Steps

Following introductions, the facilitator team asks participants if they use others' land for farming and how much. The team notes the amount of land taken in for each participant.

The facilitator then asks what crops are grown on this land and writes a card for each crop listed.

The facilitator then probes if all these crops are grown on the same type of land, or different land types. Participants are asked to group crops into different land types.

Example: In Tanzania, participants listed:

Highlands	Lowlands	Plots Near Rivers
Maize Sorghum Pigeon Peas Sesame	Rice Maize	Vegetables

 

The facilitator may also ask what crops others farm on each type of land, to get a sense of other crops that better-off households may cultivate within this context.

The facilitator then asks if arrangements to cultivate land from landowners is based on crops grown or land type. Based on the answer, the facilitation team will structure the exercise by the most relevant factor (land type or crop cultivated).

Before building the matrix, the facilitator also asks what types of arrangements exist for gaining access to others' land for cultivation. Each arrangement is written on a separate card, with which the facilitation team arranges the following matrix:

Arrangement	Highland Soil	Lowland Soil
Renting in
Sharecropping

 

For each arrangement, the facilitator then probes into the terms and conditions. If sharecropping exists, the facilitator should probe into exactly how much of each crop is required to access one unit of land. It is important to determine how land and crops are measured in these arrangements. For example, if the unit is per acre or garden, how is this size established? And if payments are in sacks of grains, what is the weight of each sack?

Arrangement	Highland Soil	Lowland Soil
Renting in	15,000 TZ Shillings per acre per year	20,000 TZ Shillings per acre per year
Sharecropping	Depends on crop cultivated (landowner receives): 1 bag maize per acre per season 2 bags sesame per acre per season 6 tins pigeon peas per acre per season	Depends on crop cultivated (land owner receives): 3 bags rice per acre per season 1 bag short-rain maize per acre per season

 

Once the matrix is completed, the facilitator reviews the details discussed with participants to verify ts accuracy. Follow-up questions may include:

• Are contracts verbal or written?
  What types of households engage in each arrangement? Do women also engage in these arrangements?
• If a crop fails on this land, who bears the risk? How are arrangements settled?
• Are there differences between the landlords or are arrangments uniform across them?

Following the exercise, the facilitation team thanks participants for their time and field questions. The results of this exercise can be compared with crop matrix exercises to understand how yields and value of harvests relate to these arrangements.