Policies, multi-stakeholder approaches and home-grown school feeding programs for improving quality, equity and sustainability of school meals in Northern Tanzania

Malnutrition among children of school-going age is a challenge of serious concern in developing countries especially Sub-Saharan Africa. Many programs focus on mothers and under-5-year-old children, leaving the school going age unattended. It has been shown that school meals can reduce school absenteeism, improve concentration in class and reduce early dropouts. In Tanzania, successful home-grown school feeding programs are localized in few areas but have not been scaled-out. The objective of this study was to analyze the policy and organizational environment which enables or promotes home-grown school feeding approaches. The study consisted of a systematic review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions in Arumeru and Babati Districts, Tanzania. In total, 21 key informant interviews with 27 participants and 27 focus group discussions with 217 participants were conducted. The results show that Tanzania lacks a clear policy on school feeding; there are no guidelines for school meal quality, participation in school feeding programs is not mandatory, leading to many students being left out and going hungry. Students in private schools tend to be better off than those in public schools in terms of provision and quality of school meals. We recommend that policies and practices are developed based on positive experiences of home-grown school feeding programs implemented in Tanzania by the World Food Programme and Project Concern International and emphasize that these policies need to be developed in a multi-sectoral manner. A conceptual framework for improving home-grown school feeding in public schools in Tanzania highlights four critical components: leadership and public awareness; operational modalities; contributions from parents; and meal diversity and nutrition. The home-grown school feeding model provides mechanisms to improve diversity of meals and their nutritional value, increase participation of communities and inclusion of students. Parents will still be responsible for the largest part of food supplies, but the model also requires participation of multiple stakeholders, and provision of natural resources such as land and water by the local government for production of nutritious food for young students. Minimum levels of social protection are recommended to ensure that no student is denied school meals

Accelerated variety turnover for open-pollinated crops in Tanzania - Phase 1 Key Findings

Open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), such as beans, sorghum, and groundnuts, are important for increased income, job creation, food security, and nutrition of both urban and rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the main constraint is underdeveloped seed systems, which contribute substantially to dwindling productivity among small-scale farmers due to limited access to reliable and quality planting materials. ACCELERATE is expected to accelerate varietal adoption and turnover in Tanzania by tapping into the power of large/small-scale or marketplace traders, and institutional seed buyers

Drivers of Transformations in Smallholder Indigenous Vegetable Value Chains in Western Kenya: Evolution of Contract Farming

Horticultural farmers, especially vegetable producers are characterized by poor access to inputs such as credit and operate in unreliable inputs and outputs markets. Empirical evidence shows that contract farming can potentially solve these constraints. However, contract violation is evident among smallholder farmers in many developing countries. This study assessed the main drivers of recent transformations in AIVs value chains including the emerging forms of and drivers of contract violation among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya. Results from analysis of data from a focused group discussion and key informant interviews showed that climate change and technology are among the key drivers

Managing climate risk through crop diversification in rural Kenya

PRIFPRI3; ISI; DCA; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; CRP2DSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Programs on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

Effects of Climate Variability and Change on Agricultural Production: The Case of Small-Scale Farmers in Kenya

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy with an estimated GDP share of 26 percent in 2012, and thus remains an important contributor to employment and food security of rural populations. Climate variability and change have adversely affected this sector. This situation is expected to worsen in the future if the latest findings of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are anything to go by. We estimate the effect of climate variability and change on crop revenue and on maize and tea revenue separately using household panel data collected between 2000 and 2010 in rural Kenya. Effect of climate variability and change is estimated using a fixed effects estimator. Findings show that climate variability and change affect agricultural production but differs across different crops. Temperature has negative effect on crop and maize revenues but positive one on tea while rainfall has negative effect on tea incomes. Long-term effects of climate change on crop production are larger than short-term effects, requiring farmers to adapt effectively and build their resilience. We find that tea relies on stable temperatures and consistent rainfall patterns and any excess would negatively affect the production. Climate change will adversely affect agriculture in 2020, 2030 and 2040 with greater effects in tea sector if nothing is done. Therefore, rethinking about the likely harmful effects of rising temperature and increasing rainfall uncertainty should be a priority in Kenya. It is important to invest in adaptation measures at national, county and farm level as well as implementing policies that prevent destruction of the natural environment in order to address the challenges posed by climate variability and change

The impact of road transportation network on productivity and growth in Kenya 50 years after independence : a review

Kenya celebrated her 50 years of independence on the 12th December 2013 with economic and policy analysts jotting that in that period the economy had grown nine times. It is a proven fact that development and maintenance of physical infrastructure are prerequisites for rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, as they influence production costs, employment creation, access to markets, and investment. Despite being considered an economic powerhouse in the East and parts of Central Africa Economic block, the size of the roads network, which is perceived to be fairly well developed, has suffered from numerous setbacks. Among these are; inadequate maintenance, repair and rehabilitation (MR&R), and the fragmentation of the institutional framework within which it is managed. This paper aims to provide a review of challenges the Kenyan government has faced on its road network, the impact of the state of the road network on productivity and growth, and the interventions proposed within the 50 years of her independence. This paper is based on an exploratory review of literature on the state of road networks and its effects on Kenya productivity and growth. Inferences from the reviewed literature indicate that the state of road network in Kenya causes delays, breakages and high maintenance cost for transport machinery, leading to high costs of doing business. This has resulted in the concentration of industries in areas with good road network thus creating disparities in regional industrial development. However, the government of Kenya has been developing road polices to improve on the road network. Given that the findings reported herein are inferences deduced from material reported in literature, the factual correctness of some of the intricate indices may not be explicitly verified. However, the general facts may be implied by the existing state of affairs. The paper presents the identified probable causes that have slowed the development of road network in Kenya including their effects and interventions proposed or implemented by the government of Kenya. It expresses an objective overview on literary discourse around the road network in Kenya. The study advocates for policies that will lead the country to achieve her development strategic plan of Vision 2030 on road network development, which the authors view as a catalyst to address the endemic systemic inadequacies that have stifled prudent infrastructure management strategies in the past 50 years of independence