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Knowledge management best practices among rice farmers in selected areas of Tanzania
No full textJournal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2020, Vol. 52(2) pp. 331–344For improved rice production, farmers need access to timely and relevant knowledge at each stage of the rice-cropping calendar. To
understand how farmers involve themselves in acquiring and sharing agricultural knowledge, this study investigates how knowledge
management best practices can be enhanced among rice farmers in selected rural areas of Tanzania. Data were collected from 226
rice farmers in three districts (Kilombero, Kilosa and Mvomero) of the Morogoro region in Tanzania. Findings from structured
questionnaires and focused group discussion indicate that rice farmers accessed, shared and used agricultural knowledge. It was
found that individual, institutional and knowledge factors influence the performance of agricultural knowledge management activities.
For enhancing effective agricultural knowledge management, it is important to take into consideration the knowledge management
best practices, which include developing effective knowledge infrastructure, involving different stakeholders and using appropriate
information and communications technology tools in enhancing access to knowledge. It is concluded that effective knowledge
management activities increase the level of adoption of agricultural innovations. It is recommended that the proposed agricultural
knowledge management best practices be adapted for improving rice production
The PCR identification of trypanosomes isolated from cattle and Glossina Spp. in wildlife-human-animal interface of Meatu District, North Eastern Tanzania
No full textJournal of Advanced Veterinary Research Volume 9, Issue 2 (2019) 64-68African trypanosomes are etiological agents of trypanosomosis transmitted by tsetse flies (Glossina
spp). Thus, identifying them in vectors and hosts together with their classification into species, sub species is crucial for effective control of the diseases they cause to animals and human. This study
analysed 350 samples collected from cattle (100) and tsetse flies (250) of Meatu district for identification
of trypanosomes through amplification of Internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) region in order to sup port formulation of tsetse and trypanosomosis control strategies within the district. Occurrence of try panosomes in cattle was 15%, while in tsetse was 1.20%. Trypanosoma congolense was identified in
cattle whereas; T. simiae and T. godfreyi were identified in tsetse flies. The tsetse and trypanosomosis
control options were discussed
Perception of community on improved chicken strains and implications on conservation of local chickens
No full textA Dissertation 2019The perception of farmers towards any innovation can be influenced by many factors
including level of education, location, livelihood activity, gender, and age. This study was
conducted in Morogoro and Singida regions, Tanzania where improved chickens were
introduced by the African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project. In this study, four
villages from Ifaraka town, Morogoro region (Kibaoni, Kikwawila, Lipangalala and
Lumemo villages) and four villages from Iramba district, Singida region (Mampanta,
Kinambeu, Idodyandole and Heka villages) were purposely selected as beneficiaries of
ACGG project. In these villages, two strains of tropically improved strains (Sasso and
Kuroiler) were issued for testing performance under a moderate input farmer-managed
production system.
A total of 120 respondents were purposely selected for interviews based on their
engagement in the chicken value chain either as a primary producer, consumer, or traders.
The study involved 20 ACGG households, 20 none-ACGG households, 12 Consumers and
8 chicken traders from each region. For intervened households, each farmer was given 25
pre-brooded and vaccinated birds of either Sasso or Kuroiler. The survey questionnaire
was pretested and necessary adjustments made before conducting the survey. For these
reasons, the study was carried out in the two regions of Tanzania to obtain the extent to
which the improved chicken strains will be preferred and to explain the implications to the
local chicken conservation. The study involved collecting data through field survey and
Focus Group Discussions (FGD), with each participants ranging from 5 to 10 individuals.
The information collected through a single visit formal survey to obtain the perception of
communities on improved versus local chicken strains concerning productivity,
adaptability, and local chicken biodiversity maintenance, breeding objectives and trait preferences of the chicken keepers. In the case of the breeding objectives and trait
preferences of the chicken keepers, a Non-parametric test was used to generate descriptive
statistics, while, content analysis was used for information gathered during FGDs. The
generated mean ranks were assessed using Kendall’s Coefficient of concordance (W) to
test for the agreement of the ranking between the respondents on the data obtained. The
descriptive statistics including frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used to
explain the perception of the respondents. Besides, a multiple regression analysis was
performed to find out the relationship between dependent and independent variables
explaining the perception of communities. Furthermore, a Likert scale was used to gauge
the perception of respondents.
The results indicated that both local and improved chickens were mainly kept for revenue
(1.28) and home consumption (1.84) from both regions. There was little variability in a
ranking of the trait preferences by the chicken producers from individual respondents as
well as from focus group discussions. Local chickens were preferred due to their higher
adaptability (2.00) and brooding behavior (2.13), while egg production (1.45) and meat
yields (1.80) were the major traits preferred for the households rearing improved chicken
in both regions. The findings underscored breeding objectives and trait preferences as
crucial for the development of holistic and sustainable genetic improvement of local and
improved chickens in rural areas. The average number of flock sizes were found to be
13.46±11.255 and 20.84±11.245 chicken per household for the improved and local
chicken strains respectively. During FGDs respondents
reported that the management
cost of improved chicken strains was higher than that of the local strains although the
former had better performance hence farmers, were ready to increase the flock. More than
50% of the respondents reported that the adaptability of local strain was better than that of
the improved strains. More than 80% of the respondents reported that productivity in terms of eggs and meat yield of improved chicken strains is higher than that of local
chicken strains. More than 60% of the respondents did not see if the introduction of
improved chicken strains will lead to the erosion of local chicken strains. Measured at
breed level, the desire to increase the number of improved chickens was significant at
(p<0.05). Hence, most of the respondents (56.8%) and during FGDs wanted to increase
the number of improved chicken because of the better performance and high prices offered
at the markets.
Generally, this study concluded that adaptation and reproductive traits seem to be the most
important attributes of local chicken, while the production traits, including the number of
eggs and meat yield, are considered to be more relevant for those keeping improved
chicken strains. For sustainability and economic empowerment of rural farmers, breeding
objectives should take into account the breeding goals and preferences of farmers, traders,
and consumers. Also, farmers need to change to make improvements from the traditional
poultry-keeping system through the adoption of improved systems and or acquiring new
highly productive and adaptive strains for farmers to realize profits. Respondents were not
worried about endangering the local chicken biodiversity if the improved chicken strains
will be highly distributed. Some respondents underscored that local chickens will still be
kept by most of the farmers due to their important characteristics including brooding
behavior, tolerance to diseases and stress hence, an opportunity for up-scaling
Response to soil ph, variability and heritability of common bean (phaseolus vulgari l) genotype for iron and zinc concentration
No full textA Dissertation 2019Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important food legume in the world.
In Tanzania the common bean crop is cultivated for home consumption as well as for
cash income. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of soil pH on
levels of iron and zinc in twenty five common bean genotypes and to determine
heritability of iron and zinc using the progeny of crosses between low and high
micronutrients (Fe and Zn). An incubation experiment was performed in screen house to
adjust soil pH to levels of 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 using hydrated lime (Ca(OH) 2 ) for four
weeks. The experimental design followed a randomized complete block design in a split
plot arrangement with three replications per treatment. Two common bean seeds were
sown at 5 cm in each pot and grow for three months before harvesting for analysis of
iron and zinc in the laboratory. Concentration of iron and zinc in leaves and seeds were
adversely affected by soil pH. The result demonstrated that soil pH can affect absorption
of micronutrients directly or indirectly by affecting the nutrients availability of common
beans genotypes. Hence assessing variability is fundamental to identify the most
important traits in common bean improvement program. Four crosses (Nua 11 × Zawadi,
Nua 11x Pesa, Nua 17 x Zawadi and Nua 17 x Pesa) using diverse parents with varied
levels of grain iron and zinc concentrations were made to study heritability for iron and
zinc . Broad sense heritability observed in Nua 11 x Zawadi was (56%) and Nua 11 x
Pesa was (76%) for concentration of iron while Nua 17 x Zawadi was (57%) and Nua 17
x Pesa was (59%) for concentration of zinc. Narrow sense heritability observed in Nua
11 x Zawadi was (65%) and Nua 11 x Pesa was (71%) for concentration of iron while
Nua 17 x Zawadi was (79%) and Nua 17 x Pesa was (63%) for concentration of iron
and zinc. This study demonstrates, there were increase of concentration of iron and zinc
in common bean genotypes at soil pH levels 6.5 and 5.5 that have potential for improvement of micronutrients in common beans and heritability of zinc and iron are
moderate to high indicating that these traits can be improved by breeders
Attitudes and perceived impact of insecticide treated– bed nets on malaria control in rural Tanzania
No full textConference paperInsecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are the most powerful malaria control tool if used correctly. Yet up to date,
utilization is still low. The aim of this study was to investigate the intra-household factors that affect the
utilization of ITNs in rural households in MorogoroUrban district. In addition, this study analysed the
reasons for ITNs non-use in households with children under five years. Questionnaire, interviews and
observation were the key tools for data collection for thestudy. The intra-household factors affecting the
utilization of ITNs reported in this study include, chemical substances impregnated in the nets (36%),
household financial inadequacy (24%), warmth and discomfort of the nets (24%) and skin irritability
(17%), among others. The general community knowledge about mosquito nets was found to be high
(91%); however, the knowledge of ITNs was low (30%). In addition, it was found that the ITNs were
inadequately accessible in the study community. Based on the results of this study, adequate accessibility
of ITNs and community education related to the use and their significance is recommended
Member ownership and democratic sustainability in primary agricultural marketing co-operative societies in Tanzania: a case study of Bukoba and Moshi districts
No full textPhD ThesisIn Tanzania, member ownership in primary Agricultural Marketing Co-operative
Societies (AMCOS) is imperative to ensure democratic sustainability. Various efforts
have been made to ensure primary AMCOS are governed by democratic practices
which are based on member owned practices. But such democratic sustainability is
still far from being realised. The general objective of this study was to analyse
member ownership factors that influence AMCS practice in Tanzania to attain
democratic sustainability of these member owned institutions. The specific objectives
were to: examine members’ participation in decision making, examine the
accountability of the board and management to members, determine internal and
external interfaces which promote co-operative sustainability and determine
members’ views on factors for AMCOS sustainability. A cross-sectional design was
used whereby 400 AMCOS members were selected from ten primary AMCOS of
Bukoba and Moshi Districts from September 2015 to February 2016. The study used
primary data which were collected through a household survey, focus group
discussions and key informant interviews, while documentary review was utilized to
collect secondary data. The findings revealed that, on members’ participation in
decision making, members were found not fulfilling their membership legal
obligations, which conflicts with ownership status. The rights of members to engage
in decision making were found to be limited. About accountability of the board and
management to members, they were more accountable to the Union in Bukoba
District primary AMCOS as compared to Moshi District where they were more
accountable to members. The findings on AMCOS sustainability revealed that
understanding of the members on the roles of board and functions of managers was
low. Furthermore, members’ views on chances of democratic sustainability revealed
that the democratic sustainability would happen for years to come and AMCOS members had a good hope in their organisations. The study concludes that the
democratic practice systems that entail accountability in primary AMCOS are the
factors that make members to own their institutions. Also, the study concludes that
absence of managerial accountability to members guided by policies, laws and
regulations is an important component limiting members’ ownership of AMCOS;
these governing instruments are not adhered to by members, Boards, managers,
government and other co-operative stakeholders. Also, members’ views on projecting
democratic governance availability indicated a future hope for existence of a
sustainable AMCOS; the study concludes that employing tangible strategies for
primary AMCOS democratic sustainability is important in order to build existence of
sustainable member owned society. Among other things, the study recommends
education to be provided to members so that they can increase their level of
ownership capacities when participating in different decision making sessions. The
study also recommends that the democratic sustainability of primary AMCOS will be
achieved if members participate fully in creating solutions to their challenges and
become part of strategic implementation; this will increase co-operative society
ownership which is governed by members
Forest Protection
No full textForest protection is a practice of preventing and controlling both biotic and abiotic agents, which affect forests and their associated products. There are two agents responsible for tree injury and diseases namely non-pathogenic and pathogenic, they are also known as abiotic and biotic respectively. Non-pathogenic agents include fire, climatic conditions (e.g. wind, drought, rain, and heat), soil conditions and air pollutants. Pathogenic agents cause
diseases and they include viruses, bacteria, fungi, mycoplasmas (e.g. protozoa and algae); parasitic plants (e.g. mistletoes), nematodes, arthropods (e.g. insects), birds and mammals. Forest fire, pathology and entomology are discussed in detail in this chapter
Involving small holder farmers in the agricultural land use planning process using Analytic Hierarchy Process in rice farming systems of Kilombero Valley, Tanzania
No full textAfrican Journal of Agricultural Research 2019; Vol. 14(7):395-405Despite the truth that the agricultural land use planning exercises have so far covered small and
fragmented part of the African continent, the involvement of farmers who are among the direct
beneficiaries of the outputs have been limited. This work demonstrates the contributions of farmers on
the land use planning process for rice production in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Analytic hierarchic
process (AHP) was used to assign scores of comparative importance of attributes for a suitable land for
rice production. Scoring was done by three groups: farmers, extension staff, and joint group
comprising both farmers and extension staff. Joint group scores were considered more refined as they
were generated by discussions and consensus between the two groups. Results showed that the three
groups sequentially ranked the attributes the same. However, the attributes actual scores were
different. The farmers’ scores were consistently close to the joint group’s scores compared to the
extension staff group. The closeness suggests superiority and consistence of farmers’ perceptions of
importance of the identified attributes used for this land use planning exercise. Thus, this study
recommends more involvement of farmers in agricultural land use planning process for better and
sustainable land use planning outputs
Evaluation of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in disturbed and intact tropical coastal forest sites in Tanzania
No full textInternational Journal of Plant & Soil Science, 2019; 27(1): 1-12This study investigated and established the variation of soil nitrogen, total carbon and phosphorus
across closed forest; crop-agriculture and livestock disturbed sites. The study provides useful
information for local management strategies. It sets initial basic data on the soil status of Uzigua
Forest Reserve after 50 years of crop-agriculture and livestock grazing pressure. Forty-seven (50 m
× 50 m) quadrats were established on each land uses for soil samples collection. Total nitrogen
was analyzed by Kjeldahl acid-digestion, total carbon by the Walkley-Black procedures and
phosphorus by Bray-II method. The mean values (percentage) were nitrogen = 16.07 ± 0.34, 1.75 ±
0.25, 6.5 ± 0.20; carbon =14.48 ± 0.23, 11.81 ± 0.13, 12.24 ± 0.30; phosphorus =14.12 ± 6.57,
17.74 ± 3.96, and 13.31± 2.86 for closed forest; agriculture disturbed and grazed sites respectively.
There was a slightly lower amount of total carbon on crop agriculture disturbed sites than on thelivestock grazed land uses. Carbon-nitrogen ratio was higher in closed forests than in the disturbed
sites. The relationship between forest degradation and soil nutrient status is an indication that the
below-ground nutrient pools are mainly determined by activities, which disturb the above-ground
components mainly vegetation. To restore soil fertility status, it is important to establish the
management of the disturbed sites through restoration of vegetation and minimization of
disturbances
Factors limiting the flow of food innovation ideas from modern food retailers to local food suppliers in Tanzania
No full textThis paper explores factors that constrain the flow of innovation ideas among downstream
actors in the food value chain in Tanzania. Prior focus was on the improvement of products, but
the influence of downstream actors has received little attention from the researchers in Africa.
Qualitative method was deemed to be adequate and advantageous because the study was on
understanding the challenges of innovation flow among downstream actors in the food value
chain in Tanzania. Food suppliers were selected from international or local retailers using contact
information of the processers provided on the packaging. The empirical findings of this
study indicate that trade credit, government requirements, counterfeit products, consumers’
preference and lack of skilled staff limit the flow of innovation in the food value chain
in Tanzania