Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Regenerative Agriculture among Smallholder Farmers: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Kongwa District, Tanzania

B. Musoma; Mwabless Malila; H. Dobogo

Journal of Policy and Development Studies · 2025

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Summary

This cross-sectional survey of 250 smallholder households in Kongwa District, Tanzania, employed propensity score matching to estimate the causal effect of regenerative agriculture adoption on multidimensional poverty. The study provides empirical evidence that RA practices—which restore soil fertility, enhance biodiversity, and build resilience—are associated with reduced deprivation across multiple dimensions of poverty in rural Tanzanian contexts.

UK applicability

Whilst the study is geographically specific to Tanzania's semi-arid smallholder context, the conceptual framework linking soil-building practices to poverty reduction may have limited direct applicability to UK farming, which operates at different scales and under different policy conditions. However, findings could inform UK development policy and support for agricultural development programming in sub-Saharan Africa.

Key measures

Multidimensional poverty index (deprivations in income, health, education, empowerment, living standards); regenerative agriculture adoption status; average treatment effect (ATE) via propensity score matching

Outcomes reported

The study measured the impact of regenerative agriculture adoption on multidimensional poverty (MDP) across multiple dimensions including income, health, education, empowerment, and living standards among smallholder households. Results reportedly showed that RA adopters experienced significantly lower deprivation across measured poverty dimensions.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Regenerative agriculture and poverty alleviation
Study type
Research
Study design
Cross-sectional observational study with propensity score matching
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Tanzania
System type
Mixed smallholder farming
DOI
10.4314/jpds.v19i5.17
Catalogue ID
NRmo8fsfn0-004

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