Sustainable rural food systems for poor and vulnerable people need to be locally adapted to enhance food security. This requires participatory action research that considers the entire food value chain (FVC). This paper presents an assessment of the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) for enhancing food security based on a study that was part of a larger participatory research project in two regions of Tanzania. The authors present the results relating to natural resource management and crop production. The results for natural resources show that enhanced soil water management was rated as high for the semi-arid Dodoma region. For the Morogoro region, the experts favoured soil fertility-improving UPS, such as conservation agriculture and agroforestry. Assessments of food production for both regions indicated the importance of intercropping, manure input, pest and disease control and cover crops. Assessments differed greatly between the two different climatic regions, and to a lesser extent between the nationality of the experts and their gender. This highlights the importance of including different South-North and female-male awareness in assessments. Implementation feasibility assessments of UPS indicated that the most suitable approaches were rainwater harvesting for semi-arid and conservation agriculture for subhumid regions respectively. Local and/or regional stakeholders and experts should be involved in developing and assessing site-adapted UPS for enhancing Tanzanian FVCs.
Food security is one of the main goals of rural poor people. To enhance food security in this context, participatory action research can help to ensure sustained success while considering entire food value chains (FVC). This paper assesses the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) as well as their assessment criteria as developed by German and Tanzanian agricultural scientists. The results form part of a larger participatory research project conducted in two climatically representative regions of Tanzania: semi-arid Dodoma and subhumid Morogoro. This paper presents the findings with respect to food processing, waste management and bioenergy, along with income generation and market participation. Assessments on other components of the FVC, including natural resource management, crop production and consumption, are reported by Graef et al (2015). The assessments for food processing revealed preferences for preservation techniques, oil extraction processes and food storage devices for the semi-arid region. In contrast, in the subhumid region, the experts favoured food storage devices and preservation techniques. Assessments of waste management and bioenergy UPS for both regions indicated the importance of animal feed from crop residues, crop residues as mulch and compost from food waste, although with somewhat different priorities. Assessments on income generation and markets in both regions revealed preferences for savings and credit cooperatives and communication techniques, but also indicated that warehouse receipt systems and guarantee systems had a high impact. Assessments differed between the two different climatic regions, and to some extent also between the nationality of experts 180
Firewood and charcoal are the primary energy resources in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the unstainable collection and use of these resources negatively impact the environment. Equally, using briquettes as green energy resources can address the energy shortage and conserves the environment. However, the information on people’s preference to use briquettes instead of other alternative energy sources is scarce. Furthermore, studies demonstrating the briquette technology preferences and adoption to prospective users, including youth and women in urban and rural areas, are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted in the Morogoro district to (1) characterise the respondents’ demographic issues useful for evaluation of people's preferences, (2) assess the preference for briquette fuels, particularly for youth and women, and (3) evaluate the extent of using the briquettes as sources of energy as compared to other alternative sources of energy. The household survey involved 330 respondents in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of Morogoro. The areas were chosen to represent the Tanzania sceneries. Besides, supplementary key informants’ interviews involved village leaders, charcoal retailers and other people with knowledge of briquette technology. The results show that over 95% of respondents preferred to use briquette as an alternative energy source and expressed their willingness to engage in the briquette business. Additionally, the study shows low use of briquettes compared to other energy sources like charcoal and firewood in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between men and women in their willingness to join the briquette business (p-value =0.517). Therefore, a few people are aware of briquette technology. This study recommends increasing the awareness of briquette technology through training youths and women on briquette technology and insisting on the availability of briquette products and stoves. In addition, assessing the factors hindering the briquettes from being a hundred per cent preferred by people is a point of research interest.
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