Problems facing the farmers on the kilombero valley irrigation scheme

The scheme started in 1960 and it became a government parastatal called Sugar Development co-operation in 1968.
Today, it employs over 46,000 workers and it contributes 40% of the total sugar production in Tanzania.
It has mainly encouraged the development of out growers’ schemes.

Diseases e.g. yellow wilt that destroys the sugarcane leading to reduced output.
Soil exhaustion due to monoculture leading to low output hence low export potential.
Leaching of soil due to the excessive water which leads to poor soils hence low productivity.

Pests e.g. snails which destroy the sugarcane hence leading to poor quality output.
Price fluctuation due to over production and competition with other sugar producing countries e.g. Uganda leading to low morale of farmers.
Shortage of labour especially during the harvesting period due to low population in the area.
Fire out breaks which destroy large parts of the farms leading to losses for the scheme.
Dangerous animals like snakes which scare away the farmers leading to labour shortage.

Presence of weeds which compete with sugarcane for water and soil nutrients leading to poor quality output.
Silting of the canals by floods which calls for regular dredging yet its very expensive.
It requires high capital investment to operate the scheme yet capital is not readily available.
Salinity of the soils due to excessive evaporation as a result of hot temperatures in the area.
Inefficient transport within the scheme which makes the delivery of sugar to the markets very difficult.
Natural hazards e.g. hailstorms and strong winds also destroy large parts of the scheme leading to losses.

Steps being taken to solve the problems

Spraying of crops by using pesticides to avoid pests and diseases.
Price control by government and production by quota system to avoid price fluctuation at the world market.
Research on better sugarcane varieties to increase production and quality.
Applying fertilizers and manure to increase soil fertility and ensure high productivity.

Use of herbicides to control weeds and reduce competition for soil nutrients.
Controlling fire outbreaks by living bare land between plots (patching) to stop fire from spreading.
Diversification of agriculture to reduce over reliance on sugarcane growing e.g. introduction of ranching.
Encouraging mechanization to solve the problem of labour shortage especially during harvesting.
Acquiring loans from banks to provide large capital base for farm operations.

De-silting and dredging of canals to control floods and ensure proper flow of water.
Construction of feeder roads and railways within the scheme to improve accessibility to markets.