Peasant households in Tanzania have a variety of income sources. However,
establishing a crop in the peasant farming culture requires much investment, and the decline of
a crop that is a source of livelihood can cause much misery. Widespread social and economic
changes in the peasant society and in the regional society as a whole have led to a decline in
coffee crops in Kilimanjaro since the 1970s, despite the fact that coffee is its principal cash
crop. This paper explores the decline of coffee and the ascendancy of rice and maize as major
crops in the Kilimanjaro region. The driving forces behind these changes in crop culture are
considered. The argument is made that wider institutional changes, in addition to internal
changes in peasant households, have contributed to the decline of coffee and the rise of maize
and rice as the principal crops.