Browsing by Author "Mhando David Gongwe"

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The role of social relations on sustainable agricultural practices and innovation adoption among smallholder orange farmers in Muheza District, Tanzania
(Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2026-05-28) Mhando David Gongwe
This study aimed to examine the role of social relations in influencing sustainable agricultural practices, innovation adoption, and market participation among smallholder orange farmers in Mkuzi Village, Muheza District, Tanzania. Specifically, the study investigated: first how trust, cooperation, and networks shape productivity and innovation uptake; second, the barriers posed by mistrust and weak social ties; and third, the institutional and social interventions that can support sustainable farming outcomes. A mixed-methods design was employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were collected through household surveys (n = 60), semistructured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis via SPSS Version 25, while qualitative data were thematically coded using NVivo 12. Findings reveal that strong social relations, characterized by trust, cooperation, and active group membership, were associated with higher adoption of improved inputs, greater market access, and increased resilience. Conversely, weak social networks, insecure land tenure, and theft undermined innovation and investment, particularly among smallholder farmers. The implications of these results underscore the need to strengthen local institutions, promote inclusive cooperatives, improve land tenure systems, and rebuild community trust. The study recommends that policymakers and development practitioners integrate social capital considerations into agricultural programs to enhance sustainability, innovation uptake, and rural livelihoods.
Transforming smallholder orange farming in Tanzania: institutional constraints and sustainability pathways in Muheza District
(Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, 2026) Mhando David Gongwe
This study examines sustainability constraints facing smallholder orange farmers in Muheza District, Tanzania, and identifies institutional and value-chain pathways for strengthening resilience. Using a mixed-methods design, household survey data were integrated with focus group discussions and key informant interviews conducted between January and March 2024. Descriptive statistics characterized household and production conditions, while thematic analysis captured institutional and market dynamics. A binary logistic regression model assessed factors associated with the adoption of at least one sustainable/climate-smart practice (e.g. mulching, water harvesting, intercropping). Results indicate that limited extension services, insecure land tenure, and demographic aging reduce adaptive capacity, while weak institutional support, especially exclusion from credit and limited extension coverage reinforces low-input production. Marketing is dominated by brokers and local spot markets, exposing farmers to seasonal price volatility and constraining bargaining power. Regression results show that education, land size, access to credit, access to extension services, and cooperative membership significantly increase the likelihood of adopting sustainable practices. The study concludes that vulnerabilities are interlocking: deficits in household livelihood capitals interact with structural asymmetries in value chain governance. By integrating the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and Global Value Chain perspectives, the paper advances an analytically transferable approach for diagnosing sustainability constraints in perennial crop systems. Transferability is expected in settings characterized by constrained livelihood assets, limited credit and extension access, and broker-dominated spot markets with weak collective organization. The paper proposes policy options centered on tailored finance, strengthened extension, cooperative revitalization, and governance reforms that improve market access and incentives for sustainable practice adoption.
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.