Adapting to Fuelwood Scarcity: The Farmers' Perspective

About 3 billion people worldwide depend on fuelwood to meet their domestic energy needs. Almost 90% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa use fuelwood-based forms of energy. However, its use is often unsustainable and is one driver of environmental degradation. In Tanzania, the majority of rural residents depend on fuelwood as their major source of cooking energy. The adaptation measures applied by small-scale farmers in response to fuelwood scarcity are typically unsustainable with regard to socio-economic, environmental, and food security dimensions. This study applies a methodological framework that assesses the personally experienced impact of coping strategies by local stakeholders on sustainability criteria. This framework comprises (1) the selection of appropriate adaptation measures; (2) the identification of local sustainability criteria; and (3) the participatory impact and frequency assessments at two case study sites in the semi-arid region of Dodoma in central Tanzania. Overall, eight coping strategies from 23 measures applied in the region were selected and four sustainability criteria defined by local key informants were identified. The participatory impact and frequency assessment show that the strategies of “on-farm tree planting” and “use of improved cooking stoves” are rated as positive across all four sustainability criteria and are regularly applied by the farmers. Two of the eight strategies are clearly negative: “eat fewer meals” and “increase in walking distance to collect fuelwood.” These measures are regularly and widely used by farmers, thus amplifying the negative rating. Overall, the experiences of farmers suggest that applied coping strategies have the greatest negative effect on the environmental condition and, on average, a rather positive effect on economic conditions. The results offer an approach for developing a reliable monitoring of how adaptation measures are applied in response to fuelwood scarcity and to achieve distinct values for benchmarking

Editorial: Achieving nutrition security in Tanzania by improving production, education and economics: Methods, tools and applications

Peer Reviewe

Synergien zwischen Natur- und Klimaschutz in der Landbewirtschaftung – Öffentliche Güter zwischen Markt und Staat

Multifunktionale Landbewirtschaftung soll zugleich die öffentlichen Güter Klima- und Naturschutz bereitstellen. Die jeweiligen Politikinstrumente stehen derzeit eher im Konflikt, können aber auch synergetisch sein. Dieser Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse einer sozial-empirischen Akteursbefragung sowie einer Literaturanalyse vor, die mögliche Konflikte und Synergien zwischen Klima- und Naturschutzmaßnahmen in der Landwirtschaft beleuchten. Im Ergebnis wurde der Moorrenaturierung die größte Bedeutung als Synergiemaßnahme beigemessen, wohingegen dem Anbau von nachwachsenden Rohstoffen (NaWaRo) das geringste Synergiepotential bescheinigt wurde. Nachbesserungen in der Umsetzung sind vonnöten

Der Energiepflanzenanbau im Landkreis Görlitz: Eine ökonomische Analyse

Vor dem Hintergrund zunehmenden Energiepflanzenanbaus und potentiell negativer Auswirkungen auf Ökosystemdienstleistungen wurde im Projekt Löbestein untersucht wie sich diese Entwicklung unter unterschiedlichen Rahmenbedingungen fortsetzen könnte. Diese Arbeit lotet dabei auf Basis der vereinbarten Szenarien und mit Hilfe eines einzelbetrieblichen Optimierungsmodells aus, wie sich die Landnutzung bei verschiedenen Biomasse-Strategien im Landkreis Görlitz entwickeln könnte. Die Szenarien variieren den Ausbau von Biogas und die Nutzung von Holz aus Wald- und Ackerflächen bei unterschiedlichen Nachhaltigkeitsauflagen für die Landnutzung. Die Ergebnisse zeigen exemplarisch und räumlich differenziert die entstehenden Landnutzungsstrukturen mit unterschiedlichen Anteilen an Energiemais, Kurzumtriebsplantagen und Agarumweltmaßnahmen

Systemising gender integration with rural stakeholders' sustainability impact assessments: A case study with three low-input upgrading strategies

Participatory action research across food value chains (FVC) can help stabilise the food security of subsistence farmers by implementing upgrading strategies (UPS). These strategies can be assessed ex-ante and ex-post for their potential social, ecological and economic sustainability impacts. UPS implementation, however, often entails gender-specific changes and challenges in a farmer's social life, economy and environment that either were not perceived and anticipated beforehand or are not followed up during UPS implementation. Before and during their implementation, therefore, UPS need to be entirely understood and assessed by both genders in terms of their potential social, ecological and economic sustainability impacts. This article conceptualises a systematic framework for integrating gender in sustainability impact assessments and presents gender-based assessment differences in three low-input UPS in Tanzanian FVC. We conducted ex-ante and ex-post impact assessments using nine food security criteria developed earlier by the authors following the Framework of Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA). Sustainability impact assessments—to a greater extent than expected—differed to various extents between the genders for a) different food security criteria, b) different sustainability dimensions (economic, social, and environmental), c) different points in time (T0, T1) of assessments, d) different implemented UPS, and e) different members within the groups of female and/or male stakeholders. The results demonstrate the substantial importance of integrating female-male segregated assessments and perceptions before and while implementing food-securing UPS. We anticipate that integrating these assessments and perceptions as regular components will lead to better gendered social learning for both scientists and stakeholders and a holistic understanding of complex local food systems

Four years of sustainability impact assessments accompanying the implementation of improved cooking stoves in Tanzania

Development projects and innovations are often implemented based on scientific recommendations and do not incorporate local knowledge and demand for interventions. In this paper, we demonstrate the successful engagement of local stakeholders in the implementation and evaluation process of improved cooking stoves; a technology that improves food security in two climatically contrasting regions in Tanzania. The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment tool was used to conduct impact assessments on firewood-based improved cooking stoves to evaluate their contribution to food security at local stakeholder level. Between 2014 and 2017, four annual impact assessments were conducted with local stakeholders in four villages in the semi-arid Dodoma and the sub-humid Morogoro regions to assess the impact of improved cooking stoves on locally defined nine food security criteria. The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment was used to (i) ex-ante identify the expected impact, and (ii) to ex-post assess the experienced impact of improved cooking stoves on the nine food security criteria. The impact assessments showed that the perceived contribution of improved cooking stoves towards the food security criteria was positive throughout all assessments. In particular, improved cooking stoves addressed relevant food security criteria such as social relations, food availability, and market participation. The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment tool supported continuous knowledge exchange between scientists and local stakeholders, thus improving communication and co-learning; while identifying merits and demerits of the improved cooking stoves that could be addressed during the project lifetime

Toward energy saving and food safety in Central Mozambique: the role of improved cook stoves and heat retention boxes

BACKGROUND: Almost 80% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa relies on traditional biomass for cooking, which is typically associated with negative environmental, health, economic, and social impacts. Thus, many stakeholders, including development agencies and national governments in the Global South are promoting the use of the improved cookstove in order to save cooking time, save financial assets, maximize fuel efficiency, and reduce indoor air pollution. However, little attention is paid to the heating practices among households, which can determine food safety levels. Specifically, cooked food should be kept at temperatures above the danger zone (from 5 to 57 °C) prior to its consumption to prevent its contamination by bacteria and other unhealthy contaminants. In general, many studies address food preparation and storage separately, despite being complementary. In this study, we attempt to understand whether, the use of improved cookstove combined with heat retention box would result in improvements with regard to fuel and time saving, and adequate food storage temperatures. Furthermore, we examine the acceptability of food prepared with these two systems based on consumers’ preference analysis. Involving 122 participants, the study was conducted in Gurué district, central Mozambique. RESULTS: The use of improved cookstove resulted in energy savings of 9% and 17% for cooking maize porridge and beans curry, respectively. The overall time consumption for cooking decreased by 14% (beans curry) and 24% (maize porridge). The use of heat retention boxes shows a better heat retention ability as compared to the locally used heat retention systems (leftovers, banana leaves). CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that improved cookstove is a sustainable mean for saving cooking time and fuel. Heat retention box has a potential to maintain adequate food storage temperatures. Both improved cookstove and heat retention box present a superior performance compared to traditional technologies; thus, can easily be diffused for not affecting the quality of food

1281-1292

This article reports the application of a tool ‘‘ScalA’’ that generates information on a multitude of aspects and assesses the local suitability of CRSA practices among sub-Saharan smallholders. It also briefly presents other state-of-the-art tools that can be used for similar purposes

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for dried traditional mangos from Kitui – A marketing analysis for Kenya and Germany

The Kenyan mango value chain faces high post-harvest losses due to poor market access alongside a lack of storage technologies and processing facilities. Thus, using fruit processing methods, like solar drying, can enhance shelf life and help smallholder farmers access new markets, diversifying income and livelihoods. Nonetheless, the processing of both indigenous and grafted mango fruits is not a very common practice. This study was conducted to support product development targeting processing and marketing to link farmers to both local and export markets. Four independent consumer testing and sensory evaluation rounds on Kitui’s dried mango flakes were conducted in Germany and Kenya. Data were collected via a group tasting by 31 randomly selected participants and an online questionnaire of 304 randomly selected participants. All participants were given samples of different varieties of dried mango flakes with and without additives. Results show that high-quality mango cultivars, like Ngowe, receive high hedonic scores without any additives (honey, sodium metabisulfite, or ascorbic acid). Some varieties positively respond to the treatments and achieve higher scores, e.g., Van Dyke or the indigenous variety Kikamba. The consumers testing in Germany show that extrinsic attributes, such as organic production, fair trade, cooperative, and sustainable labelled flakes open up new opportunities for farmers who aim for the export market. Against findings derived from German panellists, in Kenya, consumers do not show a higher willingness to pay despite having a positive attitude toward sustainability. Thus, the local market should focus on cost-reduction strategies rather than introducing standardisation