Theses and Dissertations Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://10.10.97.169:4000/handle/123456789/1007

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The implications of bushmeat hunting on the environment in the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2010) Maunde, Regina Masatu
A cross sectional study was done to examine the implications of bush meat hunting on the environment on the Uluguru Mountains. Questionnaires were administered to a total of 120 respondents in 8 villages around the Uluguru Mountains in the Morogoro Municipality. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also used during the study. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Implications of the bushmeat hunting practices on the environment were examined. The types of animal species commonly hunted in the area, the methods/techniques used for hunting; and the type of environmental degradation brought about by bushmeat hunting were identified. It was found that bushmeat hunting in the villages around the Uluguru Mountains was purely a subsistence activity aimed at getting animal protein, income and medicine. Among the respondents, 83.3% acknowledged the presence of bushmeat hunting activity around the Uluguru Mountains. Among the wildlife species commonly hunted, grass cutter "nclezi" ranked number one followed by the Steenbok and wild pig. Respondents reported the most common techniques used for hunting were traps, spears, dogs and bush fires. 84.2% of respondents acknowledged the use of bushfires as a technique for bushmeat hunting. Apart from hunting, burning of bushes was either deliberately for farm clearing or accidental (cigarettes butts and cooking). Unsustainable agriculture, use of firewood and charcoal for energy as well as bushmeat hunting were the major causes of environmental degradation in the Uluguru Mountains.
Strategic entrepreneurial response of Small and Medium Enterprises
(University of Pretoria, 2013) Bengesi, K. M. K.
A growing consensus on suitability of Strategic Entrepreneurship (SE) for firms to face challenges in a competitive environment is anchored on the argument that SE is an intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic management associated with opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. However, this concept is flawed by failure of firms to simultaneously combine opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours to attain and sustain performance, a situation that raised contentions on the relevance of constructs chosen to build SE. Recently, other scholars suggested that SE is more than interface between strategic management and entrepreneurship and treat this fusion as a debatable idea. This argument presents a conceptual gap which triggered this study. This study examined three constructs namely: Market Orientation (MO), Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Networking Capability (NWC), which are collectively referred to as dimensions of Strategic Entrepreneurial Response (SER) as appropriate constructs to enhance simultaneous opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. With the understanding that these constructs were collectively used for the first time to study SER, this study examined if their individual dimensions could successful measure SER, and if they are related to SME performance. Also, examined how much variance in SME performance is explained by scores of the dimensions of SER and whether the interaction of the dimensions of SER explains a significant amount of variance in performance to enhance simultaneous opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. In the course of the study, a cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from SME‟s in Tanzania of which 291 SME owners/managers were randomly selected and interviewed in three types of industries namely: manufacturing, service and retail. A factor analysis after oblique rotation revealed 9 factors and explained 68.16% of total variance. The identified factors were customer orientation, competitor orientation (market orientation), pro-activeness, risk taking, competitive aggressiveness (entrepreneurial orientation), relational skills, internal communication, coordination and partner‟s knowledge (networking capability). Subjecting the nine factors into the second order factor analysis converged into a single component suggesting successful measuring SER. The findings confirmed a relationship between dimensions of SER and SME performance suggesting that emphasis on market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and networking capability enhance SME performance. However, the interaction of the three dimensions only market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation explained significant amount of variance in SME performance, with large amount of variance accounted for by the market orientation. The findings suggest that emphasis on market orientation is a firm‟s strategic choice to generate strategic information which forms a seedbed of opportunities from which entrepreneurial oriented firms identify and proactively seize to build competitive advantage. Contrary to previous studies, which emphasized that opportunity seeking is a domain of entrepreneurial orientation, this study argues that previous studies underplayed the role of market orientation on opportunity seeking. This study views entrepreneurial orientation as more driven by opportunity exploitation which is more of advantage seeking than opportunity seeking. This study suggest that sustained market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation cultures build opportunity seeking and advantage seeking behaviors crucial to create and sustain SME performance.
Communities’ consideration underlying valuation of agricultural land: A case study of Lushoto district, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2015) Michael, Werenfrid
A study was conducted in Lushoto, District, Tanzania to identify farmers’ perceived agricultural land value determinants to establish determinants for agricultural land valuation across different land use types. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to identify dominant agricultural land uses for screening the agricultural land value determinants across the land uses. Household survey, key informant interview, and focus group discussions were used to explore farmers’ criteria. Content analysis was used to transform verbal information into numerical data to examine the agricultural land value determinants. Relative Importance Index was used to determine the relative agricultural land value with respect to land uses, agricultural land value determinants, and land types. Binary logistic regression was used to establish relationships between farmers’ perceived agricultural land value and determinants. Dominant identified agricultural land uses were: agroforestry (41% – 60%), crop cultivation (13% – 43%), woodlots (2% – 8%) on the hills and sloping lands, vegetable cultivation (8% – 12%) in the valley bottoms and, open spaces and settlements (1% – 9%) on the lower slopes. Land under vegetable cultivation was highly valued with Relative Importance Index (RII = 0.76), followed by agroforestry (RII = 0.64), woodlot (RII = 0.6), crop cultivation (RII = 0.59), and Open spaces and settlements (RII = 0.38). Valley bottoms were the most valued lands (RII of 0.853) when compared to other lands. Farmers’ identified physical and social-cultural determinants for valuation of agricultural land were: topography, soil fertility, nearness to water, nearness to road, aesthetic, heritage, and management practice(s). Farmers’ perceived determinants that were significantly higher (p < 0.05) across the land uses were nearness to water, nearness to road, soil fertility, aesthetic, heritage, and management practices. Agricultural land valuation involving farmers is a new paradigm shift in the land valuation process, hence further studies are recommended in diverse agro-ecosystems landscapes.
Contribution of rural electrification to household income in Moshi district, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2015) Kidole, Valerian Vitalis
Tanzania is among the countries with lower rural electrification rates. It is estimated that less than five percent of the rural population are using grid electricity services. This study assesses the contribution of rural electrification to household income in Moshi District, Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at identifying income generating activities undertaken using grid electricity, assessing the contribution of grid to household income as well as identifying the challenges in utilization of grid electricity services in income generating activities. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a total 120 (60 with grid and without grid services respectively) respondents for the study. The study identified among others, iron wedding, compact disc burning and grain milling as income generating activities influenced by presence of grid electricity. The household annual income ranged from 800 000 Tshs to 46 000 000 Tshs and there were statistically significant differences in income between households with grid electricity services and those without. In addition, the study identified reliability of services, high application standards, and higher bill as challenges associated with grid electricity services. The study concludes that grid electricity contributes to increased household income. Furthermore, the study recommends that, the government and development partners should secure necessary financial resources to invest in rural electrification.
Effectiveness of small holder farmers adaption strategies in Improving well being in light of climate change in Iringa district Tanzania.
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2016) Kihupi, Mary Lujabiko
Climate change is happening and poses significant challenges to households, businesses carried against impact of climate change by smallholder farmers in semi-arid areas of Iringa District but little is known about their effectiveness in improving smallholders’ well-being. The overall objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of adaptation strategies in a changing climate and climate variability in semi-arid areas of Iringa District. Specifically, the study examined smallholder farmers’ perceptions towards climate change, identified smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies against impacts of climate change, explored barriers to smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies, and examined the effectiveness of adaptation strategies as is being reflected in smallholder farmers’ well-being. The research design was cross sectional. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to select divisions, wards, villages based on their climatic conditions. A total of 240 respondents were drawn randomly from eight villages. Data were collected through household survey, key informant interviews, observation and focus group discussions methods. Meteorological data were collected from Tanzania Meteorological Agency. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS and qualitative data through content analysis. Instant Statistical Packages for Agro climatological data was used in analyzing the 54 years meteorological data of Nduli meteorological station in Iringa District. The findings revealed that smallholder farmers perceived climate change in terms of change in temperature, changes in rainfall, increase in drought condition and increase in malaria and crop pests and diseases. Change in The findings also show that smallholder farmers were adapting to impact of climate rainfall pattern, temperature pattern atjd occurrence of pests and diseases had significant impact on smallholder farmers’ households whose livelihood depends on rain-fed farming. and governments. Different adaptation strategies are and households. Ismani and Pawaga Divisions of Iringa District were purposively selected iii change through irrigation, crop diversification, planting early maturing maize varieties, planting drought resistant crops, changing of planting dates, and agriculture diversification and non-farm activities. Barriers to smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies identified were unreliability of information on weather forecast, lack of access to agricultural extension services, and limited access to water for irrigation. Other barriers were lack of capital, lack of access to affordable credit institutions, lack of farm assets (plough and tractors), and cost of agricultural inputs. In addition, the results revealed that there were relationships between age, income and barriers to adaptation strategies. Existences of those barriers hindered effective implementation of adaptation strategies in the study area. The findings revealed that some of the adaptation strategies to impact of climate change such as change in planting dates, planting early maturing maize varieties, irrigation, application of fertilizer, and involving in petty business had positive influence on smallholder farmers’ well-being (p<0.05). This means that those adaptation strategies which had positive influence on smallholder farmers' well-being were effective against impact of climate change. Government and other stakeholders should facilitate adaptation by enabling farmers to overcome barriers reported in this study. The government of Tanzania and other stakeholders should also help smallholder farmers by supporting them in those adaptation strategies which proved to be effective to impact of climate change.
Land use and socio-economic implications of pastoralists in migration in Rufiji district, Tanzania
(Sokoine University Of Agriculture, 2016) Komba, Cyril Kalembana
The study on which this thesis is based intended to fill the gap on inadequate research regarding the effects of pastoralists' in-migration on land use and socio-economic effects in Rufiji District by: (i) examining pastoralists' influences of land use changes, (ii) examining consequences of pastoralists in-migration on socio-economic activities among local people, (iii) scrutinizing land use conflict escalations, and (iv) examining effects on livelihoods. Data were collected through a survey covering a sample of 200 respondents, documentary review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel were used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data were transcribed into text and analysed basing on the content and meaning of the text. Binary logistic regression analysis was applied to: establish influence of various factors on land use changes and local people’s participation in new economic activities. Multiple linear regression analysis determined the pastoralists' effects on livelihood outcomes. The findings showed that significant factors for the land use change arc: number of livestock (p < 0.01), pastoralists’ years in the area (p < 0.05) and local people's engagement in livestock keeping (p < 0.05). Four factors influenced local peoples’ engagement in new economic activities significantly: age (p < 0.01), religion (p < 0.001), education (p < 0.05) and sex (p < 0.05). Land use conflicts had been escalating and the actors involved in conflicts had increased. The multiple linear regression analysis results showed that four factors were statistically significant in affecting the livelihood outcomes: new economic activities (p < 0.05), investors (p < 0.05), new agricultural systems (p < 0.001) and land use changes (p < 0.05). It was concluded that pastoralists are still in-migrating into Rufiji District, thus, land use change is inevitable. The in-migration has both negative and positive livelihood effects. It is recommended that, firstly, there is a need for inter-sectoral working teams. Secondly, strengthening the positive effects andiii addressing the negative ones should be done. Thirdly, the local government authorities should ensure that areas for agriculture and for pastoral activities are defined by developing sustainable village land use plans. Fourthly, observing Village Land Act during land allocation should always be done. Fifthly, developing appropriate pastoralists resettling mechanisms and strengthening participatory techniques for conflicts resolution should be done.
Post conflict coping strategies and well-being of farmers and pastoralists in Kilosa and Kiteto districts, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2018) Saruni, P. L. O.
Natural resource use conflicts are a global phenomenon and in Sub-Saharan Africa, such conflicts can be extreme leading to deaths of farmers and pastoralists. The most reported conflicts over natural resource use occur between farmers versus farmer, pastoralists versus pastoralists, ethnic groups and state and communities to mention a few. Farmers and Pastoralists conflicts are the concern of this study. However, the literature on the effects of conflicts on both well-being and coping strategies to manage the conflicts in Tanzania is rather scarce. The study explored the forms and drivers of conflicts; analysed the role of governance in natural resource use conflicts; determined the effects of conflicts on household well-being and explored conflicts coping strategies among farmers and pastoralists in Kilosa and Kiteto districts. A cross-sectional research design was used whereby 373 respondents were randomly selected. Primary data were collected through interviews, observations and focus group discussions. In addition, secondary data were collected from government reports and the media. SPSS and Stata software was used for both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Study findings show that the main form of conflict involved farmers-pastoralists over village boundaries. Drivers underlying the conflicts were crop damage by livestock and unwillingness of government officials to address the conflicts. Although there was inadequate knowledge among respondents on the regulatory framework governing land matters, both women and men had an equal opportunity for participation in land matters. Corruption was systemic in nature and it involves village leaders, district council officials and the police. There was a significant difference (p <0.01) in households well-being with regard to asset ownership, subjective well-being (happiness) and education. Generally, female-headed households were more likely to be happier (p <0.05) than their male counterparts who in most cases are in combat as women and children are left at home or hidden in the bush. Moreover, those affected with natural resource use conflicts were forced to buy food or rely on relatives and wider social networks to provide practical support. Emotional support from relatives and religious organisations were also important. Male-headed households were more likely to use coping strategies (p <0.05) than female-headed households. Land ownership is likely to increase the use of post-conflict coping strategies among households. Therefore, it is recommended that the Government of Tanzania through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development prior to establishing any land use plan should undertake land suitability index and establish the livestock carrying capacity of areas intended for livestock keepers
A gender analysis of crop value chains in Chamwino and Kilosa Districts, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2018) Mnimbo, T. S.
Gender issues fundamentally shape the totality of production, distribution, and consumption within an economy but have often been overlooked in value chain development. The current study adopted a cross-sectional study design and was carried out in Chamwino and Kilosa districts. The study’s overall objective was to undertake a gendered analysis in investigating smallholder farmers’ participation in the crop value chains, in Chamwino and Kilosa Districts in Tanzania. Specifically, it aimed at analyzing the influence of gender roles in upgrading strategies on multiple-commodity food value chains, assessing the gendered impact on food securing upgrading strategies using different gender tools, analysing gender in asset ownership and participation in market oriented crop value chains and determining pathways of addressing gender based constrains for equitable and sustainable participation in profitable crop value chains. The selection of the study sites was based on their agro-ecological characteristics, a balance of matrilineal and patrilineal societies, levels of food crop commercialization, availability of infrastructure, and accessibility to regional thus enabling a good comparison all together. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 600 randomly selected households and complemented with focus group discussions and key informants interviews. The sampling involved purposive sampling techniques. In the analysis the influence of gender roles in upgrading strategies on multiple-commodity food value chains were computed. The findings show that crops commonly grown in the two study districts are maize (Zea mays) and sesame (Sesamum indicum) are widely grown in Kilosa, while bulrush millet and groundnut are grown in Chamwino, 50% of these crops produced are sold. The results show that in Kilosa there was no difference between men and women in relation to upgrading strategies related to natural resources, in contrast to Chamwino District where a statistical difference between male and female farmers was iii observed. The results further show that female farmers in Chamwino are more concerned about processing and storage, with more than 50% of female farmers indicating processing and storage to be a problem compared to 26% of male farmers, implying that women in Chamwino are highly involved with processing and storage tasks or are more affected by processing and storage constraints than men. A closer look at the three value chain nodes (production, processing and marketing) shows that the main constraints relate to natural resources and production. Between 76% and 95% of the respondents indicated these as leading concern, followed by processing between 20% and 53% and lastly, the marketing node between 28% and 37%. The study concludes that gender difference in the choices of crops is associated with the impact and role of the particular crop on the respective gender, for example cash crop or food crop. The study further concludes that women and youth in both regions are the ones heavily involved in the lower end of value chain components such as production, processing and storage.The study further concludes that there is a strong association between MHH and FHH asset ownership and food crop commercialization and that although asset ownership is crucial, but not all assets serve the same purpose or same importance. On removing GBC the study concludes that the intention to remove GBC in value chain is iterative since most GBC involves multiple factors, therefore it is important to identify context specific strategies to ensure that the GBC are addressed. Lastly it can be concluded that both male and female headed households are forced into food crop commercialization due to wealth situation.At the household level, men are recommended to recognize how women are burdened by the activities in the household and create a better chance for women to participate in value chain activities by allowing them to make choices on their preferred crop and to take part in the decision making. The present study further recommends the Local Government Authority and project planners to consider youth as a gender group with the potential to drive the economic development through crop commercialization. The Local Government Authority and the MHH should consider gender aspects on matters concerning land ownership because it hinders effective participation.
Influence of cultural dimensions on under-five mortality among agro-pastoral communities in Handeni district, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2018) Ringo, J. J.
Despite efforts devoted to reduce under-five mortality, it has been observed that the reduction trend is not reaching the targeted goals hence the need to explore the possible constraints. The overall objective of the study was to examine the influence of cultural dimensions on under-five mortality among agro-pastoral communities in Handeni District, Tanzania. The specific objectives were to assess health services utilisation in the study area, to examine the influence of cultural dimensions on household power dynamics, to examine influence of household health care seeking behaviour on incidence of under-five mortality and to examine gender determined roles and their influence on the health of under-five year’s among agro-pastoral communities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 160 randomly selected agro-pastoralist households. The findings showed high availability of informal health facilities in the study area as well as high preference to informal health facilities by agro-pastoralists due to logistical and traditional reasons. Lack of permanent road and education affected access to formal health facilities which are concentrated at the district headquarters. It was observed that increased years of stay in the study area strengthened adherence to traditional and cultural values which favored use of informal health facilities than formal ones. It was found that 83.1% and 78.1% of the households’ decisions on selling household livestock and crops, respectively were made by male household heads. Women involved in selling livestock and crops were 10.6% and16.3%, respectively. This suggest that agro-pastoralist traditional life style in the study area favors men more than women as women are isolated from household decision making and deprived of authority over household resources and income. In turn, this tendency affects women and their children, particularly under-five years. On health care seeking behaviour the result for binary logistic regression showed that mother’s age (β = -0.430) at p < 0.05, number of children in household (β = -0.082) at p < 0.01 and masculinity (β = -1.014) at p < 0.05 were the main variables influencing health care seeking behaviour and consequently under-five mortality. Cultural values which favour inequality in household income use were also found to influence under-five mortality through health care seeking behaviour among agro-pastoralists. Furthermore, it was found that household decision making had negative and significant influence on health of under-five children (β = - 0.071) at p < 0.001, which implies that timely household decision contributes to the reduction of household incidence of under-five mortality. Control of household income had a negative and significant influence on the health of under-five years children (β = -1.828) at p < 0.05 indicating that participatory decision on the use of household income contributed to the increase of household incidence of under-five mortality. The same applies to participation in subsistence farming which had a negative and significant influence on the household health of under-five children (β = -1.013) at p < 0.05, a condition which contributed to the reduction of under-five mortality among agro-pastoral communities. This is because subsistence takes more time and had low production. The study recommends awareness creation campaigns to be done on the relevance of using formal health facilities as well as establishment of formal health facilities within the study area. Moreover, efforts should be made to ensure all villages are connected to reliable roads to improve access to the health facilities. However, necessary efforts should be made through Government and non-Governmental organizations to minimize influence of cultural values and traditional practices which facilitate unequal participation in household decision making and resource use. These have direct and indirect influence on the health of under-five children. In this view, urgent efforts are needed to assist in promoting health care seeking behaviour from informal to formal health facilities hence contribute towards reduction of under-five mortality. Lastly, participation of men and women in household decision making and control of household income should be encouraged among agro-pastoral communities. This will give women more time to care for children and facilitate timely treatment hence contributes to the improvement of their health.
Religiosity and moral behaviour as a basis for good Governance: a case of district councils in Mwanza region, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2018) Munyu, L. M.
Many efforts to enhance good governance for sustainable development have been undertaken by the government since independence, but the level of development has not been as it was expected. The overall objective of this study was to examine the influence of religiosity and moral behaviour on good governance in Tanzania, using district councils in Mwanza Region as a case study. Specifically, it sought to identify the status of religiosity and moral behaviour of key actors in district councils; examine the status of good governance in district councils; examine socio-economic factors influencing good governance in district councils and finally examine the perceptions of respondents on the influence of religiosity and moral behaviour on good governance. Primary data were collected through questionnaires and checklists whereby quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Secondary information was collected from literature reviews and the internet. Quantitative data were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results indicated that the actors had low levels of religiosity and moral behaviour. According to the results, the district councils under study exhibited poor governance situations. It was also found that the influence of religiosity (standardized beta = 0.210) and moral behavior (standardized beta = 0.424) on good governance was statistically significant at 0.05% level; contributing 0.634 (63.4%) of the standardized beta value to the variation of the dependent variable i.e. good governance. The results indicated also that sex (standardized beta = -0.295) and gender balance awareness (standardized beta = -0.132) were statistically significant. It was revealed that religiosity and moral behaviour had the highest positive influence on good governance. It was concluded that religiosity and good moral behaviour should be considered when recruiting key actors. Finally, it was strongly recommended that in order to attain good governance, morally upright and highly religious key actors should be employed in the district councils as well as in other sectors of the economy.
A critical discourse analysis of project planning in Maasai community in Mvomero District, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Palanda, N. R.
This study employed a Fairclough framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to uncover the way socio-cultural practices within Maasai community are constructed by the used discourses in project planning. Three sets of research questions guided the study: (i) What are the leading discourses used in the documents related to project implemented in the Maasai community?; (ii) How ideas and discourses related to pastoralists are produced, by whom and under who interest and in what context?; and (iii) what are the effects of discursive representation of pastoralists in a wider socio-cultural context? The study used qualitative research approach that employed CDA as an underlying methodology in an analysis of the eight project documents for the projects implemented in Maasai community in Mvomero District. In this study, CDA provided a sociological explanation of language used in the project documents with particular interest in “ideology, social relations and the relationship between text and context”. This study found that leading discourses within the analyzed documents were grounded within three broad themes: pastoralism as a problematic livelihood; nomadic lifestyle and culture; and pastoralist’s relationship with other social groups. In all of these themes, the study revealed an overwhelmed negative representation of the Maasai community. This study revealed further that the discourses used in interventions developed as a means to respond to Maasai community challenges are produced, distributed and consumed in the way that responds more to the interests of project staff and funding agencies rather than Maasai community. Further analysis found three categories of constructive effects that are attributable to the discourses used in project planning in Maasai community: identity constructive effects; social relation construction effects; and ideational function effects. The identified constructive effects were also dominated by misconceptions and negative perceptions of pastoralists that continue to marginalize them and their livelihood. The study concludes that this kind of representation iii can be regarded as misleading on Maasai community socio-cultural context which further may undermine efforts aimed at addressing different challenges associated with Maasai peoples’ welfare. Therefore, this study suggests a critical review of any development model on its relevancy on the particular environment before its adoption in development actions in the Maasai community. In addition, there should be an effective public information campaigns to help people understand and changing people’s mindset on the past longstanding drawn misconceptions in the Maasai community. Furthermore, this study suggests a full analysis on cultural, socio-economic benefits as well as political implications of the designed plans in Maasai community instead of relying only on economic aspects. Also the Maasai should be centered in local and national discourses that relate to their economic and socio-cultural contexts.
Youth’s credit accessibility and employment creation in Tanzania: a case of Kilombero District, Morogoro
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Temu, A. P
This study was conducted to assess youth’s credit accessibility and employment creation in Kilombero District. Specifically, the study aimed at, identifying the proportion of youth with access to credit, identifying the challenges faced by the youth in their endeavor to acquire credit and determining the contribution of youth’s access to credit towards employment creation. The study adopted a cross -sectional design whereby data were collected once from 181 randomly selected youth. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Primary quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS whereby descriptive and inferential statistics were determined. Qualitative data collected through the focus group discussions and key informants interview were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Findings from the study show that only a few of the youth had access to credit. Lack of collateral was the major challenge the youth faced in accessing credit. The study observed that interest rate was another setback to youth’s access to credit. Lastly, the study findings show that most of the youth who had credit were able to create employment for others thus, contributing to the reduction of unemployment. Based on the findings the proportional of the youth accessing credit in Kilombero District is very small and this is mainly due to inadequate collateral. It is recommended that the issue of collateral needs to be looked at, so as to create positive conditions for the youth to access credit. Lending institutions should reduce their interest rates to enable youths to access credit. Also, training on financial management before and after the disbursement of credit should be done so as to get the most from the credit accessed by the youth.
Contribution of free primary education to rural livelihood in Mvomero District, Morogoro
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Habibu, Jumanne Ally
After the implementation of free education policy in Tanzania studies to examine its impact were conducted. From these studies, however, have scarcely looked into the contribution of free primary education to rural livelihood in Mvomero District. This study sought to assess the contribution of free primary education to rural livelihood in Mvomero District. The study was guided by three objectives which were to examine the extent to which free primary education is free, to assess rural parent`s perceptions of relief from financial burden following the abolition of fee and other mandatory contributions and to determine contribution of the free primary education to rural livelihood in Mvomero District. The study used a sample of 100 respondents. Interviews, Focus-group Discussions and document review were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and paired samples t-test were used during data analysis. Key findings showed that 80% of the parents claimed that primary education is free education as tuition fee and mandatory contributions have been removed. Furthermore, the findings show that 88% of the parents felt relieved from financial burden associated with tuition fee, extra studies, building contribution, electricity, registration and watchman. Unfortunately the findings did not indicate that parents had relief of burden on the cost of food and water. Likewise the findings revealed that livelihood of parents were improved in reducing conflicts among parents (Mother and Father), good relationship between teachers and parents. Based on these results, it is concluded that, free primary education has remarkable contribution to rural livelihood in Tanzania. The study however recommends that free primary educations should be promoted, restructured and improved to fulfill society livelihood.
The role of institutions in mitigating natural resource- based conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Kilosa and Mvomero districts, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Falanta, E. M.
Recurrent conflicts between farmers and pastoralists have brought significant impact on both groups and the society at large in Kilosa and Mvomero districts. Mitigation of conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, with the intention of bringing up peace and tranquility in the community is important for empowering farmers and pastoralists in terms of skills in modern farming without encroaching other land, keeping livestock without disturbing others and arbitration mechanisms applied to mitigate conflicts with little success. This study (i) examined drivers and consequences of recurrent conflicts, (ii) determined mitigation strategies that would ameliorate recurrent conflicts arising between farmers and pastoralists in Kilosa and Mvomero districts and (iii) assessed the role of formal and informal institutions in mitigating conflict. A sample size of 203 farmers and pastoralists was chosen using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using interview, a questionnaire survey, documentary review and focus group discussions (FGDs) methods. Collected data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively using content analytical and binary logistic regression approaches respectively. The findings show that it would be effective to use a conflict resolution model which is solely based on social order in four main stages: developing expectations for win-win solutions, defining each party's interests, brainstorming creative options, and combining options into win-win solutions. Importantly, the findings revealed that weak governance structures associated with unethical behaviour, regulatory deficiencies, socio-economic and environmental factors are responsible for the recurrence of conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. Consequently, the recurrent conflicts have resulted into major socio-economic impacts that include loss of lives and property to both farmers and pastoralists. Drawing from conflict and conflict resolution theories, which advocate use of coercive power and participatory approaches to restore peace, respectively; this thesis concludes that no single strategy fits all conflicts given the complexity in which such conflicts occur. In the light of the results, this thesis recommends that the effective way to address farmers- pastoralists conflicts: should twofold i.e. use both coercive and participatory approaches. Therefore, the choice of the appropriate strategy will depend on the context since no single approach fits all types of conflicts. Also the study recommends that various stakeholders such as the local government and civil societies should encourage pastoralists to establishing pasture land. In addition, the LGA should regulate the number of animals per area by formulating bylaws for controlling livestock populations in areas with limited land in order to match its carrying capacity, controlling migration of other ethnic groups and guaranteed water right for farmers and pastoralists for the sake of bringing peace and harmony between farmers and pastoralists. More importantly, the land policy has some deficiencies and contradictions because it does not guarantee security of tenure to some users, especially smallholder groups. Unsecured land tenure system in Tanzania has accounted to the underdevelopment of the land resource in the country. Therefore, the situation has resulted into unethical practices such as corruption. For instance, some village leaders have been receiving bribes from pastoralists thus allowing them to enter in the villages which ... loads to conflicts with crop producer This also creates enmity between farmers and pastoralists. The study recommends that there is a need for the government to effectively establish a transparent and accountability committee whose obligation will be to critically observ rules, regulations as far as land tenure is concerned. Additionally, the study recommends that there should be investigation conducted by relevant authorities such as the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) in order to identify the sources of these vices and institute legal procedures/actions against the offenders.
Contribution of non-governmental organizations in promoting girls’ education in secondary schools in Morogoro District council, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Chengula, M. S.
The gap between girls and boys in education still exists in Tanzania despite the sustained efforts made by the Government and NGOs. Due to this, several studies on NGOs and girls education were conducted and revealed different supports and activities done by NGOs to solve the problem. But the question on how the NGOs’ support and activities have contributed to girls’ education is not yet answered. Therefore, a cross sectional study was conducted to assess the contribution of NGOs a case of CAMFED in promoting girls’ education in secondary schools. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the support provided by CAMFED in promoting girls’ education among secondary school students, to determine the contribution of CAMFED support to girls’ access to education and to examine challenges encountered by CAMFED in promoting girls’ education in the study area. A total of 108 respondents were involved in the study. Data were collected through questionnaires, in depth interviews, observation and documentary review. The findings indicate that CAMFED offered learning materials, hostel fees, sanitary protection, uniforms, school contributions, school fees, bicycles, solar lamp and pocket money in supporting girl students. The support contributed to the increased number of the girls who were enrolled in secondary schools and in lowering their dropout rates. Despite the positive contribution in enrollment and dropout the study shows a non-positive change in academic performance of girls in the surveyed schools. However, it was noted during the study that CAMFED face nepotism challenges, misuse of funds, lack of cooperation from parents, inadequate financial resources to attend all students in need and lack of commitment among the beneficiaries of the programme. The study suggests to the Government, NGOs, TASAF, institutions and other stakeholders to complement CAMFED’s efforts by bringing in other services such as building hostels, motivational and counseling seminars to students and improving teaching environment in schools.
Cassava value chain: willingness to pay for improved cassava planting material in coastal and Lake Victoria areas of Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Maggidi, Issa, Majid
Lack of clean planting materials and use of Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) infected planting materials has been the major constraints to cassava production thus communities need to be empowered to have a self-sustaining clean seed production system. Therefore, agricultural policies of the countries in Sub- Saharan Africa should therefore emphasize seed system strategies which would result in good quality seed of the right varieties being available. There are many factors that hinder cassava production among them is the unavailability of clean quality improved planting material. To overcome the challenge of unavailability of clean quality improved planting materials, it is envisaged that its production in large quantity and dissemination in affordable manner is imminent. The production of such planting materials could be done on commercial basis. Therefore, objective of this study was to assess i) the cassava demand for industrial consumption; ii) the supply base of cassava planting materials; iii) the cost of planting materials incurred by smallholding farmers in the study areas and iv) to determine willingness of smallholding farmers to pay for clean quality improved planting material (improved cassava seeds) when produced and made available to them on commercial basis. The study found that 0 percent of the respondents obtain cassava planting materials from formal seed system, 89 percent do use seed-system approved and released planting materials and 99 percent obtain planting materials from their own source. Also, it was not easy to directly determine the cost of planting materials per hectare, though based on the survey conducted to determine willingness to pay for clean quality improved cassava planting materials it was estimated that smallholding farmers in the study areas would pay TZS 62 500 per hectare to obtain clean quality improved cassava planting materials. It was also found that factors influencing the willingness to pay were age, household monthly income, agronomic cost and residential location. The study also revealed wide range of cassava varieties which are grown in the surveyed areas whereby some of them take long time to mature. The research implications of this study are that the demand for improved cassava seeds creates opportunity for further research into the area whilst the practical implications are that entrepreneurial opportunity is available for investment into commercial production. Socially the results of this study increase the knowledge that smallholding farmers are now willing to pay for improved cassava seeds. It was thus concluded that, although smallholding farmers showed willingness to pay for clean quality improved cassava planting materials when disseminated on commercial setting, the price they are willing to pay is much less compared to what is currently charged by commercial cassava planting materials producers under a pilot project are charging. Also, factors influencing willingness to pay were age, household monthly income, area under cassava cultivation, agronomic cost, CBSD disease attack, revenue from selling cassava, cassava selling price, industrial demand awareness, getting extension services, need for training and farming group membership. Smallholding farmers at Muheza district were more willing to pay compared to Kwimba and lastly Sengerema respectively. It was recommended that community based or commercial planting materials farms be established to ensure smallholding farmers obtain clean quality improved planting materials affordably and timely. It was recommended that a proper governance of the cassava value chain be put in place with measures such as establishing a cassava governing board and policy framework such as a Cassava Master Plan.
The role of savings and internal lending communities in women’s economic empowerment: a case of Morogoro municipality, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Mulimila, S
The empowerment of women has been associated with development of economies around the world. This study aimed at assessing the contribution of SILC in improving women economic status. The study was conducted in Morogoro Municipal and adopted a cross-sectional research design. Questionnaire was administered to 100 respondents to collect quantitative data while qualitative data were collected from 8-10 FGD participants both men and women. Women’s economic empowerment index scales was developed using five indices to gauge the level of women’s economic empowerment in different spheres; cumulative empowerment index was computed to gauge the overall women economic empowerment. An ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the effect/contribution of SILC to women economic empowerment. It was found that half of the respondents (50%) attained medium level of empowerment. The study concludes that SILC has a great potential to empower women economically. Additionally, the level of empowerment was relatively high in the sphere of economic contribution and control over savings and income. In addition, duration in SILC, involvement in IGAs and education were good predictors of women’s economic empowerment (P<0.005). Thus, it is concluded that, SILC has a great potential to empower women economically. Therefore, it is recommended that stakeholders and NGOs should encourage women to join SILC
Effectiveness of participatory monitoring and evaluation on achievement of community-based water projects in Chamwino District, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Mgoba, S. A
Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) is increasingly becoming critical worldwide. In Tanzania like other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, community participation in monitoring and evaluation in development projects including water projects has been top on the development agenda. Nevertheless, the extent of effectiveness of PM&E in influencing achievement of community-based water projects remains unclear. To that effect, the general objective of this study was to determine effectiveness of PM&E on achievement of community-based water projects. The study employed sequential exploratory cross-sectional research design with two phases. In this design, qualitative data, using key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), were first collected and analyzed and the results were used to refine questionnaire used in the second phase of data collection that adopted a household survey. A random sample of 120 water users including 53.3% females were involved in the survey. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis while quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. A Summated Index Scale was used to measure the extent of water users’ participation in monitoring and evaluation, level of achievement of water project objectives and effectiveness of participatory monitoring and evaluation in influencing achievement of community-based water projects. In addition, Chi-square test was used to measure association between level of participation and level of achievements of water project objectives. The results show that PM&E was effective in ensuring achievement of long community-based water projects by allowing more space for primary beneficiaries through decision-making power in the management of water projects. Furthermore, the results showed that among of the strategies available in PM&E was establishment of responsible structures for project supervision such as Village Water Committees, Community Water Supply Organizations iii (COWSOs) and capacity building. The results demonstrated that 53.3% of the respondents showed high level of participation in monitoring and evaluation (M&E). In addition, the results showed that PM&E was constrained by various challenges such as lack of knowledge among community members in implementation of M&E and poor leadership in the village in facilitating community participation. Furthermore, the results revealed that there was statistically significant difference in association between extent of overall participation in monitoring and evaluation and extent of objectives achievement (P<0.05). The study concludes that PM&E is a tool for ensuring long term achievement of community-based water projects through promoting community empowerment hence creates sense of ownership of development projects among stakeholders. The study recommends sensitization of awareness of importance of PM&E in implementation of water projects at a local level is needed. The study also recommends further empirical research to determine factors affecting enhancement of human capacities in managing water projects at a local level. This will be worth for water policy planning and implementation.
Process and outcome evaluation for conditional cash transfers on food security in Kilosa District, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Kileo, T.
Based on the findings of the pilot areas, in 2015 the Government of Tanzania decided to scale up the Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) programme for the entire country. The programme aims to reduce consumption poverty among the poor. To date no evaluation has been carried on the programme; therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of CCTs programme in attaining food security to the poor in Kilosa District. The study aimed at examining whether the programme has been implemented as planned; examining whether the programme changes food security and food insecurity coping strategies. The survey was conducted in November and December, 2018 involving 120 households from five villages. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were also conducted. The descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data and qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. Food security was measured by Food Consumption Score (FCS) and inferential analysis was done through ordered probit regression model. Results show that the programme was largely implemented as planned. Basic transfer and CCT were statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05 in influencing food security at borderline and at acceptable FCS. Likewise, CCTs received by child headed households was statistically significant at P ≤ 0.10 in influencing food security at poor FCS, statistically significant at P ≤ 0.01 at borderline and at acceptable FCSs. The present study found a significant decrease of 50% of the household that used negative coping strategies at the baseline. In conclusion the programme was largely being implemented as planned and food security has improved. The study recommends the programme to create more awareness on co-responsibilities, strengthening monitoring at village level, review the communication of programme grievances and allowances to CMC members. Lastly, the amount of transfers to the programme beneficiaries should be reviewed.
Factors influencing community participation in donor funded projects: experiences from padep community projects in Morogoro District, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Samata, M. M.
Community participation in implementation and development projects has become a topical agenda. Morogoro District is one among the districts in Tanzania where Participatory Agricultural Development and Empowerment Projects implemented. The main objective of the study was to assess the factors influencing community participation in PADEP community projects. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the level of the community’s participation in PADEP community projects, examine the community’s attitude towards PADEP community projects and determine the overall impacts of PADEP community projects to the community. Across-sectional research design adopted for undertaking the study. A multi-stage sampling was employed whereas purposeful sampling technique used to select four villages i.e. Kiziwa, Mtombozi, Tulo and Kongwa, followed by proportional sampling to get households from each village, and random sampling method to obtain a sample size of 138 households. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect primary data by administering questionnaires, undertaking focus group discussions and key informants’ interview. Quantitative data were analyzed by the statistical package for social sciences, and qualitative data were analyzed by using content analysis. The study findings revealed that the level of participation in PADEP community projects was relatively low especially in project identification and designing stages. Nevertheless, about 93.5% of respondents had positive attitudes towards PADEP projects because of associated benefits, including rise of household income. Study results, also indicated that implemented PADEP community projects made some impacts to households’ livelihood, include assets ownership, income as well as food security improvement. Furthermore, some independent variables had statistical significant influence on community participation, including respondent’s previous experience in projects participation (p≤0.05), household size, household income per year before the project (p≤0.1), level of satisfaction (p≤0.01), awareness / information (p≤0.1) and existence of village rules and regulation on participation (p≤0.05). In conclusion, there is positive and strong relationship between previous experience and community participation; household income and community participation; awareness and community participation. Considering the importance of community participation, study suggests that all obstacles including project’s experience, awareness and household income which hinder community participation should be well addressed by the project implementers for the success and sustainability of the projects.

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