Success Stories: A Case of Adoption of Improved Varieties of Maize and Cassava in Kilosa and Muheza Districts, Eastern Tanzania

Abstract

The project of Eastern Zone Client Oriented Research and Extension (EZCORE) was designed to improve the capability of researchers to better respond to the needs of the farmers and empower the districts to obtain and implement relevant research results for the benefit of the rural populations. In the process, farmers in Mkobwe village of Kilosa district reported that they were getting very low maize yields due to problem which was later identified as maize gray leaf spot. Similarly, farmers of Tongwe village in Muheza district had a disease problem in cassava which was later identified as cassava brown streak disease. Researchers were commissioned to solve these two problems which were severely limiting crop yields. In Mkobwe village, a maize variety called TMV-2 was tested and found suitable, while in Tongwe village, a cassava variety Kiroba was the best. The maize Var. TMV-2 and cassava Var. Kiroba were then provided to the villagers of Mkobwe and Tongwe, respectively. The monitoring and evaluation of project activities for the last 3 years indicated that all the farmers in Mkobwe village and more than 50% of the farmers in the nearby villages are growing TMV-2. With regard to Kiroba variety, the variety is planted by all the farmers in Tongwe village, and now the variety has spread to over eight villages in Muheza district. Apart from Muheza district, it is also planted in many villages in the nearby districts. The source of cassava cuttings in all the villages planted with variety Kiroba is Tongwe village.