The use of needs assessment methodologies to focus technical interventions in root and tuber crop post-harvest systems: a case study to improve incomes and reduce losses associated with marketing of fresh cassava from rural areas to Dar es Salaam

The Transfer of Needs Assessment Methodologies and Post-Harvest Technologies for Non-Grain Starch Staple Food Crops (NGSS) in sub-Saharan Africa project was initiated in Tanzania in July 1993 as a collaborative venture between the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC). The project was funded by the UK Department For International Development (DFID). The main project involved activities in Ghana and Tanzania but this report deals exclusively with activities in Tanzania focusing on the transfer of needs assessment methodologies, the application of needs assessment in identifying post-harvest problems and technical interventions for NGSS and the identification, validation and dissemination of a technology to improve incomes and reduce post-harvest losses associated with marketing of fresh cassava roots from rural production areas to urban markets in Dar es Salaam. In the first stage of the project a range of needs assessment methodologies were successfully validated under field conditions through the mechanism of three case studies, which were carried out in Lake Zone, Tanga Region and Dar es Salaam of Tanzania. Following the case studies, two training in needs assessment workshops were conducted in Tanzania to disseminate needs assessment technologies to key personnel from research organisations and institutes in Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The needs assessment case study in Tanga Region highlighted post-harvest problems as a major constraint facing farmers and traders involved in the marketing of fresh cassava to urban areas, and formed the basis for a more detailed study of the marketing system for fresh cassava from rural production areas to urban markets in Dar es Salaam. Semi structured interviews with key stakeholders in the marketing system demonstrated that reductions in quality resulting from poor handling and delays in marketing lead to serious reductions in income throughout the market chain. Farmers and market personnel identified the criteria for a technical intervention to reduce income losses incurred when marketing fresh cassava. After considering various options a simple low cost storage technique for fresh cassava originally developed by the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) and NRI and later modified with DFID RNRRS funds by the NRI and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in Ghana was selected for validation in Tanzania. Validation exercises in Tanzania demonstrated that low cost fresh cassava root storage technology had the technical and economic potential to alleviate postharvest problems associated with marketing of fresh cassava and improve the incomes of those involved in the cassava market system. In the final stage of the project a flexible dissemination strategy was developed and used to carry out a limited technical dissemination campaign in the major cassava markets in Dares Salaam and selected villages ofKisarawe and Ruf~i Districts in Pwani (Coast) Region, and to promote wider awareness of the technology throughout Tanzania. Needs assessment techniques were used to develop practical approaches for dissemination and two impact assessments (November 1996 and December1997) were carried out to assess effectiveness of dissemination activities and allow for optimisation ofthe strategy. The first impact assessment (November 1996) was used to highlight the strengths and limitations of the initial dissemination strategy, so that a more effective strategy could be developed in collaboration with representatives of the Agricultural Extension Services and key stakeholders in the market system. In December 1997 a second impact assessment was made to assess the effectiveness of the revised dissemination strategy and to highlight any problems. The wider awareness campaign was found to have been effective and a number of expressions of interest had been received from organisations and individuals interested in fresh cassava within Tanzania. A high level of interest and awareness was found in markets and villages where training activities had taken place, but a number of problems were identified which were hampering uptake of the technology. The two main problems were: (a). to be effective the technology needs to be implemented at all points in the market system but individuals were unwilling to take the risk ofbeing the first to use the technology without proof of the economic benefits of the technology; (b). the market system is dominated by a large open type of package called a lumbesa which is not suitable for application of the technology or for transport of cassava but is used for other reasons related to transport charges. To overcome the first difficulty the project team developed a marketing demonstration to provide a practical demonstration of the financial benefits of low cost :fresh cassava root storage technology to potential beneficiaries within the marketing system. The second difficulty was addressed by representatives of various village governments and market co-operatives in collaboration with the TFNCINRI project team. In November of 1997 the village governments of Jaribu and Bungu villages in Rufiji District enacted bylaws to encourage adoption of close packaging for cassava and adoption of the new storage technology. To support this initiative the Agricultural Extension Service in Rufiji District have agreed to integrate the technology into their extension programmes, and in addition the village government in Jaribu has initiated its own training programme in the sub-villages around Jaribu. In December 1997 the village governments of Masaki, Sungwi and Gumba villages in Kisarawe District villages decided to follow the lead taken by villages in Rufiji District and develop bylaws and training programmes to promote uptake ofthe new technology. The Agricultural Extension Service for Kisarawe District have acknowledged the importance of cassava as a source of income generation in the District, and have agreed to integrate the technology into their extension programmes. If co-operation between the various stakeholders is maintained it seems likely that the technology will start to be adopted during 1998. This case study within the main regional Africa project has demonstrated not only that low cost :fresh cassava root storage technology has the technical and economic potential to reduce post-harvest losses and improve incomes, but has also shown that key stakeholders are genuinely interested in adoption of the technology and are willing to co-operate and spend their own funds to promote uptake of the technology. However, for successful uptake of the technology a wider dissemination at both local and national level is required. It is also clear that lack of funds in rural areas could constrain producers and country buyers from adopting this technology. To meet the needs ofthose involved in marketing of fresh cassava throughout Tanzania a sustained campaign of dissemination is required, involving close collaboration between the Agricultural Extension Services, selected NGOs and key stakeholders involved in marketing of fresh cassava from rural areas to various urban centres in Tanzania. A concept note for wider dissemination of low cost fresh cassava root storage technology in Tanzania is included in this report (Appendix 5). The fmdings of this case study have shown that successful adoption of this technology would improve the quality of cassava reaching urban consumers, and contribute to poverty alleviation by improving the income generating potential of marketing of fresh cassava

A policy study on the implementation challenges of phytosanitary standards: The case of ISPM 15 in Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, and Mozambique

The rise in international trade in recent decades has been accompanied by an increase in the movement of wood packaging materials (WPMs). Recognizing the associated threat of cross-border pest movement, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention, adopted the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15; guidelines for regulating WPM in international trade) for the treatment of WPMs. The objective of this article is to raise awareness on the challenges four sub-Saharan countries—Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, and Mozambique—are facing when it comes to implementation. During extensive fieldwork, we conducted interviews with key stakeholders to understand their role in the setup and implementation of the standard as well as their perceptions on relevant challenges. Addressing these challenges is vital for achieving compliance and removing associated institutional and economic barriers. The article can assist policy-makers and academics to design future policies that tackle implementation problems, especially in the context of developing countries

Tempe fermentation as a processing option for African cowpea

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX184081 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Lake Murray Meteorite and its Probable Age

Article from Okla. Geology Notes, Sept. 1964, by A. Allen Graffham. Story of discovery of meteorite by J. C. Dodson, of Ardmore, and its later display at the museum in Tucker Tower, Lake Murray State Park. 2 pages, origina

The Combination of Rice Malt and Amyloglucosidase for the Production of Sugar Syrup from Cassava Flour

Hydrolysis of cassava flour by the combination of rice-malt extract (RME) and amyloglucosidase (AMG) on yield and type of sugars were investigated. RME was prepared by malting paddy rice for 10 days at 28°C and diastatic power determined. Effect of rice-malt enzyme concentration on rate of liquefaction and AMG concentration on rate of saccharification were studied. The combined effect of RME and AMG on yield of sugars was investigated. Simultaneous consideration of temperature, pH and time was studied using response surface methodology. Types of sugars present in syrups were identified and quantified by HPLC. Results indicated that the RME had a diastatic power of 91.46-degree Lintner. The highest RME concentration that could liquefy 10% w/v of cassava flour was 8% w/v within an hour. The combination of 8% w/v of RME with 300- units/ml AMG or 10% w/v of RME with 200-units/ml AMG resulted in the highest yield of sugars. Simultaneous consideration of temperature, pH and time indicated that the highest yield of sugars occurred at 60°C, pH 4.5 in 4.5 hours of liquefaction and saccharification. HPLC analysis on sugar syrup produced by RME alone, identified glucose, maltose and other sugars; but the combination of RME and AMG produced glucose and maltose only. In conclusion the combination of rice-malt extract with Amyloglucosidase under the specified conditions of temperature, pH and time could increase yields of sugars to DE 80 from cassava flour. (Af. J. of Science and Technology: 2002 3(1): 11-18

Comparative assessment of amylolytic and cellulolytic enzyme activity of malts prepared from tropical cereals

The activity levels of amylolytic enzymes and β-glucanase in malts prepared from four tropical cereal grains were assessed to establish the relative usefulness of these malts for production of glucose syrups. Rice malt showed the highest activity for the amylolytic enzymes, whilst millet and sorghum malts were richest in β-glucanase activity. Optimum amylolytic enzyme development in rice malts occurred between 9–13 days; and 11 days for optimum β-glucanase development in millet malt. β-Amylase was the predominant enzyme in all the cereal malts except maize, for which the predominant enzyme was α-amylase. Options for optimising the production of enzymes from the three cereals, and their potential for use in the production of glucose syrups are discussed

Influence of variety and growth environment on β-amylase activity of flour from sweet potato (Ipomea batatas)

In order to select a suitable Ghanaian variety of sweet potato as enzyme source for the production of glucose syrups, four varieties of sweet potatoes - Sauti, Santom pona, Faara and Okumkom - cultivated in two different agro-ecological zones of Ghana were evaluated for [beta]-amylase activity. Faara and Okumkom varieties harvested at 5 months maturity from the forest zone showed the highest [beta]-amylase activity and consequently the most suitable potential enzyme source for the hydrolysis of starchy materials in glucose syrup production. Enhancing [beta]-amylase levels in sweet potatoes has potential cost efficiency advantages in glucose syrup production