RLabs was engaged by PFP to identify existing extension services and gaps in Southern Highlands of Tanzania and opportunities for PFP to add value through its programmes. The scoping study included a desk review and semi-structured interviews with extension service stakeholders in the Southern Highlands.
A review of available literature confirms that government capacity has not kept up with the need for rural forest extension services as commercial forestry has expanded in Tanzania. Though the government recognises the importance of extension work to enhance commercial forestry productivity, extension services are scarce and poorly coordinated.
240 farmers were interviewed for the study as well as District Forestry Officers from 11 Districts and representatives from forestry organisations operating in the Southern Highlands. TGA members are predominantly farmers, with secondary activities in livestock. Few have secondary education or small business experience, though they urgently need alternative livelihoods to support them while their trees grow and to fund the maintenance of their plots. Young people are under-represented in TGAs and respondents from several villages said young people were put off by the long wait for returns from commercial forestry.
TGAs supported by PFP are active and valued by their members, as much for social support as for practical support in tree growing. Some TGAs have over a decade of experience, and others were set up in the last two years. Some criticisms of TGA leaders were raised by members and non-members, and TGA leaders themselves said they are keen to develop their leadership and management skills. Some of the TGA leaders were accused of dishonesty, either with land allocation to their members (Lugolofu village) or resources from stakeholders (Ikangasi village). It is important to help TGAs resolve these kinds of conflicts to maintain trust in the programme.
Only a minority of TGA members are following good tree-growing practices, though many are keen to receive practical support to improve their tree production, and recognise that there are more advanced forestry techniques and better inputs available than they are currently using. Around half of farmers currently hire labour to help with farm preparation and planting, but few use labour for other tasks. The estimated cost of labour to produce trees for one acre of land is 333,700/=. Lack of capital was highlighted as tree-growers’ greatest challenge, followed by bush fires and lack of access roads.
Demand for training exceeds local capacity from government and other local organisations. PFP is one of the major providers of extension services in the surveyed villages, mentioned by over half of respondents, along with other non-governmental organisations. Tree growers said they had little contact with government forest extension workers, and see government support for forestry as non-existent, possibly because there is a mismatch between the services government is providing and the services that tree growers most want to receive. Tree growers most want technical support for production (training and quality seeds, fertilisers and equipment) and support for marketing and price negotiation, whereas district and village government engagement in forestry is focused on revenue collection, oversight of government plantations, and enforcing regulation on harvesting forestry products.
Village Savings and Loans Associations are already widespread in the PFP programme area. 75% of respondents said they are already present in their villages, and positively viewed by the community, though they noted the need to improve members’ businesses, and generate more innovation and diversity, so that the businesses are more profitable.
Lack of local extension workers was seen as the main reason for lack of technical support from government, by TGA members. District Forestry Officers themselves also highlighted inadequate funding, lack of staffing and transport, as the major barriers to delivering technical support. Only six of the eleven districts surveyed have any extension staff below district level, which means that most DFOs have large areas to cover and need funding for transport.
Despite these challenges, examples of how good leadership has enhanced commercial forestry were revealed in the survey. For example, some villages have organised their own road repairs, which directly benefits tree growers in improving transport links. One District Forestry Officer successfully lobbied the district to reinvest forestry revenues in replanting, which would not otherwise have happened. Another DFO used his free time to train tree growers in bee-keeping to help them develop alternative income sources. These examples demonstrate what is possible even within resource constraints, where local government officials have a proactive mindset and recognise the importance of forestry for improving incomes and environmental sustainability.
In addition to government forestry departments, there are 11 active organisations providing forest extension in different forms in the target Districts. Some of these organisations are working primarily for conservation rather than commercial purposes, but are providing relevant capacity building and training for farmers (e.g. supporting tree planting, nurseries, and farmer education), which complements the work of PFP and the government’s regulatory work. Though there is a lot of demand for services, this still represents significant capacity across the Southern Highlands, and there is potential to achieve greater impact if work is better coordinated. Several organisations expressed interest in improving coordination between extension service providers, and working closely with PFP.
TGA members have a positive perception of PFP, and most appreciate the training and improved seedlings, while TGA leaders also highlighted the valuable learning and networking opportunities created through TGAs. Strengthening VSLAs emerged as a major recommendation for further work by PFP, as well as support for road building, tree nurseries and fire control equipment. Government officials, like the other agencies, all recommended closer collaboration between PFP with local government to ensure coordination of activities and sharing of expertise.
In conclusion, there is significant untapped demand for extension services. Collectively the government and a range of non-state actors have considerable capacity and expertise, and there is a need to improve coverage and coordination to better deliver services to tree growers. While lack of funding and staffing is a genuine challenge, there is an important advocacy and awareness-raising role to help define how and where the government can add more value, leveraging existing capacity. While this is not solely PFP’s role, PFP could play a major leadership role. Mobilising government investment and improving coordination of extension services could be one of the most valuable legacies from PFP’s programme in the Southern Highlands, in addition to continuing to build the capacity of TGAs and coordination between agencies. Market mechanisms could also be leveraged for provision of extension services, and work to enhance income-generating activities would enable farmers to pay for such services.
