Economics of Manure Disposal and Utilization in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

The objective of this study was to evaluate the alternative economic uses of animal manure and willingness ·to pay for it among horticultural producers in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed to (i) characterize manure production, disposal and use practices; (ii) analyze the costs and benefits associated with alternative manure use practices and (iii) determine the socio-economic factors that influence willingness of horticultural farmers to pay for manure in the study areas. The study involved 118 livestock keepers and 75 horticultural farmers from four wards: Kilakala, Bigwa, Mazimbu and Mkundi of Morogoro Municipality. Descriptive statistics, analysis of costs and benefits associated with manure use and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The study revealed that cattle produced more manure per animal per day (20 kg), while in total chickens produced the largest quantity of manure amounting to approximately 142 million tons per year due to the large number of chickens compared to other animals. Most of the manure produced in Morogoro Municipality was used for crop production and a very small amount used for biogas production. Manure was directly spread on crop farms or stored in heaps for future use, The findings suggest that manure directly and indirectly benefit the users by increasing their income,’ reduce environmental pollution and improve nutrition. In all analyzed alternative manure uses, the benefits exceeded the costs. The result from logistic regression revealed that education, distance from farm to the market and household income significantly (p<0.05) influenced fanner’s willingness to pay for manure in Morogoro Municipality. It was recommended that local government and other stakeholders should increase awareness to farmers on economic value of manure as well as designing appropriate manure handling practices.