Welcome to SUAIRE
Sokoine University of Agriculture Institutional Repository (SUA IR). This repository was built and is maintained by the university library (Sokoine National Agricultural Library-SNAL) , in order to collect, preserve and disseminate scholarly output generated by University research community (staff and students) members.
This repository hosts a variety of openly accessible materials including: scholarly articles and books, theses and dissertations, conference proceedings and technical reports. For assistance about depositing your research output in the repository click here. SUA IR Policy click here or any queries contact us at snal@sua.ac.tz.
Communities in SUAIRE
Select a community to browse its collections.
- The Agroforesty Community is a collaborative network dedicated to advancing sustainable land-use practices that integrate trees, crops, and livestock. It serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, research dissemination, and practical innovations in Agroforestry. By fostering connections among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and local communities, the Agroforestry Community promotes environmental conservation, enhanced agricultural productivity, and resilient livelihoods.
Recent Submissions
Adoption and profitability of fertilizer microdosing in sub-humid and semi-arid farming systems of Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2018) Mwinuka, Lutengano
High poverty and food insecurity levels in combination with dependence on small-scale
rainfed agriculture make rural livelihood challenging in sub-humid and semi-arid areas of
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Besides, smallholder farmers in these areas are reluctant to
risk investing in fertilizers at recommended rates. Upgrading current farming systems for
improved productivity is urgent for rural communities. This thesis is based on case
studies conducted in Kilosa (sub-humid) and Chamwino (semi-arid) districts in Tanzania
between 2013 and 2016. The study sites covered 553 farming households in four case
study villages who also implemented on-farm fertilizer micro-dosing (MD) technology,
with and without in-situ rainwater harvesting (RWH). These technologies were expected
to enhance on-farm productivity as well as to impact on the welfare of rural farming
households. Integrated analytical approaches were used, inspired by new tools that
incorporate risk associated with crop yields and prices, to advance the understanding of
adoption and productivity of fertilizer micro-dosing in relation to upgrading maize and
pearl millet value chains.
The thesis comprises of three research papers. Paper I examines willingness of farmers to
adopt fertilizer MD with and without in-situ RWH using integrated ex-ante assessment
tools. Respectively, papers II and III simulate distributions of economic returns due to
fertilizer MD in sub-humid and semi-arid farming systems based on various scenarios.
The results show that insufficient rainfall and soil fertility decline are the major
constraints to the farming systems in the study areas. It was revealed that smallholder
farmers will be better-off if they upgrade their current agricultural practices through
adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies. The scenarios of producing maize with
fertilizer MD in sub-humid farming system under different rates show a slight improvement in stochastic returns when compared to the situation under water and
nutrient limited conditions. Intercropping pearl millet and groundnuts with RWH is the
most economically viable farming system in semi-arid farming system. Moreover, there is
also a great chance for sunflower farmers to get better yields and profit if they upgrade by
combining RWH with fertilizer MD. In terms of welfare, the results show that crop
producers, consumers and other market agents gain more if fertilizer micro-dosing is
adopted by farmers.
Although fertilizer MD is promising, the task of promoting fertilizer use for transforming
farming systems is complex. Promotion of fertilizer requires strengthening knowledge
and skills of smallholder farmers and paying attention to cost-effective farm-level
technologies. Participatory processes in planning may help both strategic projects to
identify robust upgrading strategies and rural communities to navigate towards desirable
development paths.
Screening farmers’ saved rice seed for discolouration and incidence of seed-borne pathogens
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2009) Mwipopo, Nuru Grace Eliezer
A study was conducted to screen for seed-borne pathogens causing discolouration in
farmers’ saved rice seeds produced in Shinyanga, Mbeya and Morogoro regions in
Tanzania.
A total of 37 seed samples were tested for the presence of seed-borne
pathogens. The blotter method was used to detect fungal pathogens which were identified
based on growth habit and morphological characteristics of the fruiting bodies and
spores/conidia. The slide cassette holder method was used to detect bacterial pathogens.
The isolated bacteria were characterized based on physiological and biochemical tests,
hypersensitive reaction and pathogenicity tests. The data were analyzed using MSTAT-C
Computer package and mean separation rest using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at
P < 0.05. The identified seed-borne fungal pathogens associated with seed discolouration
were Fusarium moniliforme, Phoma sp., Bipolaris oryzae and Altemaria padwickii. All
farmers’ saved rice seed samples tested were infected. The highest seed infection was
caused by Fusarium moniliforme (16.75%), (26.0%), (13.5%), Bipolaris oryzae (2.0%),
(0.5%), (17.25%), Phoma sp. (5.0%), (2.25%), (2.25%) for samples from Shinyanga,
Mbeya and Morogoro, respectively. The lowest seed infection was caused by Alternaria
padwickii (0.25%), (0.75%) for samples from Shinyanga and Mbeya, respectively. Seed-
borne bacterial pathogens causing grain discolouration were identified. The highest seed
infection with Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae was from Shinyanga region,
Pseudomonas syringae subsp. syringae from Morogoro region and Psudomonas
fuscovaginae infection from samples collected in Morogoro and Mbeya regions. Rice seed
from Shinyanga region had high seed infection followed by Morogoro. The results stress
the need to encourage farmers to use certified seed which are clean and healthy for
planting rather than using their owned saved seeds.
Accessibility of agricultural information in supporting climate change adaptation in Tanzania a case study of Chamwino District, Dodoma Region
(University of Dar-es-salaam, 2011) Mwalukasa, Nicholaus
This study aimed the exploring to access and use of agricultural information by farmers in
supporting climate change adaptation in Chamwino District, Dodoma Region. Data was
collected from the two villages of Kilangali II and Mvumi Makulu from Buigiri ward and
Mvumi Makulu wards respectively. The sample of 100 respondents was used, that included
farmers, village Executive Officers and Agricultural Extension Officers. Frequencies,
percentages, Chi-square and multiple linear regressions were employed. The study
identified that radio, relatives, firiends, neighbours and fellow farmers were the most usefill
sources of agricultural information about climate change. The conveyed sources
information were types of seeds resistant to drought, mixed crops, soil management,
water management, irrigation system, planting trees and changing planting dates.
However, only growing drought-resistant and early maturing crops, intercropping and
planting trees were the major agricultural practices adopted in the study area. Income of
respondents has a significant influence on accessibility to agricultural information
supporting climate change adaptation.
The study concludes that accessibility of agricultural information about climate change and
the adoption of recommended agricultural practice in the study area is low.
The study recommends that strategies for increasing access to mfbrmation supporting
climate change includes the establisliment of rural agricultural libraries and information
centres, employing committed and adequate competent Agricultural Extension Officers,
provision of printed material, in a language and content relevant to rural farmers and giving
more time to agricultural information on radio and television programmes.
Incentives for participatory forest management around Gishwati Natural Forest, Rwanda
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2013) Mukamparirwa, Vestine
Incentives in Participatory Forest Management (PFM) play a crucial role in conservation
and poverty reduction at all levels of society. In Gishwati Natural Forest (GNF), human
activities heavily affected the forest and incentive structure needs to be established in
order to motivate people for its conservation. This study aimed to assess the nature of
incentives for PFM in GNF and specifically questioned whether there were principle
incentives given to local communities in and around GNF; what are community member’s
interests to participate in conservation of the forest; the contribution of PFM incentives to
the conservation and livelihood of local communities and how communities perceived and
practiced different PFM activities. Data were collected from four cells adjacent to GNF
namely Karambo, Nkomane, Rusongati and Yungwe. Socio-economic data were collected
through Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques, checklists and structured questionnaires.
Questionnaire survey was administered to a total of 150 households representing the target
population. Qualitative data were analyzed through content and structural-functional
analyses. Quantitative socio-economic data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential
statistics. The logistic regression results revealed that social economic factors influenced
perceptions of communities on incentives for PFM activities; education level increased
peoples’ willingness to participate in forest management activities and had significant
influence on their perceptions on that at 0.05 significant level; age showed that the older
the villagers the more they have accumulated experience and knowledge on different
forest management activities and incentives given. PFM had positive impacts on people’s
livelihood by income generating activities where 39% comes from employment. The
forest created around 3000 employments and employees were earning an average of Frw
27 000 (about 50 USD) per month. The study concluded that incentives showed positive impacts on conservation and livelihood of local communities where existing incentives
such as employment, wood fuel, fodder, honey, wild fruits and vegetables have the
potential to improve livelihood of the people even if they are still limited in nature and
sources. The study recommended that relevant activities such as fruit processing, honey
processing should be undertaken to increase household income and catalyze their incentive
to effectively engage in Participatory Forest Management.
An Investigation of the extent of implementation of the financial management practices of Agri-SMEs in developing countries: evidence from Tanzania
(Elsevier, 2023) Mang’ana, Kulwa Mwita; Hokororo, Silver John; Ndyetabula,Daniel Wilson
he success of agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises (agri-SMEs), among other factors, heavily relies on their ability to manage finances effectively. This study examined the extent to which agricultural SMEs in Tanzania practice financial management activities. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from 427 agri-SMEs in three regions of Tanzania. Descriptive statistics and higher-order reflective-formative Structural Equation Model (SEM) were employed for data analysis. The findings indicated moderate adoption of financial management practices. Specifically, agri-SMEs were found to frequently engage in working capital management practices, such as maintaining sufficient cash flows and records for payables and receivables. However, financial reporting is less frequently practiced, with sporadic financial statements preparation and financial analysis. The findings indicate further that other financial management practices such as financial accounting, capital budgeting and financing management were moderately and infrequently implemented, with
external financing sources being utilized less frequently compared to internal financing sources. The path
analysis indicates that all lower-order constructs significantly contributed to the higher-order financial man
agement practice construct with capital budgeting demonstrating the strongest impact. The findings highlight the
need for improving financial reporting, analysis, and external financing usage in Tanzanian agri-SMEs. These
findings offer valuable insights agri-SMEs in developing countries to appropriately strategize on implementation
of financial management practices that will lead to improved access to finance and high performance