Browsing by Author "Ringo Dominick E."

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Associating the RIPAT approach with ecological agriculture, food security and poverty reduction: a case of RIPAT-SUA Project, Morogoro, Tanzania
(MKUKI NA NYOTA, 2023) Ringo Dominick E.; Malisa Emmanuel T.; Kayunze Kim A.; Salanga Raymond J.
Literature shows that conventional farming has failed to support farmers to meet food security and the agro-chemicals that are used are beneficial for crop yield in terms of quantity, but they contaminate crop products, soils, and water bodies. Ecological farming seeks to improve food crop yields for balanced nutrition, strengthen fair markets for their produce, enhance healthy ecosystems, and build on ancestral knowledge and customs of farming. Projects applying the RIPAT approach promote agricultural technologies with the aim of increasing food and nutrition security and ultimately reduce poverty. Whether the technologies introduced through the RIPAT approach portray the principles of agro- ecology is an area of inquiry dealt with in this chapter, using RIPAT-SUA project as a case study. Primary data were collected through a survey using a questionnaire, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and participatory rural appraisal. Household food insecurity access scale was used to determine food security. Results showed that elements of agro- ecology supported by the RIPAT-SUA project’s basket of technology options include diversity (new crops), efficiency (intercropping cereals with legumes), recycling (incorporation of crop residues in the soil), human and social values (banana vs the environment), synergies (livestock and crop production, intercropping cereals with legumes), culture and food traditions (orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, iron-rich beans and dairy goats), and circular and solidarity economy (high value crops which attract buyers and consumers). Furthermore, through the RIPAT-SUA project, food and nutrition security and income have also improved. Therefore, projects applying the RIPAT approach adhere to agro-ecology, and through supporting farmers to grow well-sorted varieties of crops and livestock and applying technologies from the basket of options generated from a situation analysis, it is possible to improve food and nutrition security, and income, and ultimately reduce poverty. It is recommended that the use of the RIPAT approach should be applied in any agricultural interventions among small scale farmers and agricultural projects should be designed with a lens of food and nutrition security by implementing a wide range of relevant technologies associated with crops and livestock produced under agro- ecology principles.
Evidence-based evaluation of RIPAT approach towards execution of national development programmes and plans: a case of RIPAT-SUA Project in Morogoro, Tanzania
(AJOL, SUA, 2023) Muhanga Mikidadi; Malisa Emmanuel T.; Ringo Dominick E.
Successful implementation of a project, among others, relies on the approach employed towards the execution of such a project. Non-adherence to national programmes, and local specific economic and social aspects in connection to a project has been reported among the factors leading to the failure of innumerable projects, agriculture-related projects inclusive. Cognizant of that, the Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation (RIPAT) approach was initiated as one of the extension approaches for reinforcing agricultural extension services in Tanzania. While this approach has been considered to be useful, there is a lack of adequate basis for evidence-based advocacy of the approach. It is against this background that this article documents an evaluation of the RIPAT approach to justify its validity as an extension approach which unleashes national development plans while addressing local specific economic and social aspects in connection to a project. Field visits involving a team of 20 staff from SUA and RECODA were conducted in Morogoro Municipal Council and Mvomero District in Morogoro Region with the intention of further testing and validating the RIPAT approach to generate a sound basis for evidence-based advocacy of the approach. Participatory approaches enabled the participants to observe, discuss and learn from existing RIPAT projects and stakeholders (including project beneficiaries, lead farmers and extension officers). Household surveys, field visits, brainstorming, group discussions, key informant interviews with RIPAT project staff and beneficiaries, presentations and plenary discussions were employed to generate information to test and validate the RIPAT approach. It was found that RIPAT projects, from their design, consider national programmes and specific economic and social aspects of the community where a particular project is implemented. An evaluation of the RIPAT-SUA project showed that the project contributed to improvement in households’ food security, nutrition and income. These findings demonstrate a clear alignment and contribution to the attainment of the Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP) and accordingly the Tanzania Development Vision (TDV) 2025. It was further observed from the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis that projects employing the RIPAT approach have higher chances of sustainability and that the benefits accruing from or promised by the RIPAT approach outweigh the weaknesses and threats. It is concluded that the RIPAT approach has the potential to unleash national programmes/plans and guarantee project success, given the presence of other factors. Up-scaling of the RIPAT approach and incorporation of the same in the government extension system is crucial.