................................ 26 2.3.1The Project Components Include: ...................................................................... 27 2.3.2 Target Community ............................................................................................ 27 2.3.2 Stakeholders ..................................................................................................... 28 2.3.3 Project Goals ..................................................................................................... 29 2.3.4 Project objectives .............................................................................................. 29 2.4 Profile of the Host Organization ....................................................................... 30 2.4.1 Registration ....................................................................................................... 32 2.4.2 Physical Address .............................................................................................. 32 2.4.3 RECODA’S Vision, Mission, Core Values And Objectives ........................... 33 2.4.4 Department/Structure ........................................................................................ 34 2.4.5 Source of Funds ............................................................................................... 34 2.4.6 Stakeholders ....................................................................................................