Milanzi, Montanus Cyprian creator text xu| 1998 continuing ng p.31-37 Enshrined in the Tanzanian Constitution as permanent institutions, local authorities are essential means to facilitate orderly and meaningful democratic participation of people in social, political, cultural and economic related decisions affecting them at the grassroots level. In 1995, a research project was conducted in four regions in Tanzania focusing on the level, type and amount of administrative support given to farmers to improve their crops' resistance against natural disasters like plant weeds, diseases and pests. Among its major findings count the following: the organization structure of the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture is top heavy which is hardly visible at the lower levels of government; local government participation to promote agriculture is almost nil; and farmers' participation in the development and promotion of agriculture has been largely confined to forms of tokenism. At present, local authorities in Tanzania have to seek more innovative ways of evoking effective grassroots participation in the planning process, although theoretically such efforts are supposed to emanate from the grassroots. - Reproduced Local government - Tanzania Local government Philippine Journal of Public Administration 180718