Articles, Conference and Workshop Papers Collection

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A review of post-harvest milk losses in Tanzania’s milk sector: lessons from production to consumption
(Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2023) Lugamara, C.B.; Urassa, J. K.; Massawe, G. D.
Tanzania has engaged in various policies, strategies and programmes in order to increase production, processing and marketing infrastructure for milk and milk products and minimise animal product losses. However, not much is known in relation to post-harvest milk losses. Therefore, the review paper aims to establish from empirical literature the extent of Tanzania’s post-harvest milk losses and the causes in relation to efforts made by the government to minimise the same. To achieve the above, the authors used various databases to locate documents reporting on Tanzania’s post-harvest milk losses whereby 1605 documents were identified and screened remaining with 82 that were deemed relevant. Thereafter, an assessment of the 82 documents led to only 12 being included in the critical review, with ten being dropped due to either being similar or using the same data. Therefore, in the end, only two documents are captured in this paper. Generally, the review shows that there is insufficient empirical information on Tanzania’s post-harvest milk losses with the most recent study having been conducted almost 19 years ago. In addition, the study’s scope was quite limited, covering a sample of 66 respondents and a narrow geographical coverage of only three regions (i.e. Coast, Dar es Salaam and Morogoro). Furthermore, the study used the rapid appraisal approach. Therefore, there is a need for disaggregated information on Tanzania’s extent of post-harvest milk losses at various nodes of the milk value chain so as to inform policy makers and other stakeholders interested in curbing the same. Keywords: Milk losses, milk supply chain, post-harvest losses.
Access to bank loans and smallholder farmers' paddy productivity; a case of Mvomero district, Tanzania
(IJASAB International, 2022) Mpeku, Faraja N.; Urassa, Justin K.
Limited access to credit is one of the main limitations facing smallholders in Africa. Therefore, the study on which this paper is based, aimed at comparing smallholder farmers paddy productivity before and after their access to loans from formal financial institutions. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected once from 110 smallholder paddy farmers in Mvomero District using a questionnaire. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to enable triangulation. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS whereby both descriptive and inferential statistics were determined. Study findings show that the paddy crop continues to play an essential role in the majority of households in the study area. Paddy productivity, on the other hand, was relatively low. The results from the linear regression show that loan size, age of household, farm size, the use of fertilizer and farming experience were significantly associated with paddy productivity. They further show that the major challenges faced by smallholder farmers in their access to bank loans were high-interest rates, loan inadequacy, and high collateral demand. The results of the paired sample t-test show that there is a difference in productivity before and after farmers accessed bank loans. Despite the importance of paddy farming to household livelihoods, it was reported that access to credit has a positive impact on the productivity of paddy farmers.
Adaptation to changes in the coffee value chain And the price of coffee among coffee producers in Two villages in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
(African Study Monographs, 2013) Mhando, David Gongwe; Haller, Tobias; Mbeyale, Gimbage; Ludi, Eva
Market liberalization in Tanzania has eroded the monopoly of the cooperative unions by allowing private coffee buyers (PCBs) to compete with them on equal footing. Similarly, farmers groups and primary societies are now allowed to sell coffee at auction. Thus, farmers have various options for selling their coffee. Similarly, the coffee industry has experienced large fluctuations in prices and stagnation in production. How do farmers react to these changes? Can and do farmers profit from different market conditions and sell to different traders at the lower end of the value chain, or do they remain with cooperatives or farmers groups? This study was conducted in Mruwia and Mshiri villages in Moshi Rural district. Whereas Mshiri village remains attached to the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), Mruwia has detached from this organization and sells coffee independently. The sample (103) was randomly selected from the coffee farmers in the two villages. Data were collected through surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and socio-anthropological methods (participant-observation, biographies, and thematic interviews). Results indicate that the selection of whom to sell coffee depends largely on farmers’ dependence on coffee and prices, other benefits accrued, and whether the initial costs are covered by buyers. Additionally, most respondents did not sell coffee to PCBs. Thus, prices, the institutional infrastructure, and the structure of local communities were important when making decisions about how and with whom to trade.
Adoption of recommended maize production practices and productivity among farmers in Morogoro district, Tanzania
(Springer, 2019) Gahanga, Consolatha J.; Urassa, Justin K.
The chapter is based on a study that aimed at assessing the adoption of recommended maize production practices and productivity between farmers who were members of Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) and those who were not. The study was conducted in Morogoro District, Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at identifying FFS recommended maize production technologies; determining socio-economic factors influencing farmers’ adoption of the technologies; and comparing maize productivity and income between households involved in FFS and those that are not. Lastly, it determined the contribution of maize sales to the household incomes of the two groups. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design whereby data was collected from 166 individuals through household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), whereby descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were determined. A logistic regression model was used to determine the association of socio-economic factors and the adoption of FFS technologies. Study findings show that age, education, household income and farm size significantly influenced the adoption of recommended FFS practices. Results also show that farmers who participated in the FFS had a higher maize productivity and maize sales were the main source of income in the study area. Thus, extension agents need to do more to encourage more farmers to join FFS so as to get access to improved maize technologies which will enable them to raise their maize productivity and ultimately their income and general living standards.
Agricultural value chain incubation programmes and youth employment: a case of the Sokoine university graduates entrepreneurs cooperative, Morogoro, Tanzania
(TAJAS, 2021) Donge, H; Urassa, J.K
Youth unemployment is on the rise globally Tanzania inclusive. Nonetheless, for Tanzania, the agricultural sector has a potential for employment creation at the various nodes of the agricultural value chain. Therefore, the study generally examines the contribution of the Sokoine University Graduates Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) in enabling its graduate’s self-employ while creating employment for others. Specifically, the study examines the contribution of the above- mentioned programme to youth’s employment; identifies challenges facing the programme, and examines the policy gaps. The study is based on the cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 88 respondents. In addition, data were collected from five key informants. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPPS and qualitative data through content analysis. Generally, study findings show that SUGECO has the potential to support young entrepreneurs’ development and job creation in Tanzania. Findings also show that SUGECO offers a variety of trainings which equip its graduates with business management and employment skills. In addition, marital status and being trained in agribusiness were significantly (P≤0.05) associated with the graduates’ employment creation. However, the findings show that SUGECO and its graduates face a number of challenges including lack of funding, lack of commitment among the graduates, and unsupportive government policies. Therefore, SUGECO needs to adhere to its pre-defined criteria when selecting candidates for incubation programme so as to only recruit the committed ones. In addition, the Government and non-governmental organizations should collaborate and put some efforts to promote the SUGECO agribusiness incubation programme as it has the potential for employment creation and poverty reduction among the youth.
Attitude of voters towards elections in Morogoro municipality: a reflection on 2015 general election in Tanzania
(Science Publishing Group, 2017-12-22) Muhanga, M
This paper examines the attitudes of voters towards elections in Tanzania following an observed trend of having a great proportion of registered voters who did not vote in the General Elections in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively. The study out of which this paper is based on aimed at assessing the voters’ attitudes towards election and their perception on the importance of participating in election in Morogoro municipality, an electoral constituent which recorded voters turn out of 34.6% below the national turnout of 42.8% in 2010 General Election. A cross- sectional study design and multistage sampling techniques were employed; data were collected using a questionnaire through Computer Aided Personal Interviewing [CAPI] platform from proportionate number of male and female respondents from four randomly selected wards from Morogoro urban in Morogoro region. A total of 14 Likert scale statements were used to assess the attitudes of voters towards elections. Cross tabulation was employed to associate attitudes with other variables. Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS] computer software was used for data processing and analysis. The findings reveal that the minimum and maximum Total Attitudinal Scores were 39.0 and 56.0 respectively with mean at 44.2 and Std. Deviation of 4.01. The study findings show that the overall respondents’ attitude towards elections was negative, with 60% of the respondents scoring less than 44.2 points out of 70, whereas 40% had positive attitude whereby they scored 44.2 points and above. The results show that 73% of the respondents perceived participating in election was important. It is recommended that initiatives should be taken to cultivate positive attitudes of citizens to motivate them to turn out to vote.
Attitudes towards affirmative action policies’ implementation in local politics in Tanzania: a case of Misungwi district, Mwanza region
(2009) Kabote, Samwel Juma
For about two decades, Affirmative Action (AA) policies, particularly Quotas and/or Special Seats have been substantial measures for increasing women’s political representation and participation in developing countries and Tanzania in particular. However, attitudes related obstructions influences AAs’ implementation in the country. With this rationale, this study was conducted in Misungwi District to assess factors influenced attitudes towards AAs’implementation. A key question in this study was: Do sex, awareness/knowledge on Affirmative Actions (AAs) and duration in local leadership positions influences respondent’s views towards AA’s implementation? Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and documentary reviews. The analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 13. Findings revealed that, more women had positive attitudes towards AA’s implementation as opposed to men. Knowledge on reasons for Affirmative Action’s introduction was also positive. In addition, respondent’s attitudes were positive for respondents stayed six years and above in local leadership positions. Though it was a case study findings depicted a real picture of most District Councils in Tanzania. The study concluded that negative views towards AAs’ implementation exacerbated women’s under-representation as well as poor participation in local politics. Finally, we recommend that the family, schools and political parties should be entry points to eliminate negative attitudes towards AAs’ implementation in Misungwi District and the nation at large. Public gender awareness campaigns, accompanied with empowerment programmes are also highly recommended in this regard.
Awareness of Peri-urban Farmers on the Concept of Climate Change: A Case of Temeke District, Dar es Salaam Region
(International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2016) Lunyelele, S. P.; Bengesi, K. M. K.; Katani, J. Z.
This study assessed peri-urban farmers’ awareness on the concept of climate change in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam Region. A total of 240 questionnaires were administered to the heads of households in four wards of the study area. Descriptive statistics mainly frequency distribution, percentages and average were used to analyse socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Perceived indicators and the effects of climate change were measured through a five point Likert Scale. Off the interviewed respondents 97.9% were generally aware of climate change. Farmers’ awareness is manifested through the locally perceived indicators: increase in drought which had a mean score ( ) of 4.4, decline in rainfall ( =3.83), recurrent floods ( =3.83) and rainfall fluctuations ( =3.1). Respondents linked climate change with human activities largely cutting and burning of trees. Farmers’ perceptions are not directly linked with scientific understanding of climate change. The study recommends for the Government intervention based on farmers’ specific needs. In the other vein, more researches on climate change awareness is recommended in order to enhance local community’s adaptive capacity.
Capabilities of government co-operative supporting organisations in dissemination of innovations to primary co-operative societies in Tanzania
(International Journal of Knowledge / Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2019) Njau, L. S.; Massawe, F. A.; Mahonge, C. P.
Purpose: This paper assesses the capabilities of GCSOs in dissemination of innova- tions to primary co-operative societies (PCSos) in Tanzania. Design/Methodology: The study adopted a case study research design whereby five cases were picked. Primary data were collected using key informants (KIs) interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), documentary review and direct observation. Docu- mented data were analysed using content analysis. The Atlas.ti computer software was used in analysing data from KIs and FGDs. Findings: The study revealed that most GCSOs have important resources but were unutilised for innovation activities. There were also lack of incentives to support inno- vation activities amongst GCSOs executives and personnel and lack of formal and comprehensive systems to reward innovation activities. Moreover, the study estab- lished weak innovations progression from lower node of innovation chains to higher ones. This scenario was coupled with neither institutionalised nor user-oriented ap- proaches regarding innovations dissemination. The study recommends that GCSOs executives should work to mobilise more internal resources to enable more innova- tions dissemination activities. They should also work to strengthen their innovation value chains by ensuring resources commitment and work to ensure deliberate inclu- sive efforts in engaging innovations users (PCSos) at all stages of the innovation chain activities. Limitations: The study covered GCSOs only as they have been receiving direct gov- ernment resources to support among other things innovation activities unlike other member-based and private organisations operating in Tanzania. Similarly, the study captured the GCSOs capabilities aspects within the key innovation value chain pro- cesses only. Originality/value: The paper assessed GCSOs capabilities in innovations dissemina- tion and proposes strategic measures necessary to ensure more innovations dissemina- tion to end-users.
Causes and management of land conflicts in Tanzania: a case of farmers versus pastoralists
(Uongozi Journal of Management and Development Dy namics, 2016) Massawe, Goodluck Dastan; Urassa, Justin Kalisti
Land conflicts are on the increase in many parts of Tanzania. Though the same existed even in the planned economy era 1961 to 1985, there has been an escalation of thesame since Tanzania opted for the.free market economy in the mid-1980s. While land corif!.icts are experienced by all walk<; of life and people engaged in different economic activities, those between farmers and pastoralists have been more dread.fit! leading to loss of life and property in many instances. The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, to examine the factors that have contributed to the causes and persistence of .farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Tanzania; and secondly, to examine the strategies that have been applied in managing .farmer-pastoralist conflicts. The paper contains a review that is organised into three .fundamental sections. After introduction, Section Two discusses the literature that analyses the conflict by drawing on the social, historical and economic causes. In Section Three, the papei· introduces some of the key framework<; used within the peace and conflict literature, particularly in reference to the dffering notions of conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation that could be applied in solving or managing conflicts between .farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania for the good of both groups. The paper makes two conclusions: firstl y, the farmer-pastoralist conflict tends to be best explained through an interpretive lens that sees many processes impacting on the highlighted issue. Whilefarmer-pastoralist corifl.i cts have been produced by social, historical, economic and discursive factors; the former three factors have dominated most of the analysis within the literature . Secondly, there is no single solution for managing the conflicts. However, to effectively manage the conflicts communities need to adopt a multidimensional approach that takes into account a range of the contributing factors .
Classroom discourse and discursive practices in higher education in Tanzania
(Research Gate, 2008) Mohamed, Hashim Issa; Banda, Felix
The paper problematises student writing as social practice from the perspective of lecturers’ discursive practices. The paper uses data from a major study at a higher learning institution in Tanzania to explore lecturers’ discursive practices and familiarity with the university orders of discourse including English medium of instruction, in unequal power relations with students, for whom English is a foreign language. The lecturers’ practices are scrutinised in terms of how they work against facilitating students’ access to the privileged literacy practices of the academia and how they serve to enact and sustain dominance in Tanzania’s education system, with its monolingual orientation, which privileges Kiswahili in primary school and English in secondary and higher education.
Community Participation in Water Resource Projects Management in Iringa District Council, Tanzania.
(Tengeru Community Development Journal, 2018) Massawe, F. A.; Chumbula, J. J.
Community participation in water project management has received international attention to replace top down approaches to development. However, the approach receives critiques regarding the extent to which participation in water project design and implementation is meaningful and really engages communities in the process. This calls for continuous local level research to identify practices that can increase the likelihood of meaningful community participation. A cross sectional research was conducted in Iringa District, Tanzania to assess the practice of community participation on selected community water projects. The study specifically ought to assess participation of stakeholders in different stages of water projects development and to determine the role of community members in maintenance of project infrastructure. Data collection was carried out through household‟s survey, semi-structured interviews with key informants and focus groups discussions. Descriptive analysis was employed to answer key research questions. The study findings show that despite water being one of the essential needs in the respective communities, the initial idea came from donors. Generally, the community participation was low in almost all project phases. The communication mechanism in terms of feedback and information sharing, community capacity to engage into project technical maintenance and women participation in water project governance was found to be weak. The paper concludes that there is less consideration of the principles of community participation in executing water projects at Iringa District Council. It is recommended that the meaningful participation should adhere to the key principals of community engagement in all phases of project design and management.
Community perception on the environmental conservation approach adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Northern Diocese, Tanzania
(EAJSSH, 2020-05-22) Mlaki, D. A.; Massawe, F. A.
Abstract: Faith based institutions have the authority and ability to address several issues and being accepted and acted upon by the people of different beliefs, especially by linking with the people’s respective faiths. This could be fully utilized in addressing environmental issues, which is one of the most currently debatable global concerns. Given the environmental degradation challenges facing Kilimanjaro region, the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania started an intervention on tree planting by involving youth enrolled in confirmation classes as a way of promoting environmental conservation behaviour among youths. Since the tree planting programme operate within the community, this study therefore was conducted to explore the way the community perceive this programme, which will determine their participation therein, and success of the programme. A cross-sectional research design was adopted and a random sample of 100 households that had registered their children for confirmation classes in different years from 2003 to 2015 were involved. A Structured questionnaire with Likert scale was used to capture perceptions of households complimented by Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. The descriptive and content analysis was adopted. The findings revealed that about 85% of the households had positive perception about the innovative approach adopted by the church. Furthermore, the community members see the programme as part of their household responsibilities and a good approach through which the nature can regain its lost form and provide to them what had been lost. The findings confirm the argument under the theory of self-determination of environmental behavior since despite being the church intervention people perform a tree planting behaviour for their own sake and to gain positive results. In this case, youths got involved in the program so as to graduate from confirmation training while avoiding the negative outcomes that is failure to be confirmed.
Conservation of urban forest in Tanzania: community attitudes towards Njiro forest, Arusha
(East African Journal of Forestry & Agroforestry, 2019-08-26) Massawe, Goodluck Peter; Marealle, Wilfred Njama; Liseki, Stephen David; Camerini, Giuseppe
Understanding community attitudes towards urban forests is of great importance since these attitudes are inherently linked to the long-term sustainability of urban forests management and conservation. We analysed the attitudes of the local community towards the Njiro forest (Arusha, Tanzania) which is managed and used as an experimental beekeeping area by TAWIRI (Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute). Data collection was done between September-October 2018 involving a sample of 163 randomly selected respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Quantitative data were analysed through Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). Chi-square tests and contingency tables were used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the expected frequencies and the observed frequencies in one or more categories. Possible influences coming from sociological and demographic factors such as age, gender, education level, occupation were assessed. The majority of the respondents declared to gain ecological benefits from the forest. A significantly larger group of older respondents in comparison with the younger ones (p<0.05) declared to face problems coming from the forest (stray dogs, robbers, illegal waste disposal). Males showed to be more interested in practising beekeeping than females (p<0.05). Respondents with a primary education level were more prone to express agreement with the adopted management strategies in comparison with respondents with higher education (p<0.001). In conclusion, the great majority of respondents declared to support the conservation of Njiro forest, however, employed respondents and females were more positive regarding the hypothesis of abolishing the forest (p<0.05). In order to improve management strategies and support the long-term conservation of the forest, respondents recommended strengthening the protection of the forest by fencing it, providing environmental education to the surrounding community, reinforcing the cooperation with the local community and planting new trees to improve the health of the forest ecosystem.
Consumers' perception on adoption of improved cookstoves: a case of Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania
(Institute of Continuing Education, Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014) Massawe, F. A.; Bengesi, K. M. K.; Kweka, A. E.
This study was conducted in Kilimanjaro Region to examine consumers' perceptions on adoption of Improved Cookstove (ICS) involving 294 households. The results recorded low prominence of positive perceptions among respondents on ICS relative to traditional stoves. Despite several positive attributes of ICS, the study observed that the majority of non-adopters considered positive attributes to be less important in making a decision to adopt the technology, while negative attributes were considered important in guiding decisions not to reject adoption of ICS. Consistently, the study recorded high association between high adoption levels and the relative advantages and adoption of ICS while the non-adopters weighed on the negative attributes to make their decision. This suggests that promoters of ICS should focus on end users, launching awareness campaigns to understand and address factors perceived by end users to be disadvantages of using ICS. The ICS designers and promoters should capture values of end users and incorporate them in their designs when developing technologies and innovations to foster higher adoption rates.
Contribution of Integrated Urban Agriculture to Household Income: A Case of Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania
(The Journal of Agricultural Sciences - Sri Lanka, 2018-05-01) Victor, K.; Massawe, F. A.; Sikira, A.
Purpose: Urban farmers make efficient utilization of resources by integrating crop-livestock fish sub sectors to maximize accrued benefits. However, types of integration practices adopted and associated income outcome are still undocumented. Thus this study specifically assessed the types of integrated urban agriculture (IUA) mostly practiced by farmers, types of livelihood strategies adopted simultaneously with IUA and its contribution to total household income. Findings: The results show that integrated urban agriculture is the most prioritised livelihood strategy to urban farmers. Majority of urban farmers (98.5%) practising integrated farming concentrated on crop-livestock, while fish-livestock and crop livestock-fish integration adopted only by 0.75% each. This implies that, majority of urban farmers did not practice fish sub-sector. Integrated urban agriculture gives average annual income of 2 295 288 TSH (equivalent to 1093$); which was sufficient for household of six members being above monetary food poverty line per year. Research Limitation: This study focuses on income livelihood indicator; however, farmers can also, benefit from integrated agriculture through food security, social inclusion and ecology to mention some. Originality/Value: This study provides a comprehensive layout adopted by integrated urban farmers to benefit from the sub-sectors and what is missing for improvement of the enterprises for improved livelihood outcome in Tanzania
Credit access through warehouse receipt system and farm productivity of Smallholder coffee farmers in Mbinga district, Tanzania
(2018) Mapunda, Matei E.; Mhando, David G.; Waized, Betty M.
The Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) offers an opportunity to smallholder farmers by providing collateral guarantees to financial institutions to provide credit for agricultural inputs through their crops stored at the warehouses. The objective of this paper was to examine the contribution of agricultural inputs credit accessed through WRS on coffee farms productivity in Mbinga District, Tanzania. A household survey from a sample of 390 smallholder coffee farmers was conducted. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) was used to examine the impact of WRS agricultural-credit on coffee yield. Study results show that credit accessed through WRS had a significant (p≤0.05) and positive influence on coffee yield. Moreover, sex, years of schooling, and extension services had a significant effect on coffee yields. The intervention policies are needed in order to enable more farmers to access the WRS services, extension services, education and increasing women’s participation in WRS in the study area.
Determinants of households’ adoption of improved cook stoves in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019-10-22) Massawe, F. A.; Bengesi, K. M. K.
Despite being used in inefficient and unsustainable ways, traditional biomass remains the largest source of cooking energy in Tanzania. Improved Cook Stoves (ICS) have been proved to be among the best ways of efficient utilization of biomass, nonetheless, their adoption has been low. Limited empirical evidence exists on the reasons for low ICS adoption in Tanzania. This paper analyses factors which determine household adoption of ICS in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. A total of 294 households from six villages were randomly selected for the household survey, and qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Results from a binary logistic regression revealed that awareness campaigns about ICS, quality of living house and kitchen room, awareness on the village environmental regulations and by-laws, sources of firewood and household Socio-Economic Status (SES) to be among the factors influencing the adoption of ICS. The study concludes that low adoption is attributed to limited awareness on the benefits of the stoves and a negative myth attached to the quality attributes of the household that can adopt ICS. The study recommends the organization dealing with ICS promotion to continue with comprehensive awareness campaigns and targeted intervention to households perceived to have to limit adoption characteristics.
Determinants of participation of smallholder coffee farmers In warehouse receipt system in Mbinga district, Tanzania
(2019) Mapunda, Matei E.; Mhando, David G; Waized, Betty M.
The Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) holds considerable opportunities necessary for improving incomes and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. However, there has been little progress regarding participation of smallholder farmers in the system. This paper examines factors that influence smallholder coffee farmers’ participation in the WRS. The specific objective was to identify factors influencing participation. A random household survey of 390 farmers was conducted in Mbinga District, Tanzania. Data were analysed using binary logistic regression. The results show that a respondent’s age, market information, sex, and distance from coffee farms to Agricultural Marketing and Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) or farmers’ group (FG) centres influenced coffee farmers’ decisions to participate in the WRS. Young, male farmers with access to coffee market information are more likely to use the WRS. Dissemination of the market information and the location of AMCOS or FG centres closer to coffee farmers could be a key to increasing farmers’ participation in the WRS.
Determinants of post-harvest milk losses among milk producers in Tanzania
(ASRIC Journal on Agricultural Sciences, 2023) Lugamara, Charles B.; Urassa, Justin K.; Massawe, Goodluck D.
Despite the Tanzania’s programmes that aimed at improving infrastructures for milk and milk products, milk losses continue to be substantially high. The paper evaluated the determinants of post-harvest milk losses at the milk producers in Tanzania. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected from 370 household heads and 38 Farm Managers in both the dry (June to October 2021; June to September 2022) and wet (November to December 2021; January to May 2022) seasons. Generally, study findings showed that milk was mainly lost through spillage, spoilage and contamination. In addition, Generalised Linear Mixed Model results showed existence of significant associations between location (Adjusted Coefficient (AC) = -0.80; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): -1.28-0.31), cattle keeping systems (AC = -0.75; 95% CI: -1.38-0.11), market price (AC = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.23- 1.10), transport means (AC = -0.69; 95% CI: -1.29—0.10) and spillage. Additionally, washing cow’s udder before milking (AC = -2.10; 95% CI: -3.70-0.49), water used for washing milk utensils (AC = -1.302; 95% CI: -2.43—0.17) and storage equipment (AC = -1.26; 95% CI: -2.47—0.05) were significantly associated with spoilage. Therefore, the Tanzanian government needs to improve extension services and workable strategies to minimise milk losses.

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