Browsing by Subject "Tanzania"

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are one of the major sources of food and income for rural populations in Tanzania. A survey was conducted to assess the economic importance of non-wood forest products in the study area. The study was carried out in two villages; Shebomeza and Mkwakwani in Muheza and Korogwe districts, from 12th to 25th July, 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from the respondents. A total of sixty-four respondents were chosen based on their involvement in NWFP practices. The most important NWFPs are fodder, honey, beeswax, cloves, cinnamon, nuts, fruits, medicinal plants and aromatic herbs. There was statistical significance in household income difference of respondents from the two villages and in respondents with different farm sizes. No statistically significant differences were found due to income differences of respondents with different age classes and respondents with respect to different number of livestock. This study also analyzed the most important NWFPs in the study area, the frequency of collection, purpose for collection and income generating potential. Factors affecting peoples’ perception of the economic importance of NWFPs have been discussed as well as their impact on consumption and income generation. Opportunities and constraints within the supply chain have been identified and suggestions have been put forward on how local community can easily utilize the supply chain for their benefit.

This study assesses the key factors affecting the resilience of young single mothers in Arusha region, Tanzania. The average age of childbearing in Tanzania remains low. Many socioeconomic difficulties such as poverty, lack of education and sexual- and reproductive services have an impact why many Tanzanian girls give birth during adolescence. Young single mothers often face many challenges in coping with pregnancy and motherhood due to the discrimination they face. This research is based on 22 semi-structured interviews that were conducted with young single mothers, who had given birth between 15 and 20 years old in Arusha region, Tanzania. The data was collected during one month visit to Meru at the end of 2017. The interviews were conducted in two locations. Half of the interviews were conducted in the villages of south-east of Meru and half in two women´s shelters in Arusha town. The interviews were supported by participant observation and informal conversations. The data was transcribed and analysed through qualitative content analysis. This study focuses on assessing the main factors that affect the resilience of young mothers during pregnancy and motherhood. Resilience is assessed through reproductive resilience framework. The meaning of resources (capitals) in the lives of single mothers was also assessed. Moreover, the social discourses regarding gender, sexuality and motherhood were examined in order to gain understanding of how they impact the experience of young single mothers. The findings show that social support operates as a protective factor in building resilience for the young single mothers. However, the findings show that young single mothers struggle to receive support during pregnancy. This is mainly because the negative social discourses regarding girl’s sexuality and pregnancy outside wedlock in Tanzania. The results show that young mothers face strong discrimination during pregnancy, both from their families, friends and community, which operated as a constraining factor for resilience. The discrimination had profound impact on of the resilience of the young mothers during pregnancy, as it often disrupted family relations and sometimes led to separation of the girl from her family. The shame of unmarried pregnancy diminished the support networks the young mothers had. Furthermore, the findings show that young mothers are able to receive more support during motherhood from their families and communities. Young mothers would no longer receive discrimination or verbal abuse in their communities. The findings show that the role of motherhood in the community is highly respect and therefore the young mothers were accepted in the community as any mothers. Motherhood itself operated as both protective and constraining factor for resilience. Becoming mother decreased the shame of unmarried pregnancy and raised the young mothers in highly valued positions of mothers in their societies. Some young mothers had managed to renegotiate their place in the family after the pregnancy experience and were again accepted in their families. Regardless of the financial challenges that young motherhood brought to the informants the mothers who had managed to keep their social support relations were showing positive adjustment to motherhood. Most young mothers embraced their roles as mothers, because it brought them value and made them acceptable members in their communities after the negative pregnancy experiences.

Small-scale commercial tree plantations are considerably increasing in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, and offer an alternative to large-scale plantations to reduce the increasing gap in supply and demand of roundwood. Currently, some donor-funded incentive schemes are taking place in the area to provide extension to farmers. This extension aims to develop rural areas by engaging farmers to plant and sustainably manage commercial tree plantations. Application of silvicultural activities up to the standards is essential for the profitability and productivity of commercial tree plantations. This study aims to characterize and analyze the factors influencing silvicultural management of smallholder tree plantations; in order to find the possible issues, which are currently hindering a better success of tree-planting initiatives. The research took place in twelve different villages, in the districts of Ludewa, Njombe, Makete and Mufindi. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires at household level and field surveys to cross-check the information given by the farmers. A total of 114 farmers were interviewed and 44 smallholder plantations were surveyed. Complete and adequate silvicultural management was generally low. However, nearly all farmers believed that their woodlots performed well. The results indicate that current silvicultural management satisfied most of the farmers since markets existed also for lower quality wood, and farmers were able to only allocate some of their labour for silvicultural management (tree planting was a secondary livelihood option for them). However, the current level of management did not provide higher quality wood required for industrial purposes. The management applied differed between woodlots of the same household and between seasons. External support from an incentive scheme (e.g. free/subsidized seedlings and extension), participation in tree-growers’ associations and favorable attitudes, influenced positively the level of certain management activities applied (i.e. site preparation, weeding and firebreaks). The age of the farmer, the number of household members, the number of children at school, the total household land area, and the number of years planting trees; also had an effect on the level of silvicultural management. The results suggest that training and technical advice given to farmers on silvicultural management should be more consistent, detailed (i.e. timing, frequency and intensity of activities) and dependent on the climatic conditions and the site characteristics of the tree plantations. To conclude, the creation and development of networks (such as farmers’ groups and company-community partnerships) aiming to provide support to farmers beyond tree-planting schemes is likely to offer the most long-term positive outcomes in smallholder commercial tree planting. Ultimately, for extension to be most successful it must be relevant to farmers’ needs. Farmers receiving extension and extension providers should share similar goals – i.e. extension should target to a specific group of farmers. Accordingly, it is advisable to consider if the extension for rural development can have the same target group and provide the same incentives as the extension for commercial tree planting.

Food and Forest Development Finland (FFD) and Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) have a project called “Quality standards for enhanced market access for smallholder farmers in Tanzania” and it aims to improve Tanzanian smallholder farmers access to GLOBALG.A.P. certification. This master’s thesis study is made as a part of the project and the main aim of this study is to answer the following research questions. “What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of GLOBALG.A.P. certification to smallholder farmers in Tanzania?” and secondly, “What is the cost of certification and do farmers get premium price for certified products?”. This study is carried out as a qualitative case study. Data is sourced from a farmer survey in Tanzania and from an interview with Finnish certification specialists. As theoretical basis, Resource-based theory and the concept of competitive advantage is utilized. Previous studies and literature are also reviewed. Horticulture has an important role in Tanzania’s national economy and demand for fruits and vegetables is increasing. Tanzanian fruit and vegetable production is characterized by small-scale farming, poorly organized farm management and issues with market access and product quality. International export markets, especially in Europe, are demanding quality certification by third party. GLOBALG.A.P. (GAP= Good Agricultural Practice) is the largest agri-food certification scheme and the most demanding certification used in fruit and vegetable production. All big multinational retailers are demanding certification to ensure food safety and sustainability of the production. Getting GLOBALG.A.P. certification is a challenging task for smallholders in developing countries such as Tanzania. Farmer surveys were conducted in three different agricultural areas in Tanzania and over 360 farmers are represented in the results. A SWOT analysis was based on the survey results. Results revealed that smallholders have high expectations for the benefits of certification. Expectations of gaining access to local and global markets and for gaining improved negotiating position are confirmed by previous studies. Group certification is also revealed as a strength, as well as improved farm management skills. According to experts and previous studies, increase in prices is not guaranteed with certification. Instead, a wider customer base and economic benefits compared with non-certified farmers are likely to be achieved. GLOBALG.A.P. certification can be seen as a source of competitive advantage to smallholders. The greatest weaknesses of certification are, according to smallholders, the costs of certification, extra work and expensive investments on their farms. Poor infrastructure raises concerns. As external opportunities smallholders expect to gain higher profits, gains in exports and contracts with buyers. They are aiming towards commercial farming. The threats that worry farmers the most, are issues with re-certification, volatile returns in the markets and losing contracts with buyers due to quality issues.

The thesis examines how the national water policies of Tanzania and Kenya address informality in the urban water sector by critically analysing the representations of “problems” in policies related to increasing urban water access. While access to safely managed water has increased rapidly on a global in the last decades, in most cities in the global south 30¬–60 per cent of the urban population relies on informal practices to meet its daily water needs. Especially the urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) struggle to increase access to safe water to citizens, resulting in a high reliance on informal practices, such as getting water from unprotected wells or buying water from street vendors. While these practices are generally associated with health risks and higher water prices, they serve as the main everyday water supply for millions of people. Since the state has failed to provide access to water for everyone, both under private and public management, informally managed water systems are, despite their problems, increasingly seen as a viable alternative to the standard solution of expanding the piped network to increase access. Many of the case studies on informality in SSA cited in this thesis argue that the state should accept and support the informal water sector as a pragmatic alternative for water supply in unserved urban areas. By analysing the national water policies of Tanzania and Kenya, this thesis sets out to answer the research questions of (1) how the problem of water supply is constructed in urban water policy in Tanzania and Kenya and (2) how Tanzanian and Kenyan water policies approach the informal water sector. The analysis applies Carol Bacchi’s (2009) poststructuralist approach to analysing policy, the ‘What’s The Problem Represented To Be?’ (WPR) approach. Four general representations of problems related to urban water access and informality were identified in the data: (1) The problem of lacking infrastructure, (2) the problem of identifying appropriate technologies, (3) the problem of stakeholder involvement and (4) the problem of informality in the water sector. The results show a high reliance on investment in large-scale infrastructure projects as the main policy for increasing access to water in urban areas in both Kenya and Tanzania, even though previous studies on informality and urban water provision suggests this tactic will fail in providing safe water for all. In addressing the informal water sector in urban areas, informality was represented as a problem that eventually will fade away as soon as the piped network reaches all. However, both countries appeared to take a completely different stance towards informality in rural areas. Whereas large-scale infrastructure projects still were the go-to solution for increasing access in urban areas, for rural areas the analysed documents proposed a massive support of community-based informal practices as the cornerstones of future rural water supply, covering tens of millions of people in the coming decade. If the attempt to solve lacking access to safe water in urban areas by expanding the piped network should fail, as previous research suggests it might, the community based policies for rural water supply may be scaled out to solve the urban water problem. This thesis shows that the informal water sector is still to a large extent seen as a temporary problem. However, both Kenyan and Tanzanian water policy has opened the door to supporting informal practices as sustainable solutions as a way to achieve the ambitious goal of safe water for all.

The purpose of this study was to find out how Graphogame, a computer-based learning game can be used to help children with disabilities learn early literacy skills in rural Tanzania. Graphogame aims to help children automate letter-sound connections, which are found to be the most important prerequisite for reading in transparent languages. Previous studies have shown that Graphogame can be an effective learning tool for children without disabilities in both Finland and East Africa (e.g. Ojanen et al, 2015). In addition to investigating the effectiveness of Graphogame, this study aimed to bring forth the issues that arise when conducting a Graphogame intervention in this particular setting. The study was conducted as an intervention, where a group of five children with different types of disabilities played Graphogame daily for six weeks. Their progress was monitored through oral tests before, during and after the intervention. Participant observation was used to gather additional information on the learning process of the participants. The results of this study showed how some of the participants were able to improve their early literacy skills with the help of Graphogame. Three out of five participants in the experimental group were able increase their letter knowledge noticeably during the intervention, two some of them only learned a couple of new letters. It also revealed differences in the participants' ability to transfer their skills to contexts outside the game. Based on the observations made in this study, a list of considerations is made that should be taken into account when conducting future interventions in a rural Tanzanian setting and suggestions provided for future Graphogame research.