What are the challenges facing maize value chain in Tanzania?
Current constraints include uncertain land tenure, little access to affordable finance, poor rural infrastructure, periodic bans on cereal exports, corruption, local taxes on farm production, the limited availability of improved seed, weak business skills and inadequate institutional and technical capacity.
What is the challenges of maize?
Poor soil fertility Pest & disease problems Low yield & high postharvest losses Low quality seeds No intercropping No crop rotation Inappropiate planting time Page 2 M9 Crop Management: U2 Maize 2 African Organic Agriculture Training Manual Your maize looks very healthy now.
What are constraints of maize production?
The main constraints to maize production are poor cash flow, inadequate farm tools, poor extension service, drought and pests. Striga is considered as the most important pest followed by termites.
What affects maize production?
The identified factors that affect maize production were education of farmer [14], fertilizer use [4], land-labor ratio, use of fertilizer, use of pesticide, manure and household size [15], age of farmer [16] and farm size [17].
Where is maize grown in Tanzania?
… is grown in all regions of Tanzania but major growing regions are around the Southern highlands, the Lake zone, and the Northern highlands (Figure 1).
What is the main reason why maize is widely grown in Kenya and Tanzania?
What is the economic importance of maize in Kenya and Tanzania? It is the staple food for many people in Kenya and Tanzania.
What are the characteristics of maize?
Maize is a tall, determinate, annual C4 plant varying in height from <1 to >4 meters producing large, narrow, opposing leaves, borne alternately along the length of a solid stem.
How does climate affect maize production?
At higher temperatures, maize yields will reduce but at the same time production or multiplication of some weeds and pests will be encouraged [13]. At a high temperature of 35°C, maize yield reduces by 9% with a one-inch reduction in rainfall [23].
How can maize production be increased?
Spacing, planting density and rotation with other crops help increase maize yield by minimizing disease, pest and weed incidence. Weed control is essential to ensure a good, competitive start and pest and disease control will minimize damage to root and productive leaf area.
What is the importance of maize production?
Maize is an important cereal crops in the world. It provides staple food to many populations. In developing countries maize is a major source of income to farmers among whom many are resource- poor. Maize cultivation in the world is limited by diseases which cause grain loss of about 11% of the total production.
What are the objectives of maize production?
The objectives of CIMMYT’s maize breeding and seed systems work are to: Develop genetically diverse, high-yielding maize inbred lines and hybrids, combining multiple-stress tolerance, nutrient use efficiency, enhanced nutritional quality, and desirable seed production properties for target production zones.