Some environmental causes of food insecurity in semi-arid Tanzania

Abstract

The potential for the production of crops and livestock in the semi-arid areas of Tanzania ranges from medium for the former to high for the latter under conservation farming. It is contended that contemporary land husbandry practices have triggered land degradation and hence threatened food security. Results have shown that traditional land use practices coupled with some latent factors have resulted in chronic and seasonal food shortage. A holistic approach to assessing and combating environmental degradation and food insecurity in semi-arid areas has been proposed.