Consumption of processed food & food away from home in big cities, small towns, and rural areas of Tanzania

Journal ArticleWe study household consumption of various categories of processed food, includ ing ultra-processed food and meals away from home in Tanzania. We compare peri-urban versus hinterland rural areas, and large cities versus small towns. Three sets of findings stand out. (1) Contrary to the common view in Africa that processed food is mainly an urban middle-class phenomenon, we found it has penetrated the diets of the rural areas and the rural and urban poor. In rural areas, surprisingly 60% of food consumption comes from purchases in value terms, and processed food accounts for 76% of purchases and 47% of all food consumed. For the rural poor, purchased processed food is 38% of food consumption. In urban areas processed food’s share of purchases (hence consumption) is 78%, similar for the rich and poor. (2) We found that ultra-processed food (such as sugar-sweetened beverages and cookies) and meals-away-from-home (MAFH) have emerged as important in urban as well as rural areas. As these foods tend to be high in oil, salt, and sugar, this is a health concern. The share of ultra processed foods and MAFH is 21% in rural areas and 36% in cities albeit twice as high in large cities compared with small towns and among richer compared to poorer consumers. (3) Our regressions show the spread of processed food con sumption in rural and urban areas, among the rich and poor, is driven mainly by opportunity costs of the time of women and men, and thus the pursuit of sav ing home-processing and cooking time, as well as food environment factors. As these drivers are long term trends this suggests processed food consumption will continue to gro

Diversity in fruit and seed morphology of wooden banana ( Entandrophragma bussei Harms ex Engl.) populations in Tanzania

Journal of Trees, Forests and PeopleEntandrophragma bussei (wooden banana) is a high value indigenous multipurpose tree species prioritized for do- mestication in Tanzania. However, we lack adequate information on genetic and phenotypic variation to support domestication processes, while utilization pressure on the remaining stocks and deforestation are intensified. The study evaluated the diversity in fruit and seed morphology of three wild populations of E. bussei found in three agroecological zones of Tanzania. Data on fruit (length, width, weight and number of seeds per fruit) and seed (length, width and weight) traits were evaluated. To detect differences in means among the populations, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed. There were variations in fruit and seed morphological traits among the studied populations. Ruaha population had significantly higher fruit length (19.31 ± 0.1 cm), width (7.71 ± 0.12 cm) and number of seeds per fruit (22 ± 0.48) than Kigwe (15.65 ± 0.14 cm, 4.85 ± 0.17 cm, 20 ± 0.45), and Tarangire (16.84 ± 0.1 cm, 5.40 ± 0.12 cm, 20 ± 0.37) populations. Ruaha (62.46 ± 1.37 g) and Tarangire (60.71 ± 1.12 g) had significantly heavier fruits than Kigwe (56.53 ± 1.28 g). Kigwe population had significantly higher seed width (1.80 ± 0.01 cm) and weight (0.83 ± 0.01 g) than Ruaha (1.75 ± 0.01 cm, 0.75 ± 0.01 g) and Tarangire (1.65 ± 0.01 cm, 0.77 ± 0.01 g) populations. Among the populations Tarangire had higher seed length (9.60 ± 0.06 cm) than the rest. Overall, there is a considerable fruit and seed morphological diversity among the E. bussei populations offering opportunities for selection of domestication cultivars and gene pool conservation

Amending traditional substrate rice straw with agroforestry tree foliage increases production cycle and nutritional value of pleurotus floridanus

Tanzania Journal of Science 47(2): 485-494, 2021The recent heightened attention on mushrooms has not considered shortening the production time and increasing nutritional value using substrates from agroforestry trees in addition to traditionally used agro-industrial residues. This study therefore, examined harvesting time, protein and essential minerals of Pleurotus floridanus grown on rice straw amended with Gliricidia sepium foliage in Morogoro, Tanzania. Mushrooms were cultivated in 30 x 40 cm 4 kg dry weight polythene bags in randomized complete block design (RCBD) experiment. Results showed that the addition of 5% G. sepium into rice straw reduced total time between spawning and first harvest of P. floridanus. Gliricidia sepium increased significantly (P < 0.05) protein contents of the mushrooms by up to 40%. The addition of 5–10% G. sepium into rice straw increased significantly (P < 0.05) manganese, copper and zinc in the mushrooms. The decrease in production time and high increase in protein and mineral contents indicate that agroforestry trees have the potential to increase production cycles and nutritional value of P. floridanus. Therefore, use of foliage from agroforestry trees in combination with traditional substrates for mushroom production could help fight malnutrition, improve food security and enhance income

Effects of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities on Algivorous Cichlid Fish in Lake Tanganyika

Book ChapterOver the last century, water temperatures in Lake Tanganyika have risen due to climate change, which increased thermal stratification and reduced the magnitude of nutrient availability. A rise in temperature increases the C:N:P ratio resulting in a poor algal diet. In addition, lake littoral habitat is experiencing increased sediment load due to deforestation of the watershed caused by anthropogenic activities. Sediments cover benthic algae and reduce its nutritional value, consequently affecting the foraging behavior, distribution, and growth performance of algivorous fish. Algae and algivorous fish are an important link in the lake food chain; therefore, if the rise in temperature will continue as predicted, then this may have a cascading effect for the rest of the community in the food chain including human being. This, in turn, may contribute to food insecurity at local and regional levels. To counteract this adaptation and mitigation measures such as environmental monitoring systems and creating new opportunities should be considered

Promotion of agricultural innovation systems approach: policy implications for maize extension and advisory services in Tanzania

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, pp. 56-66Studies have been conducted in Africa to assess extension officers’ perception towards their roles, however, little is known on agricultural extension officers’ perception on their roles as per government job description in Tanzania. The study was therefore conducted in Simiyu Region to assess the perception of agricultural extension officers towards their roles. A cross-sectional survey design was used whereby a structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 100 randomly selected Agricultural extension officers (AEOs). The collected quantitative data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer programme (SPSS). On the other hand, the content analysis was used to analyze the collected qualitative information. The findings show that most of interviewed AEOs perceived their roles namely, advisory, organizational, educational, technical, facilitation and intermediation as important. However the AEOs perceived the existence of difficulties in fulfilling the roles. These include agricultural extension officers overloaded with non-extension tasks like tax collection that hinder them to perform their technical roles; lack of in-service training which results to low level of competence in performing their mandated roles; inadequate logistics such as motorcycles, vehicles, just to mention few, These results to EAOs blamed for not performing their roles. Based on these findings it is recommended that there is a need to work out with all aspects that affect performance of the AEOs’ mandated roles as follows: AEOs concentrate more on their mandated roles and not non extension work, organize short and long term training to improve their knowledge and skills

Commercialization Pathways: Synegies Between Small And Medium Scale Farmers In Tanzania

The changing farm structures in sub-Saharan countries, with the emergence of medium and large scale farmers, has elicited opposing views in the literature. While much of this is largely positive, pointing to positive spillover effects in the larger agro-food industry, some studies point to some evidence of negative spill overs, especially due to land scarcity in the rural areas due to holding of land for speculation purposes, or higher food prices where large producers dedicate land to production for non-food crops. Nevertheless, evidence on the effects of these investments is scarce, with much of the evidence coming from case studies. This study investigates spillover effects of medium-scale farms and large scale farms on small scale farms productivity and commercialization in Tanzania. The study utilizes a sample of about 600 small scale farmers (less than 5 hectares of cultivated land) and about 600 large farmers, 300 medium scale (5 hectares to 10 hectares of cultivated land) and 300 large scale (greater than 10 hectares cultivated land) farmers drawn from eight district in rural Tanzania. A spatial econometric method is used to capture spillover effects from the large farms to small scale farms. Results show positive significant spatial dependence and spillover effects among medium scale and large scale farms on small scale maize productivity and commercialization, but not on rice, another major crop in the region

Perceived existence of farmer - pastoralist conflicts in relation to climate Change in Kilosa District, Tanzania

Book chapter 7, pp. 125-148Farmer-pastoralist conflicts have been reported in many parts of Africa, often presented as being driven by resource scarcity. In Tanzania, the two groups of resource users have for a long time found themselves in deadly clashes, most of which resulted into loss of lives and destruction of properties. The main resources causing the conflicts are water, land and pasture. This study is therefore presenting an assessment of how the extent of climate change has induced farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Kilosa District, Tanzania. A cross- sectional research design was adopted for this study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select wards and villages which are home to farmers and pastoralists. A sample size of 120 respondents was drawn. Data were mainly collected using a household survey, focus group discussion (FGD) and interviews with key informants. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and excel program were used in analysing the data. The findings show that climate change, land and water resources were the major sources of conflicts between farmers and pastoralist’s conflict in Kilosa District. The study concludes that there is conflict between farmers and pastoralists due to scarce resources, particularly water, land and pasture, induced by climate change and variability. Based on the findings, various stakeholders including the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and communities should identify new, and improve existing strategies for the wise use of the natural resources among the two groups

A study of Local Government in Africa through Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Journal ArticleTanzania has crafted one of the most creative models of local governments in the world with the potential to improve the lives of marginalized communities. As such, the author used Participatory Action Research (PAR) in an attempt to improve the model and for its strengths in empowering communities. The author collaborated with 120 community representatives, as co-researchers, from across four selected local government councils in Tanzania to examine the role of local governments in delivering public services to marginalized smallholder farmers. The exercise was enriched through the interaction with 128 local government officials. Overall, although the Tanzanian local government model has the potential to improve lives, there is a need to focus on increasing its efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services. The current focus aiming at creating more units of local government increases operational expenses. Increased operational expenses hinder the ability of the local governments to deliver agricultural extension and other public services. Moreover, the findings imply that although local governments need to be awarded some autonomy, they ought to continue working with the central government for the common good of the entire nation. Finally, this study serves as evidence that PAR can help build participatory local government structures on a sustainable basis. The local governments need to be more participatory through the creation of participatory social structures. Those can pave way for the full realization of the potential of the Tanzanian model of local government. The gender perspective has to be incorporated in local governance because the findings highlight that women are disproportionately affected by the failure of the local governments in the provision of public services. The article uniquely seeks to contribute to the African political literature as well as literature highlighting the role of PAR through fostering both co-learning with local co-researchers as well as transformative dialogue among researchers, local governments, and local communities

Implementation of competence based curriculum in the context of colonial education system in Tanzania

Journal articleWith the aim of producing secondary education graduates with adequate knowledge and skills that could enable them to survive in the ever-changing world, Tanzania introduced the competence-based curriculum in 2005. The curriculum regards learners to have the capability to construct and apply knowledge beyond the classroom context. Since the Tanzania education system passed through different eras, this article assesses the influence of the historical background of education systems on stakeholders’ perspectives on adoption and practice in teaching, learning, and assessment in the competence-based curriculum. Semi-structured interview and focused group discussion was used to collect data on teaching, learning, and assessment methods employed by both teachers and learners. The data were analyzed by thematic analysis. The results show the elements of the colonial rule education system influences classroom teaching, learning, and assessment practices. Since colonial rule educated few Africans to be employed to serve in the colonial administration, this has contributed to school teaching learning and assessment practices to be perceived as stepping stone for formal employment and not the means of equipping useful and applicable knowledge and skills to learners’ life. The focus of classroom instructional practices is to enable learners to memorize the facts and be able to reproduce in the examinations to qualify for further studies and formal employment. This is a setback for quality instructional methods that promote the acquisition of livelihood skills. Given this, the study recommends key stakeholders involved in curriculum development to redefine the roles of school education to align with classroom instructional practices

Gendered access and control over Quality Declared Seeds (QDS) resources among rice producers in Kilombero district, Morogoro, Tanzania

Quality Declared Seed for increased agricultural productivity is pertinent to farmers. This study assessed the gendered access to and control over QDS resources among rice producers. A cross sectional research design was used, whereby a questionnaire was administered to 218 rice farmers in Kilombero District. Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant interviews were conducted to complement and allow triangulation of data. Descriptive statistics were analysed using SPSS, while content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data Specifically, SPSS computer software was used to analyse descriptive statistics such as Tab. The results show that access to credit was very low among farmers in the area even though women (45%) were found to have more access to credit than has been the case with men (13%). On the other hand, men were found to have more access to inputs (22%) and agricultural training (29%) than was the case with women. Women in the study area had access to land, but lacked control over it. Cultural barriers strongly affect and influence ownership of resources including land for rice Quality declared seed production among women farmers. ,. It is concluded that women get less benefits in rice QDS production due to poor access to and control of productive resources. There is a need of removing all cultural barriers by creating awareness on equitable access and proper control of productive resources among both men and women using gender sensitive programs in collaboration with relevant government machinery