Sunflower As An Alternative To Tobacco And Its Implication To Deforestation In Sikonge District, Tabora Region, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Tobacco farming as an agricultural development issue, has been identified among others

as an important theme to study the relationship of its production to deforestation. This

study was carried out in Tutuo ward, Sikonge district in Tabora region to assess land use

changes due to switch from tobacco to sunflower as an alternative cash crop; and its

influence on deforestation. The villages namely Usanganya, Mole and Tutuo were

involved. Household questionnaire, checklists, participant observation, PRA techniques

and remote sensing were employed for data collection. Logistic regression models, linear

regression analysis and geographic information system techniques were used to analyse

factors influencing farmers switch from tobacco to sunflower, study the relationship

between hactrage of sunflower replacing tobacco and the rate of deforestation and/ or

regeneration of forest and analyse multi temporal Landsat TM and ETM+ satellite images

respectively. Factors likely to significantly influence farmers switch from tobacco to

sunflower cultivation in Tutuo ward included unreliable tobacco market and farm size;

while farming experience significantly reduced the likelihood of shifting from tobacco to

sunflower cultivation. The switch found to have no significant on reduction of

deforestation and not favoured miombo woodland regeneration. The conclusion of this

study is that land use changes due to switch from tobacco to sunflower, shows a trend of

reducing deforestation and favouring regeneration of miombo woodlands. The study

recommends farmers to introduce sunflower as an alternative to tobacco. The effect of the

switch to poverty alleviation in terms of income from tobacco when compared to

alternative crops which is less lucrative, is to be studied to have a base for the decision to

before the switch. Farmers also have to reduce the volume of fuelwood consumption by

establishing household woodlots, community based forest management system and

construct efficient barns the efforts that contributes to reduction of deforestation.