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The role of communication on performance of donor funded agricultural project: a case of research, community and organizational development associates
No full textDissertation on project management and evaluation 2019The main aim of this study was to assess the role of communication in the performance of
agricultural donor funded projects using Research, Community and Organizational
Development Associates (RECODA) as a case study. Generally, the study established the
types of project information shared by various actors in the RECODA donor funded
agricultural projects; examined the effectiveness of various communication channels;
assessed the relationship between communication and performance of RECODA
agricultural projects; and identified barriers to effective communication among actors in
RECODA donor funded agricultural projects. A cross-sectional research design was
adopted whereby primary data were collected using a questionnaire administered to 120
randomly selected respondents. Primary data were also collected through key informants
interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). In addition, secondary data were
collected through evaluation of reports. The analysis of data was done using the
International Business Machine Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS). The
key findings of the research envisaged that communication in RECODA project was
meetings and communication channels effectiveness had a linear relationship with the
result and information stakeholders’ satisfaction. Furthermore, all the four communication
indicators that are communication flow, communication channels, communication
management tools and quality of the information had a positive linear statistical
relationship with the performance indicators’ thus, stakeholders’ satisfaction on the
information provided and stakeholders’ satisfactions on the results of the project. The
barriers of communication were not highly rated. Conclusively, communication has been
observed as having relationship with the performance. That is, all the communication
elements those are communication flow, communication channels, communication
management tools and quality of the information had a role in the performance of
RECODA project. It is therefore, recommended that project planners should invest on
their project’s communication process in the project for better performance of the same
Conservation of medicinal plants for managing HIV/AIDs opportunistic infections in Rungwe district, Mbeya region, Tanzania.
No full textA Thesis 2019The application of medicinal plants in primary health care for people living with
HIV/AIDS is well acknowledged in Tanzania. However, the conservation status of
medicinal plants is questionable. This study aimed at assessing the conservation status of
medicinal plants used to manage HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in Rungwe District,
Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Specifically, this study sought to: identify and document
medicinal plant species used to manage HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in the study
area, explore indigenous knowledge of conserving medicinal plants in the study area,
assess the wild population status of medicinal plant species used to manage HIV/AIDS
opportunistic infections and to propose a conservation framework for medicinal plant
species in the study area. This study employed a cross sectional research design through
which data were collected at a single point in time. Ethnobotanical data were collected
using questionnaires, key informants’ interviews, focus group discussions and field
observations. Furthermore, the inventory was conducted to collect data on the wild
population status of priority medicinal plant species. While quantitative data were
analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, qualitative data were analysed using
content analysis method. Logistic regression models were developed to analyse the
influence of socio-demographic factors of the respondents on ethnobotanical knowledge.
Preference ranking method was used to obtain priority medicinal plant species used to
manage HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in the study area. Analysis of inventory data
was done by using Microsoft Excel and QGIS software version 2.18 to analyse spatial
data gathered on assessment of wild population status of priority medicinal plant species.
Inventory data were further analysed for species structure and density. It was revealed
that a total of 31 medicinal plant species belonging to 23 families were used to manage
HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in the study area. Compositae and Rosaceae were themostly extracted plant families (15%). With regards to plant parts, the study indicated
that leaves were mostly extracted for medicine (44%) than others. Of the cited
HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections, Tuberculosis utilized the largest share of the
medicinal plant species (60%). The ethnobotanical knowledge of the respondents was
independent of age and sex, but was significantly influenced by ethnic background and
education levels of the respondents (p=0.00). In relation to indigenous knowledge on
conservation, the study indicated that up to nine indigenous conservation practices were
recorded. Out of the nine indigenous conservation practices, selective harvesting was the
most popular to 94% of the respondents. Moreover, the study revealed that indigenous
knowledge on conservation was significant among males than females (p=0.031) and
adults than youth respondents (p=0.002). The study revealed up to seven priority
medicinal plant species used by communities to manage HIV/AIDS opportunistic
infections in the study area. The assessment of the wild population status of medicinal
plant species was carried out on two species (Hagenia abyssinica and Myrica salicifolia).
The findings on population status of priority medicinal plant species indicated that, both
species were mostly distributed within 1950-2050 meters above sea level in the Poroto
forest reserve and were linearly distributed adjacent rivers. The population structure of
priority medicinal plant species showed J-shaped curves, most species were dominant in
(>10cm) size class and few in the lowest size class (<10cm) for Hagenia abyssinica
while there were no species of the lowest size class found for Myrica salicifolia. With
regards to stem density, the findings revealed that Hagenia abyssinica had a total of 200
stems/ha whereas only 28 stems/ha density were found in Myrica salicifolia. Further, it
was indicated that arable farming, logging, and animal grazing inside the forest reserve
interfered the sustainability of medicinal plant species. To address those conservation
challenges the respondents suggested approaches such as ex-situ (32%) and in-situ
(23%). The findings from all objectives were scrutinized to arrive at proposing aconservation framework suitable for medicinal plant species. The aim of the
conservation framework is to attain sustainability of medicinal plants and ensuring
improvement of health of the people. The framework proposed encompasses many
variables such as: legal and institutional frameworks ex-situ and in-situ conservation and
conservation knowledge (formal and/or indigenous). Other variables include suitable site
selected for ex-situ conservation from which the properly prepared seeds/seedlings will
be planted. With regards to in-situ conservation, it is required that seedlings for restoring
the wild are properly prepared and they are left to grow under proper managed and
protected environment. In conclusion, the communities in the study area are rich in
ethnobotanical knowledge. This study recommends for preservation and transmission of
ethnobotanical knowledge across generations by the elders to the youth. Based on the
study findings, there is a necessity of taking urgent measures to address conservation
challenges and safeguarding the medicinal plant species. The implementation of the
proposed conservation framework requires government’s responsible institutions such as
the Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TFS), Tanzania Forest Research Institution
(TAFORI) together with academic and other research institutions, environmental policy
makers and conservationists, local authorities and all stakeholders interested in the
medicinal plants sector to work cooperatively
Economics of grain storage techniques for smallholder farmers in Kilosa District, Tanzania
No full textDissertation of Agricultural and Applied EconomicsSmallholder farmers lack knowledge on the amount of income lost from improper grain
management after harvest thus they make uninformed decisions on the storage technique
to use. This study aimed at assessing the economics of grain storage techniques in Kilosa
district in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at performing a cost benefit analysis of
grain storage techniques, to determine farmers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of grain
storage techniques and to establish determinants of farmers’ choices of grain storage
techniques in the study area. A random sample of 153 farmers was drawn from farmers in
Changarawe and Ilakala villages. The Net Present Value (NPV) and Cost Benefit Ratio
(CBR) results from a cost benefit analysis of grain storage techniques suggest that it is
more profitable to invest in the modern hermetic techniques known as Purdue Improved
Crop Storage Bags (PICS) and metal silos than investing in traditional granaries and
polypropylene bags. Likert scale and principal component analysis were used to deduce
farmers’ perceptions on effectiveness of techniques. Farmers perceived hermetic modern
techniques as the most effective in reduction of post-harvest crop losses. The Multinomial
logistic regression was used to establish determinants of farmers’ choices of storage
techniques where age was positive and significant for the choice of traditional granary
over metal silo at 10% (P<0.1), expected price after storage was significant and negative
for traditional granary and polypropylene bags over metal silo at 5% (P<0.05) and 10%
(P<0.1) respectively. Education level of household head, investment costs, number of
crops cultivated and percentage of crop stored for sell were significant and positive for the
choice of polypropylene bags and PICS over metal silo at 1% (P<0.01) and 10%(P<0.1)
respectively. The study concluded that hermetic techniques are not only feasible
investments but also more effective in reduction of grain loss. The study recommends that
farmers should invest in the feasible techniques while been financially supported to
purchase effective grain loss reduction storage techniques for food security
One Health Approach (OHA) in Selected Urban Settings in Tanzania: Knowledge, Attitudes, Awareness, and Practices
No full textAttainment of optimal health calls for collaboration between animals, humans, and
environmental health professionals together with understanding the consequences of animals,
humans, and environment interactions on health. In cognizant of this, the government in
Tanzania introduced One Health Strategic Plan (2015–2020), little is empirically known on how
this plan has facilitated the enhancement of knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practices
(KAPs) under One Health Approach (OHA). This article analyses KAPs under OHA from a
cross-sectional study conducted in Morogoro, Tanzania. Data were collected by a questionnaire
from 1440 respondents obtained through a multistage sampling procedure, 80 Focus Group
discussions (FGDs) participants and 16 key informant interviewees. IBM-SPSS v.20 analysed
quantitative data while qualitative data were organised into themes on specific objectives.
Results revealed that only 32.3% (95% CI:30.3 to 35.3) had adequate OH knowledge. Only 5%
(95% CI:4.0 to 6.1) were aware of OHA concept and practices; 3.8% (CI 95%, 2.8 to 4.8)
managed to identify collaborative efforts and strategies, and 2.5% (CI 95%, 1.7 to 3.4) correctly
explained/ described OHA. Whereas, 38.5% (95% CI:32.6 to 37.5) had a positive (favourable)
attitude towards OHA. Despite the efforts outlined in the OH Strategic Plan to promote OHA,
there is little awareness and knowledge on OHA. This indicates that the One Health Strategic
Plan (2015–2020) and other initiatives have not significantly facilitated the enhancement of
KAPs. This study recommends strengthening efforts towards OHA information dissemination to
enhance awareness and knowledge on the concept and practices
Collocability of mental capacity evaluative adjectives in current english
No full textJournal of Language and Literature, 2019; 1(2): 9-19The study was conducted to investigate the collocability of mental capacity evaluative adjectives in current English. In English people have been and are still describing each other. This description goes hand in hand with giving value to other people especially on the intelligence of a person. In English language, this function is fulfilled with the use of a number of devices one of which is evaluative adjectives, more specifically evaluative mental capacity adjectives. However, the understanding of the way these adjectives are used to convey a given value in a given particular context is limited. Thus the current study contributes to this limited knowledge by exploring how this device is used by looking at collocability of such adjectives. The study was guided by a major research question namely: What nouns do positive evaluative mental capacity adjectives collocate with? The study was a corpus-based study and the data were extracted from British National Corpus. The analysis is based on five positive adjectives namely bright, intelligent, sharp, clever and smart. In the analysis, both qualitative and descriptive statistics techniques were employed. The findings show that the studied adjectives collocate with nouns of particular human reference or related to human cognitive actions or parts of human body. Thus three general categories of nouns that collocate with these adjectives are common nouns, proper nouns, and pronouns
Deforestation and loss of bushland and grassland primarily due to expansion of cultivation in mainland Tanzania (1995–2010)
No full textJournal of Sustainable Forestry 2019Information on land use and cover changes (LUCC) is important for
planning of conservation and development and thus ensure forest
sustainability. The current paper assesses LUCC for the whole of the
mainland Tanzania. The analyses were done using land use and cover
maps covering the whole of mainland Tanzania for 1995 and 2010. For
1995, forest, bushland, grassland, cultivation and other land use and
cover (built up areas, bare land, etc.) covered 43.5%, 19.8%, 23.5%,
11.2%, and 2.0% of the study area, respectively. For 2010, the same
land use and cover classes covered 38.0%, 14.5%, 6.9%, 36.5%, and 4.1%
of the study area, respectively. The annual rate of deforestation was
320,067 ha, which is equivalent to 0.9%. Bushland and grassland were
lost at 313,745 and 969,982 ha/year, respectively. Most forest was con-
verted to cultivation and least to other land use and cover. In conclusion,
the net changes were deforestation and loss of bushland and grassland
primarily due to expansion of cultivation. Further research on how to
reduce or halt expansion of cultivation may shed light on improving
sustainability of forest, bushland, and grassland in mainland Tanzania
Succession planning and performance of family-owned small and medium enterprises in Arusha city – Tanzania
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine succession planning and performance of family-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach – The quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional research design were employed. The probability sampling technique was used to draw 219 respondents from the sampling frame. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and independent samples
t-tests were used for data analysis.
Findings – It was revealed that most of family-owned SMEs founders in the study area had mechanisms for succession planning for their businesses. Also, there is a difference in business performance when successors are selected and prepared by business founders compared to when they are selected and prepared by other family members. Successors selected and prepared by business founders performed better in business than successors who were selected and prepared by other family members.
Research limitations/implications – This study employed a quantitative research paradigm methodology, which limits deep discussion with respondents. Future studies could consider using a qualitative research paradigm methodology.
Originality/value – The paper presents succession planning process experience in family-owned SMEs in the study area, specifically the existence of succession planning in family-owned SMEs. It also shows a difference in business performance between the two investigated groups. This paper will benefit business founders, family business successors and researchers
Farm livelihood impact of apron star 42 ws – dressed bean seeds and its commercialization viability in Mbeya and Mbozi districts, Tanzania
No full textM.Sc. DissertationCommercializing the subsistence agriculture is essential for improving the smallholder
farmers‟ productivity in Sub-Saharan African countries including Tanzania. However,
without an adoption of productivity enhancing technologies such as improved seeds,
realization of such an improvement is inevitable. Arguably, for smallholder farmers to
adopt new technologies, they need to feel its impact on their livelihoods. This study
assesses the adoption, commercialization and impact of the bean seeds dressing chemical –
the APRON STAR 42 WS on smallholder farmers‟ food security and nutrition status,
income, and bean yield. A two-stage sampling with stratification was applied to randomly
select a sample of 203 farm households. The propensity score matching was employed to
isolate the impact attributable to adoption of the treated bean seeds among farm
households. Assessment of the decision and extent of commercialization adopted the Tobit
and Cragg‟s double hurdle models. Results indicate that adoption level is about 37%, and
farm size, household size, access extension services and perceived yield effects are
significantly influencing farmers‟ adoption decision of improved seeds. Significant
difference in favour of adopters was found on income, yield, and food security and
nutrition statuses. The variables education, farm size, extension services access, output,
and education; and household size, extension services access, and output were found
significant on influencing decision and extent of commercialization, respectively. Income,
consumption, price of local seeds, and own price elasticities of seeds demand were also
found significant. Thus, it is firstly recommended that, agricultural input intervention
initiatives should emanate from farmers‟ needs in order to make the promotion efforts of
productivity enhancing agricultural technologies efficacious. Secondly, to stimulate the
dormant use of improved seeds, an effective stimulant is own seed price, though with
consideration of production costs to ensure mutual benefits between farmers and seeds
producers
Factors influencing consumers’ supermarket visitation in developing economies: The case of Ghana
No full textThe purpose of this chapter is to explore the factors that influence consumers in developing economies, and specifically in Ghana into shopping in the supermarkets. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect data in two cities of Accra and Kumasi in Ghana. Using exploratory factor analysis and analysis of variance for 300 respondents, the findings show the curiosity of economic shopper, quality and safety, esthetic motives, and social motives are the four factors that influence Ghanaian consumers to shop in the supermarkets. The study provides areas for further research and strategies to be undertaken by retailers in Ghana
Determinants of households’ adoption of improved cook stoves in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
No full textThe East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, pg. 85-92Despite being used in inefficient and unsustainable ways, traditional biomass remains the largest source of cooking energy
in Tanzania. Improved Cook Stoves (ICS) have been proved to be among the best ways of efficient utilization of biomass, nonetheless,
their adoption has been low. Limited empirical evidence exists on the reasons for low ICS adoption in Tanzania. This paper analyses
factors which determine household adoption of ICS in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. A total of 294 households from six villages were
randomly selected for the household survey, and qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and key informant
interviews. Results from a binary logistic regression revealed that awareness campaigns about ICS, quality of living house and kitchen
room, awareness on the village environmental regulations and by-laws, sources of firewood and household Socio-Economic Status
(SES) to be among the factors influencing the adoption of ICS. The study concludes that low adoption is attributed to limited awareness
on the benefits of the stoves and a negative myth attached to the quality attributes of the household that can adopt ICS. The study
recommends the organization dealing with ICS promotion to continue with comprehensive awareness campaigns and targeted
intervention to households perceived to have to limit adoption characteristics