Socio-economic Effects of Schistosomiasis on Irrigation Rice Growers in Morogoro, Tanzania

Aims: To assess Socio-economic effects of schistosomiasis on irrigation rice farmers in Modern, Improved traditional and Traditional irrigation schemes in Morogoro Region.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Mkindo (improved traditional) in Mvomero district, and Mwega (Modern) and Chabi (Traditional) in Kilosa District, between March and April 2010.
Methodology: In each scheme we used 40 farmers practicing irrigation rice farming. Between-scheme differences for infected farmers were tested using one way-ANOVA, and t-test for differences between infected and non-infected farmers within and irrespective of schemes.
Results: Over 60% of all farmers surveyed reported to have had suffered from schistosomiasis, with traditional scheme exhibiting the highest number. Differences in financial expenditures on treatment and care were detected between improved traditional and traditional (P<0.001), and improved traditional and modern (p=0.014). Similarly, hours spent on treatment and care differed between improved traditional and traditional (p=0.001) and between traditional and modern (p=0.028). Additionally, net working hours per month differed between traditional and improved traditional (p=0.002) and between traditional and modern (p=0.056). Contrary, only net working hours per month differed between infected and non-infected farmers within traditional (p=0.003) and modern (p=0.001) before and after converting hours spent on caring of oneself/other family members into monetary cost. The same variable exhibited significant difference all schemes pooled together (p<0.001). Results of this study contravene the hypothesis that farmers in the modern scheme would have high income balance compared to farmers in traditional and improved traditional.
Conclusion: Four key conclusions were reached:

Contrary to our expectation, net income balance remained highest in the improved traditional scheme both before and after conversion of time spent on treatment and care into monetary cost, but remained smallest amount in the traditional scheme.
Failure of expenditures related to treatment and care to trigger significant difference in net income balance between infected and non-infected farmers, both between and within schemes caused the proposed hypothesis not to be accepted.
Apparently, the family that replaces the labour of a family that fails to indulge in production process due to schistosomiasis illness is likely to undergo an economic cost as they will have abandoned their own production activities. But then, the tendency of ignoring such cost is deep rooted in many African traditions including rice farmers in Morogoro schemes thus causing underestimation of the actual Socio-economic cost of schistosomiasis in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Occurrence of higher expenditures on treatment and care in traditional than in modern and improved traditional schemes justify the need for improvement of traditional irrigation infrastructures and cleanliness as well as training on water management and cropping calendar that would “cut” the pathways of schistosomiasis transmission.