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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Evaluation of an Indigenous Farming System in the Matengo Highlands, Tanzania and its Sustainability
Author:Itani, JuichiISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:African Study Monographs
Volume:19
Issue:2
Period:October
Pages:55-68
Language:English
Geographic term:Tanzania
Subjects:Matengo
land use
agricultural land
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Development and Technology
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://jambo.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_normal/abstracts/pdf/19-2/55-68.pdf
Abstract:The Matengo, who live in the mountainous areas of Mbinga district of the Ruvuma region of southern Tanzania, have cultivated steep slope fields for more than a century using their original soil conservation system, a two-year rotation that includes a short-term grassland fallow. A main feature of this system is that the fields contain a large number of pits ('ngolo'). Based on research conducted in April 1993 and April 1994, at the end of the rainy season, and later experiments in Japan, the author explains the Matengo farming system and its mechanisms of soil conservation, and evaluates its agricultural significance and sustainability. He notes that the sustainability of the system has been based on the functions of the 'ngolo' in terms of soil conservation and nutrient supply for maize. The Matengo have successfully combined their indigenous farming system for food with coffee production. The high cash income from coffee has sustained the economic viability of the 'ngolo' farming system. Bibliogr., sum.
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