PERFORMANCE STATUS OF WARD AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE CENTRES IN EXTENSION SERVICE DELIVERY AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN BABATI DISTRICT, TANZANIA

Abstract

In the year 2006-2007 the government of Tanzania introduced the Ward Agricultural Resource Centres (WARCs) to complement the existing institutions in extension service delivery to smallholder farmers. Currently, there are 278 WARCs in the country. Despite the good intentions of the Government of Tanzania to establish the WARCs for the purpose of filling the gap in extension services among smallholder farmers, there is a limited study on their performance status in which this study aimed to fill. The study used descriptive research design. The study targeted 13,500 smallholder farmers in four Wards in Babati District. The accessible population was 5,537 from four WARCs, and a total of sample size of 189 respondents were selected using proportionate and simple random approach. Researcher administered questionnaire, key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and observation checklist were used to collect data. A pilot study was conducted in Morogoro district, where a questionnaire was administered to 30 smallholder farmers from Ngerengere WARC. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used in estimation of reliability. Alpha coefficient of 0.783 was obtained and accepted as it met the minimum threshold of 0.7 recommended for social sciences. For the FGD and KII, the formulated questions were tested to ten group of smallholder farmers, and two Key informants were interviewed respectively, where few questions were rephrased after the interviews.Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the quantitative data while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The findings revealed that training programs offered at WARCs focused mainly on crop production and relied heavily on private stakeholder support. The study concluded based on training areas that crops receive more priority in WARC training programs over entrepreneurship, and livestock. Training on record keeping, and fishery were not offered at all. With these findings, it is evident that the WARCs are not functioning as outlined in the government guidelines for their establishment. The guidelines specify that training should be comprehensive and address various aspects of improving the living standards of smallholder farmers in their specific contexts. Despite this, WARCs continue to play a vital role in providing training. To enhance their sustainability and effectiveness, WARC supervisors need to mobilize resources by fostering partnerships and securing funding from key agricultural stakeholders.