Gender issues in dairy and beef value chains in Tanzania

Tanzania Journal of Development Studies 2012, Vol. 1 2(1)This study was conducted to assess the role and level of participation of women, men and youth in the dairy and meat value chains. The study also focused on gender constraints and challenges that hinder equitable involvement of women and men in the chains. Using Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Dar es Salaam as study areas, interviews with key informants were conducted using a checklist of questions. Desk review of relevant literature was also done. Content analysis was used to analyze the information collected. The study found out that men and women play important role in both milk and beef value chains, but the extent of their involvement differ significantly. Women were found to be concentrated in lower and insecure nodes of the milk and beef value chain. However, few women who are milk producers have been able to engage or develop horizontal linkages by forming processing and marketing groups. Though there is use of improved technologies, some of these seem to increase women workload. Generally, socio-cultural issues hinder women from fully participating in the beef value chain. Thus, the study recommends that simple and appropriate dairy and beef technologies be developed so as to promote women's participation in the chains. Also, awareness creation to community members is important to sensitize the people on the role women can play in both dairy and more so in beef sector

Gender issues in dairy and beef value chains in Tanzania

Tanzania Journal of Development Studies 2012, Vol. 1 2(1)This study was conducted to assess the role and level of participation of women, men and youth in the dairy and meat value chains. The study also focused on gender constraints and challenges that hinder equitable involvement of women and men in the chains. Using Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Dar es Salaam as study areas, interviews with key informants were conducted using a checklist of questions. Desk review of relevant literature was also done. Content analysis was used to analyze the information collected. The study found out that men and women play important role in both milk and beef value chains, but the extent of their involvement differ significantly. Women were found to be concentrated in lower and insecure nodes of the milk and beef value chain. However, few women who are milk producers have been able to engage or develop horizontal linkages by forming processing and marketing groups. Though there is use of improved technologies, some of these seem to increase women workload. Generally, socio-cultural issues hinder women from fully participating in the beef value chain. Thus, the study recommends that simple and appropriate dairy and beef technologies be developed so as to promote women's participation in the chains. Also, awareness creation to community members is important to sensitize the people on the role women can play in both dairy and more so in beef sector

Accountability, rule of law and fairness in constituency development catalyst fund (CDCF) management in Vwawa Constituency, Tanzania

Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2020; 10 (9)This paper presents findings from a study which set forth to examine the governance of Constituency development Catalyst Fund. It focused on three pillars of governance which are; accountability, rule of law and fairness. The study was conducted in Vwawa constituency, in Mbozi District, Songwe Region in Tanzania. The study data were collected through semi-structure interviews, focus group discussions and (FGDs) and Observation. These were later transcribed and subsequently analyzed. The findings revealed that CDCF implementation was imbued with lack of accountability especially in publishing information of the expenditure of CDCF although villagers had chances to report all cases with fraudulent elements on CDCF and other funds. It was farther found that procurement process followed the required procedures, although in some circumstances it was influenced by either ward or constituency officers. Furthermore, it was found that the CDCF distribution was fair, however, in some cases, influenced by politicians especially the MP. Based on these findings, the study concludes that, the presence of well informed citizens may facilitate them to hold CDCF officers and other stakeholders accountable in any matter concerning the fund. Rules and regulations must be observed. Citizens must involve in decision making about CDCF activities. The practice done by some politicians in influencing the distribution of the funds is jeopardizing fairness in allocation of funds. All villages need the support from CDCF. The study recommends that, it is important to have well informed citizenly who can be able to hold officers and other stake holders accountable. It also recommends that, citizens should participate fully in decision making of CDCF activities. Lastly it recommends that, the distribution of the funds should not be influenced by the politicians

Household gender relations and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Njombe District, Tanzania

The East African Journal of Social Sciences and HumanitiesThe government of Tanzania initiated the rollout of free antiretroviral therapy (ART) to reduce mortality and morbidity rates and improve the quality of life for people living with Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (PLWHA). The initiative will be successful once the services are widely accessed and register a high level of ART adherence by PLWHA. There are however, limited empirical studies on how gender-related factors affect access to and follow-through treatment for HIV and AIDS hence the need to fill this knowledge gap. The study adopted a cross-sectional design to collect data using a structured questionnaire in Njombe Region, Tanzania. The findings reveal that heterosexual intercourse with a spouse was the leading cause of HIV transmission for women (64.9%), and casual sex outside of marriage was the major cause for men (54.3%). It was revealed that 45.5% of respondents reported women to be responsible for income generation at the household. The study found that 81.4% of women, compared to 42.9% of males walked to the clinic while only 14% of women paid for transport to get to the clinic, compared to 40% of men. It was found that 30% of women and 17% men had no access to a special diet required by the PLWHA. Findings indicate that 96.6% of females and 85.6% of males patients took their medication as prescribed and attended scheduled clinics (97.1% of men and 93.8% of women) as planned. Heavy household workload was reported to constraint women in taking medication on time. Maintaining a good diet was a problem reported by most of the respondents, especially women. The study concludes that as treatment programs are rolled out and scaled up, household gender relations still affects adherence in different ways, therefore considering gender aspect will improve access and adherence to ART for PLWHA

A gendered analysis of climate variability and change impacts and adaptations in semi arid area farming systems and natural resources management

Climate change and climate variability is increasingly threatening the livelihoods of many Tanzanians especially those living in semi-arid rural areas. The most affected are those; with low incomes, less food, poor access to health services, unstable energy supplies, and living in fragile natural ecosystems. Generally, women and men contribute differently to climate change; likewise, they are affected differently and react differently to its impact. The overall objective of the study was to assess the impact of climate change on rural livelihoods' and how households in semi-arid areas of Tanzania adapt based on gender. The study was conducted in Iramba and Meatu Districts. The study adopted a Sustainable livelihood Approach (SLA) developed by DFID (1992) in the analysis of climate change impacts and households' adaptation. Data was collected using qualitative methods such as focus group discussions and key informant interviews, informal interviews and observations. Findings from the study show that, climate change impacts affect almost everybody in the studied communities; however, differences by gender exist. These findings thus suggest that adaptation to climate change impacts vary across genders due to differences in roles and responsibilities, power relations and access to and control over resources.Research ReportClimate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation' (CCIAM) Programme in Tanzani

Climate change and its variability on crop production in semiarid areas of Iramba and Meatu Districts, Tanzania

African development, 2016, 32 (Special issue): 10-19Climate change and its variability are increasingly threatening livelihoods of Tanzania’s predominantly rural population and in particular those households with low incomes. Based on the above reality, a study was conducted in two semi-arid areas of central Tanzania. The overall objective was to determine how climate change and its variability have affected rural households’ crop production over time. Specifically, the paper aims at; assessing farmers’ preferred food and cash crops, determining the impact of rainfall variability on crop production in the semi-arid areas of central Tanzania and determining communities’ perception of climate change. The study on which the paper is based used a mixed method approach whereby both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to complement each other thus improving quality of the results regarding the impact of climate change and its variability on rural households’ crop production. Primary data was collected using a pre-structured questionnaire and focus group discussions’ checklist. Whereas quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Software for Social Scientists, qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. Findings generally show that climate change and climate variability have occurred in the study area and consequently crop production has adversely been affected leading to households’ vulnerability to food insecurity. In addition, food shortages have become frequent threatening households livelihood security. Based on the findings, rural households’ capacity to respond to the challenges of climate change and climate variability is a matter of urgency. Therefore, the government, in addition to the efforts already undertaken, should put in place institutional and policy framework to support rural households’ efforts to minimize the impacts of the phenomena

The effect of climate variability and change to the farming systems in Iramba and Meatu Districts, Tanzania

Journal of Continuing Education and Extension, 2014;5(2): 656-676This study examined changes in farming systems in response to climate variability and change. Specifically, the study aimed to;(i) assess /armors' perceptions of climate variability and change and (ii) examine changes in the Jai-ming systems in response to climate variability and change. The study adopted qualitative (fOcus group discussions) and quantitative (household survey) techniques using a sample sire of 150 respondents for the survey. The results demonstrated that smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists perceived the occurrence of climate variability and change manifested through drought, rainfall variability and increased day time surface temperature. Awareness regarding climate variability and change were associated with the middle age group (18-45 years old), which perceived increased drought since the 2000s relative to other age groups. Frequent JOod shortage and increasing .shortage of pasture were on the increase. Contract. to their expectations, smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists were unable to adjust fully their .J arming systems to minimize the negative effects 01 climate variability and change. This means, they had little capacity to change their Jarming systems or simply, they -were vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change. It is therefore recommended that, through integrated effort by the government and Nongovernmental Organi=ations (Ar(;0s) should support smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists to adjust their farming systems in response to climate variability and change so as to 1111171.111ire the negative effects

Perceived and measured climate variability and change in semi-arid environments in Tanzania: experiences from Iramba and Meatu Districts

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2017; 16 (1)This paper combines farmers’ perceptions of climate variability and change and meteorological data trends to generate empirical evidence to broaden an understanding of the phenomena. The results show an agreement on changing rainfall patterns. Bad years described by drought frequencies, temperature, and dry spell have increased since the 1970s. Crop growing period has decreased by one month in Meatu and by more than a month in Iramba. As hypothesised, the Mann-Whitney U test shows similar men and women’s perceptions at 5% level of significance (P value = 0.701). Similarly, the Kruskal-Wallis H test indicates that the poor, not so poor and the rich have the same perceptions (P value = 0.281). These results have implications on crop and livestock production systems and on livelihoods more generally. We conclude that climate variability and change manifestations overlap, making it a complex phenomena perceived equally by men, women, the poor and non-poor. This is understood holistically by combining farmers’ perceptions and meteorological data trends to inform adaptation strategies related decision makin