Abstract
Conservation Agriculture (CA) offers a promising pathway for enhancing climate resilience and productivity among smallholder farmers in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. This study assessed how farmers in Mbeya region and surrounding areas use CA practices to adapt to climate change and variability between 2015 and 2024. Temperature and rainfall data were analyzed alongside on-station and on-farm CA trials. Results showed a warming trend (0.040 °C/year for maximum and 0.026 °C/year for minimum temperatures) and variable rainfall patterns (903.9–1518.7 mm annually). In 2021, the maize yields under planting basins (8.5 t/ha) outperformed no-till (6.2 t/ha) and conventional ox-ploughing (6.0 t/ha). CA practices reduced production costs and increased profit margins for maize (USD 526.9 vs. 176.6) and beans (USD 917.4 vs. 376.3). Despite increased adoption of minimum tillage and residue retention, barriers included residue burning, crop-livestock competition, and limited access to inputs. Findings underscore CA’s role in sustainable intensification and call for policy support, tailored extension, and institutional coordination to scale CA for climate-smart intervention in farming systems.
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The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Maximum and minimum temperatures showed a warming trend of 0.040 and 0.026 °C per year.
- Outcome
- warming trende0
- Value
- 0.040 °C/year for maximum and 0.026 °C/year for minimum temperaturese0
- Setting
- Southern Highlands of Tanzaniae1
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Results showed a warming trend (0.040 °C/year for maximum and 0.026 °C/year for minimum temperatures)”
e1“smallholder farmers in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania”
Claim · model-written summary
Annual rainfall varied widely, between 903.9 and 1518.7 mm.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“variable rainfall patterns (903.9–1518.7 mm annually)”
Claim · model-written summary
In 2021, maize yield under planting basins (8.5 t/ha) was higher than under no-till (6.2 t/ha).
- Treatment
- planting basinse0
- Outcome
- maize yieldse0
- Direction
- outperformede1
- Value
- 8.5 t/hae0
- Qualifier
- 6.2 t/hae1
- Comparator
- no-tille1
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In 2021, the maize yields under planting basins (8.5 t/ha)”
e1“outperformed no-till (6.2 t/ha)”
Claim · model-written summary
In 2021, maize yield under planting basins (8.5 t/ha) was higher than under conventional ox-ploughing (6.0 t/ha).
- Treatment
- planting basinse0
- Outcome
- maize yieldse0
- Direction
- outperformede1
- Value
- 8.5 t/hae0
- Qualifier
- 6.0 t/hae1
- Comparator
- conventional ox-ploughinge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In 2021, the maize yields under planting basins (8.5 t/ha)”
e1“outperformed no-till (6.2 t/ha) and conventional ox-ploughing (6.0 t/ha)”
Claim · model-written summary
CA practices reduced production costs for maize.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CA practices reduced production costs and increased profit margins for maize (USD 526.9 vs. 176.6)”
Claim · model-written summary
CA practices increased profit margins for maize (USD 526.9 vs. 176.6).
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CA practices reduced production costs and increased profit margins for maize (USD 526.9 vs. 176.6)”
Claim · model-written summary
CA practices increased profit margins for beans (USD 917.4 vs. 376.3).
- Taxon
- beanse0
- Treatment
- CA practicese1
- Outcome
- profit marginse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- USD 917.4 vs. 376.3e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“increased profit margins for maize (USD 526.9 vs. 176.6) and beans (USD 917.4 vs. 376.3)”
e1“CA practices reduced production costs and increased profit margins for maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Adoption of minimum tillage and residue retention increased.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Despite increased adoption of minimum tillage and residue retention”
Claim · model-written summary
Barriers to CA included residue burning, crop-livestock competition, and limited access to inputs.
- Outcome
- barrierse0
- Qualifier
- residue burning, crop-livestock competition, and limited access to inputse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“barriers included residue burning, crop-livestock competition, and limited access to inputs”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors call for policy support, tailored extension and institutional coordination to scale CA.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“call for policy support, tailored extension, and institutional coordination to scale CA”
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