Table 1 Site description
From: Households and food security: lessons from food secure households in East Africa
Site | Rainfall | Farming systems | Main crops (from secondary sources) |
|---|---|---|---|
Lushoto district, Northeastern Tanzania | Mid-altitude ecology, bimodal rainfall patterns (1200–1300 mm) with wet seasons in March–April–May and October–November–December | Three main production systems were identified: (1) mixed food crops and indigenous livestock; (2) horticultural crops, and crosses of exotic and local cattle breeds; (3) cash crops and crosses of exotic and local zebu cattle and some goats | Food crops: maize, cassava, beans, fruit trees, vegetables Cash crops include coffee and tea Livestock: dairy cattle, indigenous cattle, goats, chicken |
Rakai, Southern Uganda | Steep rainfall gradient, high rainfall (>1400 mm) along Lake Victoria rapidly declining to low in Western Rakai and Isingiro (<1000 mm) | One production system was identified in this grid: coffee–banana with annuals and few local livestock | Two major crop components: perennials (banana and coffee); annuals (maize, beans, cassava, groundnuts and sweet potatoes) Livestock: cattle, goats and poultry |
Wote, Eastern Kenya | Average rainfall: 520 mm per year, bimodal, long rains occur in March–May and short rains in October–December | Two main systems were identified: (1) crop–livestock mixed with local sheep, (2) crop–livestock mixed with dairy | Food crops: maize, cowpea, pigeon pea, green grams Cash crops: include fruit trees Livestock: sheep, dairy cattle, indigenous cattle, goats, chicken |