Indigenous or Exotic Crop Diversity? Which Crops Ensure Household Food Security: Facts from Tanzania Panel

Abstract

Farm crop diversity is often overlooked, predominantly indigenous crops’ role in this diversity. The main concentration has been on the contribution or role of exotic crops to household crop diversification. At the same time, the role played by both types of crops in household food security has only been aggregated, failing to show how indigenous crops play a key role in household food security. This research paper uses Tanzanian Panel data from waves 4 and 5 to study the factors influencing indigenous and exotic crop diversification and the role of this diversity in household food security. Using a random effect model, the author found that various factors are crucial in determining household crop diversification. Gender, household size, marital status, and expected harvest quantity are among the key factors influencing indigenous crop diversification. On the other hand, age, education, access to markets, access to irrigation services, and soil quality are the primary factors that affect the diversification of exotic crops. Moreover, the findings show that indigenous and exotic crop diversity significantly influences household food consumption. Thus, policies to increase the production of indigenous crops in order to improve household food consumption should be considered.