Characterizing market potential and developing business model for processed lake Victoria sardine products

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyThe study aimed at developing an inclusive business model to improve the marketing efficiency of Lake Victoria processed sardine products. The stakeholder theory was used to characterize actors’ roles while structure, conduct and performance framework scrutinized the marketing efficiency. The study identified and tested the consumers’ buying decision factors before developing the business model in collaboration with the stakeholders within the sardine value chain. Primary data from Lake Victoria Tanzania side were collected using structured and tested questionnaires from 546 randomly selected respondents in Mwanza, Mara and Kagera regions. Key informants and focus group discussions complemented the information gathered through questionnaires. Data were tested for validity, reliability and model fit by using SPSS program version 24. Data were analyzed using multiple regression models and descriptive statistics. Market analysis used price efficiency, descriptive and organizational structure. The exploitative resource sharing between crew members and boat owners led to inefficiency production and theft of fishing equipment. Sardine traders had not accessed the lucrative market outlets due to weak institutional support and lack of economies of scale. The market analysis showed high income and inequalities with Gini coefficient for traders and processors of 0.59 and 0.64, respectively. Lorenz curves showed 80% of monthly income was accounted by 50% of marketers. The higher income, market share inequalities, and market entry barriers implied that the market was imperfectly competitive and inefficient with greater likelihood of dominancy as economic and game theories suggests. The effect of product recognition and confidence on the buying intention was significant at p< 0.001, consumers’ confidence and buying intention was significant at p<0.001, consumers’ product recognition and buying intention was significant at p<0.001 and the effect consumers’ attitude and buying intention was significant at p<0.001. Based on explanatory powers of the determinants; consumers preferred sardines dried on racks, rocks, grass and net, deep fried and hot smoked. Marketing strategies should focus on improving product quality and increase consumers’ product confidence, attitudes and recognition. The business model for processed sardine products should focus on improving the delivery and captures through product handling, value addition and delivery practices that considers consumer needs

Consumers’ product knowledge and attitudes as determinants of buying intention of processed sardine product: case of lake Victoria basin

This research article published by African Journal of Emerging Issues, 2019Purpose of the study: This paper highlights the determinants of consumers’ buying behavior of processed sardine products from Lake Victoria basin by determining consumers’ knowledge and attitudes in relation to buying decision towards processed sardine products. Short introduction of problem statement: Literatures postulated that consumer behavior describes how individuals and groups select, buy, use and dispose goods, services, idea or experience to satisfy their need and wants. Consumer buying behavior is affected by uncontrollable factors that need to be considered while understanding consumers. Since the public health authorities are promoting fish consumption in order to improve public health, in addition it has been shown that the value contributions of sardine product in Lake Victoria basin is not reflecting its landings, therefore it is important to determine the consumers’ knowledge and attitudes in relation to buying decision towards processed sardine products. Method/methodology: Data was collected from 190 consumers in Mwanza, Mara and Kagera regions in Tanzania. After prior testing the data to fit the linear regression model, the multiple linear regression model using SPSS program version 24 was employed to analyze the collected data. Results of the study: The results have indicated that consumers’ product knowledge and attitudes were the main determinants of buying intentions of processed sardine products. Significant result at (p<0.001) on product knowledge and attitude was obtained proving that consumer knowledge on the products creates consumers’ attitudes towards the products. Consumer knowledge predictors were able to explaining the consumer attitude variance by 68.4% and 39.2% for sardine products dried on grass and nets and dried on rocks respectively. In addition, consumers’ attitudes and product knowledge in relation to buying intention was significant at (p<0.001), implying that the predictors were the main determinants for purchasing of products in question. The analysis have indicated that the buying intention had significant correlation with consumers’ eating habits, family preferences and consumers’ attitudes. Conclusion and policy recommendation: Strategic marketing planning of processed sardine products should focus on increasing consumers’ attitudes by creating knowledge through products labelling and improve the value addition technologies. The value addition should focus on determining the nutritional content and shelf life of different processed sardine products. Processors participating in national and international exhibitions will increase subjective and objective knowledge as well as improve the consumers’ attitudes towards processed sardine products

Hydroxyapatite-activated seaweed biochar for enhanced remediation of fluoride contaminated soil at various pH ranges

This research article was published by Elsevier, 2023This study investigated the defluoridation efficiency of hydroxyapatite-activated seaweed (Eucheuma Cottonii) biochar (HSB) at various soil pH ranges (3–11) while monitoring the impact of contact time (30 min - 2.5 h), adsorbent dosage (0.1–0.5 g) as well as the initial fluoride concentration and compare its performance to its respective seaweed biochar (SB). Activation of SB with the hydroxyapatite lead to a shift in its point-zero-charge (pHPZC) from 6 to 7.4 broadening its defluoridation pH range from a solitary 5 to amid 3 through 11. The fluoride adsorption mechanism was found to follow both Langmuir (R2 = 0.956) and Freundlich (R2 = 0.942) isotherm models with a maximum defluoridation capacity of 3.03 mg/g equivalent to the defluoridation efficiency of 79%. This is accounted to the existence of soil ions, SB active sites, and the attached hydroxyapatite, as fluoride adsorption sites each exhibiting a dissimilar fluoride removal mechanism. Therefore, the HSB could be a promising adsorbent for fluoride removal in the fluoride contaminated agricultural soils of inclusive pH ranges

A review of Lake Victoria sardine products business and institutional arrangements for domestic and regional trade

This research article published by Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 2018Effective and efficient business and institutional arrangements are essential for every industry to position the business ventures within the value chain, show how transactions are made among stakeholders and underlying economic logic for value creation. This review focused on the existing business and established support institutional arrangements for sardines (Rastrineobola argentea) from Lake Victoria in order to assess their influence on domestic and regional trade. The review established that the business arrangements between the crew members and boat owners in Tanzania influences revenue sharing among players; this was connected to poor performance of crew members, theft of fishing equipment, boat engines and portion of fish products by crew members. Sardines traders had not been able to access the lucrative outlets due to weak institutional support and lack of economies of scale. At the national and regional levels, the authors focused on the co-management of fishery resources through the Beach Management Units, national fishery policies, strategies and support institutional arrangements. At national level, the main limitation identified was poor performance of the Local Government Authorities in the aspects of surveillance, control, fisheries law enforcement as well as close monitoring and inspection of fishing activities which led to depletion of the fishery resources and influenced trade performance. Furthermore, it was observed that at regional level, there was weak formal link between the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) and this jeopardised the effective and efficiency management of fishery resources and efforts towards poverty alleviation

Remediation of soils contaminated by fluoride using a fermentation product of seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii)

This study investigated the efficacy of fermented seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii) on the remediation of fluoride-contaminated soil. The soil was amended with either 1.25, 3.0, or 5.0% (w/w) fermented seaweed (FSW), parallel with the controls (0%). The amendment improved the physicochemical properties of the soil particularly pH regulated from strong alkaline (9.3) to neutral (7.0) which is essential for germination, crop growth, and yield. The amount of water soluble-fluoride (Ws-F) dropped from 81.7 ± 3.1 mg/kg to 42.7 ± 2.4, 33.7 ± 1.2, 19.6 ± 0.9, and 12 ± 1.3 mg/kg following 0, 1.25, 3, and 5% amendment dosage, respectively. Most of the Ws-F was converted into exchangeable fluoride (Ex-F) and to fluoride-bound to iron and manganese (Fe/Mn-F). Furthermore, the amendment also enhanced microbial mass and diversity in the soil. The FSW contains organic acids which participate in ionic bonding with the multivalent cations in the soil. The formed compound participates in ion exchange with clay or with anionic adsorption to positively charged clay sites at the edges. This interaction is further essential for enhancing the fluoride holding capacity of the soil. The use of seaweed reduced the bioavailability of fluoride in the agricultural soils and had positive effects on promoting soil fertility. However, further studies to observe its effects on crop performance is of significance

Hydroxyapatite-activated seaweed biochar for enhanced remediation of fluoride contaminated soil at various pH ranges

This study investigated the defluoridation efficiency of hydroxyapatite-activated seaweed (Eucheuma Cottonii) biochar (HSB) at various soil pH ranges (3â-11) while monitoring the impact of contact time (30Â min - 2.5Â h), adsorbent dosage (0.1â-0.5 g) as well as the initial fluoride concentration and compare its performance to its respective seaweed biochar (SB). Activation of SB with the hydroxyapatite lead to a shift in its point-zero-charge (pHPZC) from 6 to 7.4 broadening its defluoridation pH range from a solitary 5 to amid 3 through 11. The fluoride adsorption mechanism was found to follow both Langmuir (R2Â =Â 0.956) and Freundlich (R2Â =Â 0.942) isotherm models with a maximum defluoridation capacity of 3.03 mg/g equivalent to the defluoridation efficiency of 79. This is accounted to the existence of soil ions, SB active sites, and the attached hydroxyapatite, as fluoride adsorption sites each exhibiting a dissimilar fluoride removal mechanism. Therefore, the HSB could be a promising adsorbent for fluoride removal in the fluoride contaminated agricultural soils of inclusive pH ranges

The Influence of Fertilizers on the Behavior of Fluoride Fractions in the Alkaline Soil

This research article was published by Elsevier, 2021It has been established that fluoride bioavailability in the soil is defined by the form which it exists rather than the amount of total fluoride. In the soil, fluoride exist in different fractions such as water soluble (Ws-F), Exchangeable (Ex-F), bound to iron/manganese (Fe/Mn-F), organic matter bound (Or-F), and the residual (Res-F). All of these fractions are bioavailable however to different extents in an order Ws-F>Ex-F>Fe/Mn-F>Or-F>Res-F. Agricultural practices such as fertilizer application alters the behavior of these fractions which further affects fluoride bioavailability in the soil. This study investigated the influence of the three commonly used fertilizers (Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Urea, and cow-manure) on the bioavailability of soil fluoride in an alkaline soil. The soil was mixed with either one of the fertilizers then incubated for a period of five months. All three fertilizers increased the amount of Ws-F by 7.8 ± 0.6, 4.1 ± 0.2, 9.6 ± 1.1 mg/kg and Fe/Mn-F by 2.24 ± 0.3, 0.44 ± 0.2, and 2.1 ± 0.2 mg/kg, for DAP, Urea, and manure amendments, respectively, but had no impact on the amount of Or-F. All three fertilizers were observed to enhance the bioavailability of fluoride in the soil by increasing the amount of Ws-F. The fertilizers could have increased the bioavailability of fluoride in the soil directly or indirectly through alteration of pH and the soil elemental composition. The three fertilizers might not be suitable for use in fluoride contaminated alkaline soils as they accelerate fluoride release and hence bioavailability in the soil

Trends towards Effective Analysis of Fluorinated Compounds Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

Increased demand for monitoring and identification of novel and unknown fluorinated compounds (FCs) has demonstrated the need of sensitive fluorine-specific detectors for unknown FCs in both biological and environmental matrices. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a promising technique for analysis of FCs and has been rated as the most powerful tool in analytical chemistry. However, direct determination of fluorine using this technique is challenged by high ionization potential of fluorine together with spectral and nonspectral interferences which affect the quality of results. To enhance the quality of results, several studies have reported modifications of a conventional ICP-MS analysis procedure on sample preparation, introduction, analysis, and instrument optimization. Therefore, the focus of this study is to discuss different ICP-MS optimizations and future trends towards the effective analysis of FCs using ICP-MS

Analysis of marketing efficiency of processed sardine products of Lake Victoria:Case of Tanzania

Research Article published by African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and DevelopmentThe paper tested the marketing efficiency of Lake Victoria processed sardines using structure-performance and efficient-structure hypotheses and the influence of socioeconomic characteristics on marketing efficiency. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires from randomly selected 249 respondents. The conceptual framework showed the influence of market structure, performance and socioeconomic characteristics on marketing efficiency. Multiple regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the information. The Gini coefficients for traders and processors were 0.59 and 0.64; the Lorenz curves showed 80% of monthly income was accounted for by 50% of marketers indicating that the market was concentrated with high level of income and market shares inequalities. Empirical findings revealed that access to market information and formal business loans, selling price, net returns, and quantity traded significantly increase marketing efficiency. Marketing costs and margins significantly reduce marketing efficiency. Higher income and market share inequalities, poor access to business loans, markets and market information imply the market was imperfectly competitive and inefficient with greater likelihood of domination as economic and game theories suggests. The findings call for collective marketing in order to reduce marketing cost, increase the quantity traded and fishers’ bargaining power in order to increase their net returns