Extension officers’ perspectives on the influence of Central-local government interface in the implementation of good agricultural practices in Tanzania

Abstract

Effective implementation of GAPs in developing countries is often constrained by weak institutional arrangements. While studies have examined institutional contributions to GAPS, they tend to treat institutions as a broad service sector, with little attention to how governance structure especially the central-local government interface, shapes autonomy, coordination, and role distribution in practice. This study addresses this gap by investigating agricultural extension officers’ perspectives on the influence of central-local government interface on GAPs implementation in Tanzania. Guided by institutional theory, using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 40 purposively selected respondents across 11 Local Government Authorities (LGAs). The data were thematically analyzed using NVivo. The findings show that bureaucratic overlaps, unclear reporting structures, and limited local autonomy constrain the implementation of GAPs. The coordination of GAPs across the Ministry of Agriculture, the PORALG and LGAs was characterized by enabling interventions, and constrained gaps such as fragmented directives, delayed communication, and mismatched priorities, leading to inconsistent implementation of GAPs and poor responses to GAPs needs. The findings show how a misaligned governance structure hampers the technical initiatives of implementing GAPs and highlight the importance of institutional arrangements for shaping extension services. This study contributes to institutional theory by demonstrating how legitimacy pressure and decoupling manifest at the local level in agricultural governance. Furthermore, it highlights the need for clearer policy directives, strengthening multilevel collaboration, and enhancing local capacity. Addressing these issues is crucial for aligning GAPs implementation with national agricultural priorities and international frameworks, such as the FAO guidelines and SDGs.