Potato cultivation in the Uporoto mountains, Tanzania: An analysis of the social nature of agro-technological change

African Affairs

Volumn 95, Issue 378, 1996, Pages 85-106

  Andersson, Jens A ^a  

^a WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL CHANGE; ARABLE FARMING; DEVELOPING COUNTRY; FARMERS' KNOWLEDGE; POTATO PRODUCTION; SOCIAL IMPACT; TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE;

TANZANIA, UPOROTO MOUNTAINS;

EID: 0029768499     PISSN: 00019909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007715     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. This is the English language name commonly given to potatoes (solanum tuberosum) in markets in Tanzania and other parts of East Africa.
2. This article does not present any quantitative data, such as marketed output or total production figures, on potato production. The reason for this is that, in the case of Tanzania, such data are based on estimates which, for a number of reasons, are not likely to be very reliable. The collection of reliable quanitative data on potato production - such as the estimates published in the FAO Yearbook production (FAO, Rome, 1989) - is difficult, if not impossible. Firstly, the area under potatoes is hard to estimate: the crop is often grown in isolated areas, in small and scattered plots, or incorporated with other food crops such as maize. (This argument has also been put forward in J. A. Woolfe, The potato in the human diet (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1977), p. 192). Secondly, as this article will reveal, yields per hectare can differ greatly (even locally) as a result of differences in cultivation practices, erratic supply of fertilizers and pesticides and the possibility of several harvests a year. Thirdly, output for subsistence purposes is difficult to estimate since the importance of the crop in local diets differs considerably. Lastly, the estimation of produced and marketed output is problematic since the potato trade in Tanzania is not organized through official marketing channels. Trade is largely unofficial and local in nature, and quantities traded are often small.
3. This article does not present any quantitative data, such as marketed output or total production figures, on potato production. The reason for this is that, in the case of Tanzania, such data are based on estimates which, for a number of reasons, are not likely to be very reliable. The collection of reliable quanitative data on potato production - such as the estimates published in the FAO Yearbook production (FAO, Rome, 1989) - is difficult, if not impossible. Firstly, the area under potatoes is hard to estimate: the crop is often grown in isolated areas, in small and scattered plots, or incorporated with other food crops such as maize. (This argument has also been put forward in J. A. Woolfe, The potato in the human diet (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1977), p. 192). Secondly, as this article will reveal, yields per hectare can differ greatly (even locally) as a result of differences in cultivation practices, erratic supply of fertilizers and pesticides and the possibility of several harvests a year. Thirdly, output for subsistence purposes is difficult to estimate since the importance of the crop in local diets differs considerably. Lastly, the estimation of produced and marketed output is problematic since the potato trade in Tanzania is not organized through official marketing channels. Trade is largely unofficial and local in nature, and quantities traded are often small.
4. The Uporoto mountains are mainly situated in the Mbeya region, but they also stretch into the Iringa region. For figures on agricultural performance in these regions, see the Bulletins of crop statistics published by the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dar es Salaam. For discussions on regional differences in agricultural performance, see: T. Rasmussen. 'The green revolution in the Southern Highlands', in J. Boesen, K. J. Havnevik, J. Koponen, R. Odegaard (eds.), Tanzania; crisis and struggle for survival (Scandinavian Institute for African Studies, Uppsala, 1986), pp. 191-205; J. K. van Donge, 'The continuing trial of development economics; Policies, prices and output in Tanzanian agriculture', Journal of International Development, 6, 2 (1994), pp. 157-184.
5. The Uporoto mountains are mainly situated in the Mbeya region, but they also stretch into the Iringa region. For figures on agricultural performance in these regions, see the Bulletins of crop statistics published by the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dar es Salaam. For discussions on regional differences in agricultural performance, see: T. Rasmussen. 'The green revolution in the Southern Highlands', in J. Boesen, K. J. Havnevik, J. Koponen, R. Odegaard (eds.), Tanzania; crisis and struggle for survival (Scandinavian Institute for African Studies, Uppsala, 1986), pp. 191-205; J. K. van Donge, 'The continuing trial of development economics; Policies, prices and output in Tanzanian agriculture', Journal of International Development, 6, 2 (1994), pp. 157-184.
6. The Uporoto mountains are mainly situated in the Mbeya region, but they also stretch into the Iringa region. For figures on agricultural performance in these regions, see the Bulletins of crop statistics published by the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dar es Salaam. For discussions on regional differences in agricultural performance, see: T. Rasmussen. 'The green revolution in the Southern Highlands', in J. Boesen, K. J. Havnevik, J. Koponen, R. Odegaard (eds.), Tanzania; crisis and struggle for survival (Scandinavian Institute for African Studies, Uppsala, 1986), pp. 191-205; J. K. van Donge, 'The continuing trial of development economics; Policies, prices and output in Tanzanian agriculture', Journal of International Development, 6, 2 (1994), pp. 157-184.
7. These construction works involved the Tanzania-Zambia (TaZaRa) railway and the TanZam road. See: M. B. Gleave, 'The Dar es Salaam transport corridor; An appraisal', African Affairs, 91 (1992).
8. N. Long, 'Creating space for change; A perspective on the sociology of development', Sociologia Ruralis, 24 (1984); and N. Long and B. Roberts (eds), Miners, peasants and entrepreneurs: regional development in the central highlands of Peru (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984).
9. N. Long, 'Creating space for change; A perspective on the sociology of development', Sociologia Ruralis, 24 (1984); and N. Long and B. Roberts (eds), Miners, peasants and entrepreneurs: regional development in the central highlands of Peru (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984).
10. H. Bernstein, 'Notes on capital and the peasantry', Review of African Political Economy, 10 (1977); and H. Bernstein, 'Notes on state and peasantry in Tanzania', Review of African Political Economy, 21 (1986).
11. H. Bernstein, 'Notes on capital and the peasantry', Review of African Political Economy, 10 (1977); and H. Bernstein, 'Notes on state and peasantry in Tanzania', Review of African Political Economy, 21 (1986).
12. G. Hyden, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania; Underdevelopment and an uncaptured peasantry (Heinemann, London, 1980).
13. These approaches, such as the training and visit (T&V) system, are often typified as 'transfer of technology' approaches. See for instance: R. G. Havelock et al., Planning for innovation: A comparative study of the literature on the dissemination and utilization of knowledge (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1969); E. M. Rogers, Diffusion of innovations, 3rd edition (Collier Macmillan, New York, 1983); D. Benor, J. O. Harrison, M. Baxter, Agricultural extension; the training and visit system (World Bank, Washington, 1984).
14. These approaches, such as the training and visit (T&V) system, are often typified as 'transfer of technology' approaches. See for instance: R. G. Havelock et al., Planning for innovation: A comparative study of the literature on the dissemination and utilization of knowledge (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1969); E. M. Rogers, Diffusion of innovations, 3rd edition (Collier Macmillan, New York, 1983); D. Benor, J. O. Harrison, M. Baxter, Agricultural extension; the training and visit system (World Bank, Washington, 1984).
15. These approaches, such as the training and visit (T&V) system, are often typified as 'transfer of technology' approaches. See for instance: R. G. Havelock et al., Planning for innovation: A comparative study of the literature on the dissemination and utilization of knowledge (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1969); E. M. Rogers, Diffusion of innovations, 3rd edition (Collier Macmillan, New York, 1983); D. Benor, J. O. Harrison, M. Baxter, Agricultural extension; the training and visit system (World Bank, Washington, 1984).
16. See amongst others: L. Box, 'Knowledge, networks and cultivators: Cassava in the Dominican Republic', in N. Long (ed.), Encounters at the Interface; a perspective on social discontinuities in rural development (Wageningen Sociological Studies, Wageningen, 1986), pp. 165-182; D. Kaimovitz (ed.), Making the link; agricultural research and technology transfer in developing countries (ISNAR, The Hague, 1990). As a result of this failure of agricultural research to meet farmers' needs, new models for agricultural research and extension have been developed. For an overview of these so called participatory approaches, see: J. Farrington and A. Martin, Farmer participation in agricultural research; a review of concepts and practices (Overseas Development Institute, Agricultural Administration Unit, Occasional Paper No. 9, London, 1988).
17. See amongst others: L. Box, 'Knowledge, networks and cultivators: Cassava in the Dominican Republic', in N. Long (ed.), Encounters at the Interface; a perspective on social discontinuities in rural development (Wageningen Sociological Studies, Wageningen, 1986), pp. 165-182; D. Kaimovitz (ed.), Making the link; agricultural research and technology transfer in developing countries (ISNAR, The Hague, 1990). As a result of this failure of agricultural research to meet farmers' needs, new models for agricultural research and extension have been developed. For an overview of these so called participatory approaches, see: J. Farrington and A. Martin, Farmer participation in agricultural research; a review of concepts and practices (Overseas Development Institute, Agricultural Administration Unit, Occasional Paper No. 9, London, 1988).
18. See amongst others: L. Box, 'Knowledge, networks and cultivators: Cassava in the Dominican Republic', in N. Long (ed.), Encounters at the Interface; a perspective on social discontinuities in rural development (Wageningen Sociological Studies, Wageningen, 1986), pp. 165-182; D. Kaimovitz (ed.), Making the link; agricultural research and technology transfer in developing countries (ISNAR, The Hague, 1990). As a result of this failure of agricultural research to meet farmers' needs, new models for agricultural research and extension have been developed. For an overview of these so called participatory approaches, see: J. Farrington and A. Martin, Farmer participation in agricultural research; a review of concepts and practices (Overseas Development Institute, Agricultural Administration Unit, Occasional Paper No. 9, London, 1988).
19. From the time a Tanzanian potato research programme was initiated in 1975, efforts have been made to select high yielding and disease resistant potato varieties. In an attempt to adjust research efforts to meet farmers' needs, so called adaptive research trials were set up, testing new varieties in the area itself. Yet, none of the approximately six varieties selected over the past fifteen years is still used by Uporoto potato producers. For various reasons, peasants withdrew from the production of these high yielding and disease resistant varieties soon after the introduction. This article will argue that this rejection of propagated varieties is not a matter of potato producers' individual preferences, but that it relates to the (different) social contexts within which these cultivars were introduced.
20. See: Box, 'Knowledge, networks and cultivars'.
21. N. Elias, Was ist Soziologie? (Juventa Verlag, München, 1970).
22. See: M. Gallon, 'The sociology of an actor-network: The case of the electric vehicle', in M. Gallon, J. Law and A. Rip (eds.), Mapping the dynamics of science and technology (MacMillan, London, 1986), pp. 19-34; and M. Gallon, 'Techno-economic networks and irreversibility', in J. Law (ed.), A sociology of monsters; essays on power, technology and domination (Routledge, London and New York, 1991), pp. 132-161, who has argued that it is often things that draw people into relations. In so doing, Gallon goes beyond conventional conceptualizations of social networks that are limited to relations between particular individuals.
23. See: M. Gallon, 'The sociology of an actor-network: The case of the electric vehicle', in M. Gallon, J. Law and A. Rip (eds.), Mapping the dynamics of science and technology (MacMillan, London, 1986), pp. 19-34; and M. Gallon, 'Techno-economic networks and irreversibility', in J. Law (ed.), A sociology of monsters; essays on power, technology and domination (Routledge, London and New York, 1991), pp. 132-161, who has argued that it is often things that draw people into relations. In so doing, Gallon goes beyond conventional conceptualizations of social networks that are limited to relations between particular individuals.
24. A letter from the Mbeya regional office in response to a land application by a British settler in July 1940 states the following: 'Although the land you applied for and that immediately surrounding it may be empty at the moment, there can be no doubt that the pressure of population on the land in the Rungwe district and the Poroto Hills in the Mbeya district is such that no further alienation to non-natives in these areas is permissable,' (File no.: 77/17/2, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam). Another example is provided by a policy paper of the Southern Highlands Province land settlement sub-committee, Iringa, July 1944. On the situation in Usafwa as a whole (including Uporoto) it states: 'Area: Usafwa - Very thickly populated by natives. No room for further alienation.' Mbeya regional office, (File No.: 77/17/21, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam).
25. A. Harwood, Witchcraft, sorcery and social categories among the Safwa (Oxford University Press, London, 1970), pp. 1-4.
26. For a discussion of the inhabitants of the Southern Highlands area north of Lake Nyasa, see: M. Wilson, The people of the Lake Nyasa-Tanganyika corridor (University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 1958), pp. 28-41. Whereas little has been written on the Wasafwa, there exists an extensive body of literature on the Wanyakusa peoples and, particularly, their distinct age-village system. See for instance: G. Wilson, The land rights of individuals among the Nyakyusa (Rhodes-Livingstone Institute Papers No. 1, Oxford University Press, London, 1938); M. Wilson, For men and elders: change in the relations of generations and of men and women among the Nyakyusa-Ngonde people, 1875-1971 (International African Institute, London, 1977).
27. For a discussion of the inhabitants of the Southern Highlands area north of Lake Nyasa, see: M. Wilson, The people of the Lake Nyasa-Tanganyika corridor (University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 1958), pp. 28-41. Whereas little has been written on the Wasafwa, there exists an extensive body of literature on the Wanyakusa peoples and, particularly, their distinct age-village system. See for instance: G. Wilson, The land rights of individuals among the Nyakyusa (Rhodes-Livingstone Institute Papers No. 1, Oxford University Press, London, 1938); M. Wilson, For men and elders: change in the relations of generations and of men and women among the Nyakyusa-Ngonde people, 1875-1971 (International African Institute, London, 1977).
28. For a discussion of the inhabitants of the Southern Highlands area north of Lake Nyasa, see: M. Wilson, The people of the Lake Nyasa-Tanganyika corridor (University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 1958), pp. 28-41. Whereas little has been written on the Wasafwa, there exists an extensive body of literature on the Wanyakusa peoples and, particularly, their distinct age-village system. See for instance: G. Wilson, The land rights of individuals among the Nyakyusa (Rhodes-Livingstone Institute Papers No. 1, Oxford University Press, London, 1938); M. Wilson, For men and elders: change in the relations of generations and of men and women among the Nyakyusa-Ngonde people, 1875-1971 (International African Institute, London, 1977).
29. J. Iliffe, Agricultural change in modern Tanganyika; An outline history (East African Publishing House, Dar es Salaam, 1971).
30. Iliffe, Agricultural change, p. 17.
31. These nearby centres of capitalist production consisted of the gold mines in the Lupa area of Chunya district and white settler farms in the Mbeya, Rungwe and Njombe districts (Southern Highlands region) producing export crops. Reports of the colonial government in 1939 show that these areas received food supplies from Uporoto. See: Njombe district office, 1932-1943, Crop reports (File no.: 178/552/12/6, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam). In the 1940s, when mining in Lupa declined, food surpluses in Uporoto were increasingly exported to the Zambian copperbelt. See: Mbeya regional office, 1938, Crop reports (File no.: 77/2/17 vol. II, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Mbeya district office, 1953, Monthly reports (File no.: 174/A3/35, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1952 (Dar es Salaam), p. 33.
32. These nearby centres of capitalist production consisted of the gold mines in the Lupa area of Chunya district and white settler farms in the Mbeya, Rungwe and Njombe districts (Southern Highlands region) producing export crops. Reports of the colonial government in 1939 show that these areas received food supplies from Uporoto. See: Njombe district office, 1932-1943, Crop reports (File no.: 178/552/12/6, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam). In the 1940s, when mining in Lupa declined, food surpluses in Uporoto were increasingly exported to the Zambian copperbelt. See: Mbeya regional office, 1938, Crop reports (File no.: 77/2/17 vol. II, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Mbeya district office, 1953, Monthly reports (File no.: 174/A3/35, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1952 (Dar es Salaam), p. 33.
33. These nearby centres of capitalist production consisted of the gold mines in the Lupa area of Chunya district and white settler farms in the Mbeya, Rungwe and Njombe districts (Southern Highlands region) producing export crops. Reports of the colonial government in 1939 show that these areas received food supplies from Uporoto. See: Njombe district office, 1932-1943, Crop reports (File no.: 178/552/12/6, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam). In the 1940s, when mining in Lupa declined, food surpluses in Uporoto were increasingly exported to the Zambian copperbelt. See: Mbeya regional office, 1938, Crop reports (File no.: 77/2/17 vol. II, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Mbeya district office, 1953, Monthly reports (File no.: 174/A3/35, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1952 (Dar es Salaam), p. 33.
34. These nearby centres of capitalist production consisted of the gold mines in the Lupa area of Chunya district and white settler farms in the Mbeya, Rungwe and Njombe districts (Southern Highlands region) producing export crops. Reports of the colonial government in 1939 show that these areas received food supplies from Uporoto. See: Njombe district office, 1932-1943, Crop reports (File no.: 178/552/12/6, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam). In the 1940s, when mining in Lupa declined, food surpluses in Uporoto were increasingly exported to the Zambian copperbelt. See: Mbeya regional office, 1938, Crop reports (File no.: 77/2/17 vol. II, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Mbeya district office, 1953, Monthly reports (File no.: 174/A3/35, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam); Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1952 (Dar es Salaam), p. 33.
35. Mbeya district office, 1938-1953, Monthly reports (File no.: 174/A3/35, Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam).
36. Introductions of new potato varieties do, however, also cause the spread of potato diseases. For example, the spread of potato blight (Phytophthora infestons) in the early 1940s demonstrates this. The spread of this disease in Tanganyika corresponded with patterns of labour migration: northern provinces were first infected, but eventually, in 1944, the Southern Highlands potato producing areas - including Uporoto - were also infected. See: Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1939), p. 6; Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1944), p. 7.
37. Introductions of new potato varieties do, however, also cause the spread of potato diseases. For example, the spread of potato blight (Phytophthora infestons) in the early 1940s demonstrates this. The spread of this disease in Tanganyika corresponded with patterns of labour migration: northern provinces were first infected, but eventually, in 1944, the Southern Highlands potato producing areas - including Uporoto - were also infected. See: Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1939), p. 6; Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1944), p. 7.
38. Introductions of new potato varieties do, however, also cause the spread of potato diseases. For example, the spread of potato blight (Phytophthora infestons) in the early 1940s demonstrates this. The spread of this disease in Tanganyika corresponded with patterns of labour migration: northern provinces were first infected, but eventually, in 1944, the Southern Highlands potato producing areas - including Uporoto - were also infected. See: Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1939), p. 6; Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report (Dar es Salaam, 1944), p. 7.
39. Potato research in Kenya dates back to the early 1930s. In those days, the country was already a major producer of Irish potatoes. Exports covered large parts of the east coast of the African continent as appears from colonial government reports. See: Ministry of Agriculture, Annual report (Kenya Colony and Protectorate, Nairobi, 1938), pp. 124-125; I. D. Talbott, Agricultural innovation in Africa; Kenya and the great depression (African Studies 18), (Eswin Meilen Press, Lampeter, 1990). In Tanzania, potato research was first initiated in Lushoto (Usambara mountains) in the late 1940s. Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1945 (Dar es Salaam, 1945), p. 36; and Annual report 1953, pp. 24-25. In the 1950s, research efforts were ended, not to be taken up again before 1975, when a potato research programme was initiated at the agricultural research centre in the Mbeya district.
40. Potato research in Kenya dates back to the early 1930s. In those days, the country was already a major producer of Irish potatoes. Exports covered large parts of the east coast of the African continent as appears from colonial government reports. See: Ministry of Agriculture, Annual report (Kenya Colony and Protectorate, Nairobi, 1938), pp. 124-125; I. D. Talbott, Agricultural innovation in Africa; Kenya and the great depression (African Studies 18), (Eswin Meilen Press, Lampeter, 1990). In Tanzania, potato research was first initiated in Lushoto (Usambara mountains) in the late 1940s. Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1945 (Dar es Salaam, 1945), p. 36; and Annual report 1953, pp. 24-25. In the 1950s, research efforts were ended, not to be taken up again before 1975, when a potato research programme was initiated at the agricultural research centre in the Mbeya district.
41. Potato research in Kenya dates back to the early 1930s. In those days, the country was already a major producer of Irish potatoes. Exports covered large parts of the east coast of the African continent as appears from colonial government reports. See: Ministry of Agriculture, Annual report (Kenya Colony and Protectorate, Nairobi, 1938), pp. 124-125; I. D. Talbott, Agricultural innovation in Africa; Kenya and the great depression (African Studies 18), (Eswin Meilen Press, Lampeter, 1990). In Tanzania, potato research was first initiated in Lushoto (Usambara mountains) in the late 1940s. Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1945 (Dar es Salaam, 1945), p. 36; and Annual report 1953, pp. 24-25. In the 1950s, research efforts were ended, not to be taken up again before 1975, when a potato research programme was initiated at the agricultural research centre in the Mbeya district.
42. Potato research in Kenya dates back to the early 1930s. In those days, the country was already a major producer of Irish potatoes. Exports covered large parts of the east coast of the African continent as appears from colonial government reports. See: Ministry of Agriculture, Annual report (Kenya Colony and Protectorate, Nairobi, 1938), pp. 124-125; I. D. Talbott, Agricultural innovation in Africa; Kenya and the great depression (African Studies 18), (Eswin Meilen Press, Lampeter, 1990). In Tanzania, potato research was first initiated in Lushoto (Usambara mountains) in the late 1940s. Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1945 (Dar es Salaam, 1945), p. 36; and Annual report 1953, pp. 24-25. In the 1950s, research efforts were ended, not to be taken up again before 1975, when a potato research programme was initiated at the agricultural research centre in the Mbeya district.
43. In the 1930s and 1940s, market demand for potatoes in the Northern Highlands often exceeded supply, resulting in regular importations from Kenya. See a.o.: Tanganyika Department of Agriculture, Annual report, (part II) (Dar es Salaam, 1937). After independence, potatoes were increasingly exported - illegally - to Kenya, because of higher prices on the urban markets of Nairobi and Mombasa.
44. H. W. Jürgens, Untersuchungen zur Binnenwanderung in Tanzania (IFO-institut für Wirtschaftforschung, München, 1968), pp. 94-96; E. Kootz-Kretschmer, Die Safwa, Ein OstAfrikanischer Volksstamm in seinem Leben und Denken (vol. I: Das Leben der Safwa) (Dietrich Reiner, Berlin, 1926), p. 2.; P. van Hekken & H. U. E. van Velzen, Land scarcity and rural inequality in Tanzania: some case studies from the Rungwe district (Mounton, The Hague, 1972).
45. H. W. Jürgens, Untersuchungen zur Binnenwanderung in Tanzania (IFO-institut für Wirtschaftforschung, München, 1968), pp. 94-96; E. Kootz-Kretschmer, Die Safwa, Ein OstAfrikanischer Volksstamm in seinem Leben und Denken (vol. I: Das Leben der Safwa) (Dietrich Reiner, Berlin, 1926), p. 2.; P. van Hekken & H. U. E. van Velzen, Land scarcity and rural inequality in Tanzania: some case studies from the Rungwe district (Mounton, The Hague, 1972).
46. H. W. Jürgens, Untersuchungen zur Binnenwanderung in Tanzania (IFO-institut für Wirtschaftforschung, München, 1968), pp. 94-96; E. Kootz-Kretschmer, Die Safwa, Ein OstAfrikanischer Volksstamm in seinem Leben und Denken (vol. I: Das Leben der Safwa) (Dietrich Reiner, Berlin, 1926), p. 2.; P. van Hekken & H. U. E. van Velzen, Land scarcity and rural inequality in Tanzania: some case studies from the Rungwe district (Mounton, The Hague, 1972).
47. Other social motives, such as family conflicts over marital affairs may also stimulate people to migrate. It should be stressed, however, that the type of migration referred to here is rural-rural circular migration, to be distinguished from permanent migration to towns.
48. P. H. Gulliver, A report on the migration of African workers to the South from the Southern Highlands province, with special reference to the Nyakyusa of Rungwe district (Sociological Research Provincial Administration, Dar es Salaam, 1955).
49. This popularity of Irish potatoes is reflected in the local names that several societies in the Southern Highlands developed for the crop. Tanzanians generally use Swahili names for potatoes, distinguishing them from sweet potatoes as round potatoes (Viazi Mviringo) or indicating their foreign origin, European potatoes (Viazi Ulaya). This is different in the Southern Highlands. The Wasafwa for instance, the largest tribal group in the Uporoto mountains, use their local language; they call Irish potatoes Ndovanya.
50. These new markets consisted of the North-Rhodesian (Zambian) Copperbelt and, to a lesser extent, Dar es Salaam. (Colonial records mention exports of potatoes from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam for the first time in 1948; Tanganyikan Department of Agriculture, Annual report 1948, Dar es Salaam, p. 18). It is, however, difficult to measure the extent of the potato exports from Uporoto in the late 1940s. Like today, farmgate or roadside trading, rather than distribution through official markets, was the norm.
51. This argument is also put forward in: P. Raikes, 'Eating the carrot and wielding the stick; the agricultural sector in Tanzania', in J. Boesen, K. J. Havnevik, J. Koponen, R. Odegaard (eds.), Tanzania; crisis and struggle for survival (Scandinavian Institute for African Studies, Uppsala, 1986), pp. 105-143.
52. Improvements in infrastructure not only facilitated the marketing of potatoes, but also meant that artificial fertilizers and pesticides became available on a larger scale. Not surprisingly, one can observe an increased use of these inputs in Uporoto potato cultivation from the late 1970s onwards. Potato researchers and extensionists working in the area have assisted peasant producers in adopting these inputs and have at the same time promoted several other cultivation practices, such as planting in rows. Consequently, yields per hectare have risen remarkably.
53. M. B. Gleave, 'The Dar es Salaam transport corridor', p. 250.
54. M. F. Lofchie, 'Agrarian crises and economic liberalisation in Tanzania', Journal of Modern African Studies, 16, 3 (1978), pp. 451-475.
55. The dissolution of the East African Community in the late 1970s contributed to the expansion of unofficial exports of potatoes to Kenya. The Tanzanian government restricted official imports of industrial products (consumer goods) from Kenya; and, as foreign currency shortages increasingly affected the Tanzanian economy, the quest for Kenyan currency grew, causing a growth of illegal trade between the two countries.
56. An article on the Northern Corridor, in the Malawi Financial Post of 2-15 October 1992, confirms this impression with quanitative data: the volume of Malawi's imports through the Northern Corridor largely exceeds the volume exported. MFP, 'Keeping the artery open', October 2-15, Limbe, 1992, pp. 18-21.
57. An article on the Northern Corridor, in the Malawi Financial Post of 2-15 October 1992, confirms this impression with quanitative data: the volume of Malawi's imports through the Northern Corridor largely exceeds the volume exported. MFP, 'Keeping the artery open', October 2-15, Limbe, 1992, pp. 18-21.
58. J. K. van Donge, 'Waluguru traders in Dar es Salaam: An analysis of the social construction of economic life', African Affairs, 91 (1992), has shown that the degree of accumulated capital relates to specific trade practices constituting a career pattern ranging from illegal, often ambulant, selling on a small scale to organized wholesale trade with a minimum of risk in Dar es Salaam. Potato trade occupies a high position in this career pattern. Though capital intensive, it is far less risky than trading in very perishable crops such as cabbage and tomatoes.
59. Besides resistance to disease and attack by insects, potato producers in Uporoto mention a number of other reasons why they prefer a particular variety, such as, for instance, its fertilizer requirements, or whether its leaves are palatable to goats and cows that may accidentally enter potato plots. The point made in this article, however, is that even such agronomic reasons are shaped by the social environment in which potato cultivation in Uporoto is embedded. For many producers (particularly young men and women who generally have less capital) fertilizer is difficult to obtain: it is expensive, its availability on the Uyole market (at least an hour away) is erratic, and, when it is available, it is often in short supply. The inclusion in the planting programme of some varieties that can survive with little or no fertilizer thus minimizes the risk of crop losses. The cultivation of varieties whose leaves are not eaten by passing cattle is equally a measure to minimize crop losses for producers who have plots near roadsides or grazing areas.
60. 'Volunteers' are potato plants that have grown out of small tubers that remained in the soil after the last harvest.
61. Similar to this method is the technique of reconstructing 'cultivation biographies', proposed in L. Box, 'Virgilio's theorem; a method for adaptive agricultural research', in R. Chambers, A. Pacey and L. A. Thrupp (eds.), Farmer first; farmer innovation and agricultural research (Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 1989), pp. 61-67.
62. H. Bernstein, 'Notes on state and peasantry', and G. Hyden, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania.
63. H. Bernstein, 'Notes on state and peasantry', and G. Hyden, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania.