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
Assessment of vegetable gardening and its contribution to household income in Tabora Municipality, Tanzania
(SCIENCEDOMAIN international., 2024-10-19) Kitundu Samson C.; Mosha Devotha B.; Mlozi Malongo R. S.
This study investigated the contribution of vegetable gardening to household income among
vegetable growers in Tabora Municipality, Tanzania. Despite the potential of vegetable
cultivation to improve livelihoods, many households remained reliant on limited income
sources. This study aimed at ascertaining the contribution of vegetable gardening to the household
income in Tabora Municipality, Tanzania. Specifically, the study identified the major vegetables
grown in the area and examined the relative contribution of income from vegetable sales
compared to other income sources. This study employed a cross-sectional design with a mixedmethods approach during data collection, where qualitative and quantitative data were
collected. A structured questionnaire was administered to 120 respondents purposively
selected from three wards: Ndevelwa, Mlisha, and Kabila. Qualitative data were gathered
through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The findings revealed that in the
2021/2022 and 2022/2023 cropping seasons, slightly more than half of the respondents
(N=55.3% and N- 55.5%), recognized the significant contribution of vegetable gardening to their
household income. This percentage increased significantly to 80.5% in the 2023/2024 season.
Notably, the income generated from vegetable gardening surpassed other household incomegenerating activities. However, the study also highlighted substantial constraints: most
respondents operated on small plots of land (<0.6 acres) and frequently failed to implement
recommended agronomic practices effectively. These factors limited the overall productivity and
profitability of vegetable production. To enhance yields and improve household income.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the Tabora Municipality, through local authorities, should
provide targeted capacity-building training on best agronomic practices to vegetable growers.
Challenges of disseminating agroecological knowledge and practices: experience from farmer research networks in Singida District, Tanzania
(Science domain International, 2026-04-29) Athumani Hadia Mwarizo; Kalungwizi Vituce J.; Mosha Devotha B.; Mwaseba Dismas L.
Farmer Research Networks (FRNs) are essential for disseminating and promoting the adoption of
agroecological (AE) knowledge and practices among smallholder farmers. However, many issues
that restrict the efficient dissemination of AE knowledge and practices that frequently hinder FRN efforts are poorly documented. This paper examined the challenges of disseminating AE knowledge
and practices faced by FRNs in Singida District in Tanzania. The study used a cross-sectional
research design where data were collected at a single point in time. Qualitative data were collected
using focus group discussions, key informants, and In-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was
used to analyze the qualitative data. The study findings show that the recurrent obstacles, such as
resistance to change, are because most farmers are still dubious about AE practices because of
firmly rooted traditional farming attitudes and the labor-intensive nature of some techniques, such
as the nine-seeds hole method and compost-making. The findings revealed that FRNs face
challenges in reaching all farmers due to limited access to resources like financing and
transportation, and village meetings do not give enough time for in-depth instruction and hands-on
demonstrations. Gender inequality and social barriers to women's involvement in decision-making
and the sharing of AE knowledge are further restricted by social and cultural norms. Furthermore,
the lack of expertise in new AE technologies impacts FRNs' capacity to deliver current information,
highlighting the importance of ongoing tailor-made training. This study recommends that
policymakers should allocate more significant resources to addressing the perceived obstacles
associated with comprehensively disseminating AE knowledge and practices.
Secondary school food environment and purchase choices of adolescents in Mbeya city
(Tanzania Journal of Health Research, 2024) Kamwela, Mercy; Mbwana, Hadijah; Jumbe, Teresia
Background: Increasing levels of overweight and obesity among adolescents are quite alarming
worldwide. Among the depicted causes is poor diet, in which the food environment plays a major
role in contributing. Still, little is known about adolescents and the school food environment they
are exposed to in Tanzania.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the secondary school food environment and document
food and drink mostly purchased by secondary school adolescents
Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved 8 secondary schools in Mbeya City, 384
secondary school adolescents and 35 food outlets. Aspects of the food environment studied were
under the external domain, food availability, price and promotion and policy and guideline.
Personal domain: accessibility, affordability and desirability. Direct observation was used in food
outlets with the help of an observation tool adopted from the Nutrition Environment Measure
Survey. Structured interviews were done with the school administrators or teachers responsible
for nutrition issues in school with the help of a questionnaire designed based on WHO Nutrition
Friendly Schools Initiative. Also, a student purchased a recall questionnaire designed based on
the Nutrition Environment Measure Survey, which also helped identify the adolescents'
demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were used to
establish prevalences and associations between variables.
Results: Most available food outlets outside the school were retail shops and canteens inside the
schools. The foods most purchased by adolescents are sweets, fried snacks, and sugar-
sweetened beverages. Most adolescents purchase their food and drinks in school shops and
canteens. Cereal-based foods are most available, while fruit and vegetables are least available
inside and outside school. Adolescents care most about taste and least about nutrition and
weight control while purchasing food and drinks. Demographic characteristics like age, level of
education, and the type of school adolescents attend are associated with purchasing certain
foods.
Conclusion: Secondary schools have weak policies and guidelines on the food environment, and
they are filled with ultra-processed foods, fried snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Adolescents respond to their environment by purchasing what is most available. Adolescents’
responses depend on their age and the school type, either public or private. This situation calls
for effective planning and interventions from the national to the institutional/school levels to
ensure a nutrition-enabling environment is created in secondary schools.
What drives the integration of lead farmers into public extension systems? unpacking institutional, policy, and operational factors in Tanzania’s Kagera Region
(The sub Saharan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2026-03-23) Baraka Louis J.; Malisa Emmanuel T.; Mhando David G.
Integrating community-based intermediaries into public agricultural extension systems is increasingly
recognized as a strategy to address chronic service delivery gaps in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the systemic factors that
enable or constrain such integration remain poorly understood. This study investigates the institutional, policy, and
operational conditions influencing the integration of Lead Farmers (LFs) into Tanzania’s government-led agricultural
extension system, using the Kagera Region as a case study. Despite LFs being widely promoted by non-governmental and
donor-funded projects to facilitate peer learning and improve agronomic practices, their formal alignment with public
extension structures is limited, uncoordinated, and lacks long-term institutional backing. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods
design was employed, combining a household survey of 95 smallholder farmers with 18 key informant interviews and four
focus group discussions involving extension officers, NGO representatives, researchers, and local leaders. The findings reveal
that while LFs are highly valued for their accessibility, credibility, and complementary role in extension delivery; with over
80% of surveyed farmers acknowledging their positive contribution to productivity; their effective integration is severely
constrained by a lack of political commitment, the absence of coherent policy frameworks, weak institutional coordination,
and inadequate administrative and financial preparedness. The study contributes to policy and practice by moving beyond
project-level assessments to provide a systems-level analysis of the structural determinants of LF integration. It highlights
that without deliberate efforts to embed LFs within formal planning, budgeting, and accountability mechanisms, their role
remains informal and unsustainable. The study concludes that leveraging the potential of LFs requires a fundamental shift
from project-based engagement to institutionalized integration. It recommends the formulation of a national policy guideline
to standardize LF roles, the mainstreaming of LFs into district agricultural plans and budgets, the establishment of multistakeholder coordination platforms, and the provision of structured, ongoing training through public institutions
Upgrading trajectories in domestic value chains: experience from non-industrial private forestry in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania
(Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd., 2025) Martin Respikius; Friis-Hansen Esbern; Larsen Marianne Nylandsted; Mhando David Gongwe
For many years, investing in the agricultural sector has been regarded as
a key to poverty alleviation in developing countries. In Tanzania, a!er
independence and until Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the
investment focused on cash crop production (i.e. sugar, co"ee, sisal, tea
and cotton) for export (Gibbon, 2011) giving little attention to forestry
production by smallholder farmers. However, timber production by
smallholders (referred to as non-industrial private forestry in this paper)
is gaining economic importance in di"erent parts of Africa (Arvola
et al., 2019). In Tanzania, this timber production is largely occurring
in the Southern highlands. In fact, some studies (for example, Asiad,
2016; Pedersen, 2017; Lusasi et al., 2019) suggest that the forest area
under smallholder tree growers in the Southern highlands in Tanzania
has surpassed the industrial forestry which is owned and managed by the government and corporate companies. In addition, as observed by
Harrison et al. (2004) and Malkamäki et al. (2018), issues of indigenous
land rights and land claims also constrain expansion of the industrial
forestry in developing countries, including Tanzania. Empirical evidence
shows that the current consumption of wood in Tanzania exceeds
the supply, leading to a de#cit of 19.5 million m3 and this situation is
expected to persist for many years to come (MNRT, 2015). $is needed
timber, we argue, will depend to a large extent on the supply from nonindustrial private forestry, implying that there is a huge potential for
smallholder tree growers to expand their woodlots and hence improve
their household income.