Drivers of scale and sustainability of food safety interventions in informal markets: Lessons from the Tanzanian dairy sector

Food safety is critical but poorly addressed in African countries. A food safety training and certification intervention piloted in Kenya, India, Tanzania, and Nigeria was scaled and sustained in India but not the African countries. There is limited knowledge about how contextual factors facilitated or limited the scale and sustainability of the intervention in African countries. This research analysed the reach and contextual drivers of scale and sustainability of the intervention in Tanzania’s informal dairy sector four years post-implementation to draw lessons around the scale and sustainability of such interventions in African contexts. We utilized a convergence mixed method study design. We compiled data using document review, surveys with dairy traders, and key informant interviews with key dairy stakeholders. The intervention reach was limited. Critical incentives for traders and intervention implementers to engage with the intervention were lacking due to the absence of government commitment to support the intervention through policy. The traders and intervention implementers also lacked adequate capacities, compromising intervention delivery. For the intervention to achieve scale and sustainability in Tanzania and similar contexts, governments must be committed to food safety and provide enabling policy environments. The interventions must also consider the capacities of the beneficiaries and implementers

Mapping cassava food value chains in Tanzania's smallholder farming sector: the implications of intra-household gender dynamics.

Published online: 08 Jan 2018A gendered mapping of the structure and coordination (functioning) of traditional cassava value chains is important for marginalized groups such as women in rural development. In contrast to global high value chains, traditional food value chains and associated gender relations as well as power dynamics within households have received little attention. We conducted a cross sectional study in Kigoma, Mwanza, the coastal region, and Zanzibar Island in Tanzania. Data were collected through structured interviews conducted with 228 farmers, combined with key informant interviews, direct observations, repeated household visits, and literature review. The results of the study revealed that there are weak linkages within the cassava value chain, which is highly gendered. While production and processing nodes of the chain, which commenced from villages, were dominated by women and children, women were not well-integrated within high value nodes such as marketing in urban areas and cross-border trading, which were dominated by men. Transportation of cassava to highly lucrative markets was also dominated by men. Cassava processing was conducted at the household level as well as within small-scale cooperatives, with the major portion of this work being done by women. Supporting institutions were found to be involved in the supply of planting material, training, and the provision of processing equipment. In general, men played a prominent role in the control of resources, marketing, and income. In conclusion, the mapping of cassava value chains could help to identify avenues for understanding of poverty, enhancing food security, upgrading capacities, reducing gender inequality, and enhancing women's participation in marketing and income control in the cassava value chains

Women's empowerment in traditional food value chains at the micro-level: evidence from cassava smallholder farming in Tanzania

Posted online: 9 June 2017; Accepted manuscriptEmpowering women improves household food productivity and security. We examined women’s empowerment within the cassava value chain according to the five domains of empowerment of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, using data from 228 respondents in Tanzania. Disempowerment indices for women and men were 0.95 and 0.14, respectively. Women were disempowered in the production, leadership, and time domains. Women were empowered in the resources domain, which entailed joint ownership and decision making. Marital status and educational levels were significantly associated with women’s empowerment. Policies to improve women’s empowerment should focus on securing ownership of resources and access to credit

Unlocking the household ‘Black Box’: a gendered analysis of smallholder farmers' participation in the cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz) value chain in Tanzania

Published online: 29 August 2017Women in developing countries are often omitted from key parts of the agricultural value chains. We used household survey data in bi-probit and ordinary least squares regression models to estimate the determinants of women’s participation in cassava cultivation and marketing in Tanzania. Land size and region, among other factors, were significant determinants of household decisions to grow cassava. Policies for improving women’s land rights and infrastructure would help to promote their participation in cassava production, processing and marketing. Improved methods of delivering extension information would also improve women’s participation in the cassava value chain markets