Economic evaluation of dagaa solar drying innovation for post-harvest losses reduction in Mwanza, Tanzania
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Date
2019
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Dagaa (Rastrineobola argentae) has been the major commercial fishery of Lake
Victoria contributing 67.4% of total fish catch. In Tanzania it constitutes over 38% of
the total fish landings from the lake. However, there is a high level of post-harvest loss
of about 59%. To minimize the losses, various solar post-harvest innovations for dagaa
processing have been developed but there is limited empirical evidence showing costs
and benefits of these innovations to justify their adoption. The present study assessed the
economic viability of three drying methods of dagaa namely, solar tent, bare sand and
raised racks in Mwanza. A completely randomised experimental design, cost benefit
analysis and trend analysis were employed to determine post-harvest losses, economic
viability and future market of dagaa respectively. Data was collected by simple random
sampling of dagaa from boats, key informant interviews and desk review of secondary
data. Results showed that solar tent reduces post-harvest losses up to 24.9% compared to
raised racks (14.9%) and bare sand (10%) drying methods. Solar tent achieved the
highest Net Present Value (NPV) of Tsh. 68,069,703 at the Internal Rate of Return
(IRR) of 341% and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.38 meaning that solar tent is
economically viable. Market trend analysis augmented with key informant interviews
indicated that domestic market for dagaa is rising. Based on the findings the study
recommends solar tent innovation should be promoted to commercial scale to contribute
in reducing dagaa post-harvest losses. The reduction of post-harvest losses implies
more quantities of dagaa will be available for sale and employment opportunities will be
created to enterprises in the fisheries industry. The promotion of the innovation can be
done by various stakeholders including the government, private sector, researchers and
development partners in forms of interventions to stimulate adoption and further
research to upgrade the innovation.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Economic evaluation, Dagaa solar drying, Solar drying innovation, Post-harvest, Mwanza, Tanzania