An Appraisal of Oil Palm Production Systems and Improvement in Tanzania: Constraints, Opportunities and Major Farmers Needs and Preferences

The objectives of this study were to appraise oil palm production and improvement in Tanzania, focusing on constraints, opportunities, and major farmers' preferences. A participatory rural appraisal study was conducted in Kigoma Region, in three selected districts. Data were collected from 392 oil palm farmers using semi-structured questionnaires. and 54 focus group discussants. About 98.5% of the participant farmers are engaged in oil palm production. The Chi–square analysis on major farmers’ constraints revealed unavailability of labour (X2 = 41.181; p = 0.000), limited extension services (X2 = 29.074; p = 0.000) and diseases and pests (X2 = 19.582; p = 0.000), differed significantly across the study areas. Additionally, lack of fertilizers (X2 = 14.218; p = 0.001), inappropriate technology and knowledge gap (X2 = 10.529; p = 0.005) and poor market access (X2 = 6.621; p = 0.036) differed significantly across districts. High oil yield (reported by 58.7% of the respondents), high number of bunches per plant (40.5%), early maturity (37.2%), tolerance to drought (23%) and diseases and insect pests (18.9%) were the most preferred traits by farmers in oil palm varieties. The identified needs and priorities will guide the crop's current and future production and improvement.