ABSTRACT The study on which this thesis is based investigated the impact of land size and farm fragmentation on household welfare in Kilosa District. The specific objectives were to: determine factors affecting household land size, assess the effects of farm size on household income, determine the causes of farm fragmentation, and assess the effect of farm fragmentation on agricultural productivity. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, which was administered to a random samp...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT In Tanzania, livestock diseases, especially tick bone diseases (TBDs), impose loses to livestock in terms of mortality, decrease in production and increased costs of control measures. Among the TBDs, East Coast fever (ECF) is the most prevalent and fatal disease. The main control measure for TBDs is use of acaricides to control the vector ticks, chemotherapy of sick animals as well as immunization of cattle by the infection and treatment method (ITM). The applications of th...
ABSTRACT Research and development (R&D) organisations in Tanzania use old systematic design models that focus on the mere agro-technologies prototypes development, instead of innovation of agro-technology for diffusion. A serious gap exists in the incorporation of the agro-technologies diffusion factors in design models in R&D organisations in Tanzania. The twin valley of technology death describes the technology development failures based on business vision disregard. Technology prototypes ...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Bovine mastitis remains to be the most important disease facing smallholder dairy industry in Zanzibar. Direct and indirect cost incurred during the control of clinical cases of mastitis together with prolonged subclinical mastitis reduces quantity and quality of milk produced, and hence, decrease smallholder dairy farmers’ income. This study was conducted to assess the characteristics and farm management practices of smallholder dairy cattle farming system and their rela...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT A study was initiated in the 2011/12 cropping season with a parallel experiment mounted along side in the second season to investigate the possibility of improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by the maize crop in a pigeon pea groundnut intercrop-maize rotation cropping system at Chitedze Agricultural Research Station in Malawi. The parallel experiment was conducted to compare the performance of legumes over two cropping seasons. The experiments involved the planting of tw...
ABSTRACT Agriculture as a subject has been taught in Tanzania before and after independence with overall purpose being development of basic agricultural skills relevant to learners‟ home environment. Thus, this study was conducted to assess factors affecting teaching and learning of agricultural science as an optional subject in selected secondary school in Mbeya and Songwe Regions, Tanzania. Specific objectives were to: examine the current status in teaching and learning of agricultural s...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Round potato (Solanum tuberosum L) has been an important food and cash crop in the southern highlands of Tanzania since its introduction in the 1920s. However, the extent to which it contributes to household food security was empirically unknown. Therefore, this study was conducted in Mbeya and Makete Districts to contribute to this knowledge gap. The purpose of the study was to determine the contribution of round potato production to household food security. The specific o...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Iringa Region, Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The objective was to optimize biomass under Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) in miombo woodlands for climate change mitigation and local livelihoods. By using optimization techniques with the aid of Excel solver computer software the optimization was performed. Six forest management options were created; (1) Business as usual (BAU), (2) Community Based Forest Management (CBFM), (3) total prot...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) causes an acute Rift Valley fever (RVF) disease in humans and domestic ruminants whose occurrence assumes an epidemic pattern in most cases. Understanding the maintenance of RVFV in susceptible hosts and potential vectors during inter-epidemic periods (IEP) is vital for better understanding of disease transmission dynamics. The aim of this study was to investigate the transmission dynamics of RVFV in Ngorongoro district, Northern Tanzania. Thi...
ABSTRACT Farmers can potentially increase their productivity through utilisation of rice production innovations practices and new input packages, if appropriate extension services are put in place. However, many conventional extension approaches in Tanzania have received criticism for being limited to demonstration of technologies, limited use of farmer’s knowledge and using already packaged information. Thus, this study was conducted to assess factors affecting utilisation of rice product...
ABSTRACT Infections caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) constitute a global public health burden. Worldwide, over 20 million new cases of asymptomatic infections, 3.4 million illnesses and 70 000 deaths due to HEV occur each year. Infections with HEV are the leading cause of oro-fæcally acquired viral hepatitis and outbreaks have occurred in more than 61 countries. In developing countries particularly in Asia and Africa HEV outbreaks cause 10-30% case fatality rates in pregnant women and the ...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Child undernutrition is a persistent problem in Africa, especially in areas where the poor largely depend on starchy staples with limited access to diverse diets. Despite the fact that Tanzania has given attention to undernutrition, the prevalence rate is still high. Inappropriate feeding practices may account for approximately one-third of undernutrition. Traditional supplementary feeding of infants and young children in Tanzania and much of Africa is commonly based on mai...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT The study was conducted for three seasons aimed at developing a strategy that combines weed control with soil fertility enhancement using live and dead mulch for increased productivity of organic sweet pepper. Synchronization experiments were set to evaluate release patterns and availability of nutrients by leguminous green manures in soil. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a plot size of 3 m x 3 m replicated four times was used. Mucuna and greengram materials ...
ABSTRACT In sub-saharan Africa tomato is an important vegetable crop. In order to promote tomato production in Tanzania, the government has undertaken several measures. This study sought to assess socio-economic and institutional factors that influence productivity among smallholder farmers in Musoma Municipality. Specifically the study aimed at assessing productivity of tomato; determining socio-economic factors influencing tomato productivity, and determining institutional factors that inf...
ABSTRACT This study presents the stingless bees (Meliponini) of Ipembampazi Forest Reserve (IFR) in Sikonge, Tabora Tanzania. Stingless bees were systematically sampled from linear transects from which 80 plots of 20 x 40 m2 (0.08ha) were established. A total of 60 nests were found, representing two stingless bee species, Meliponula ferruginea Lepeletier and Hypotrigona ruspolii Magretti. The third species, Plebeina hildebrandti Friese was opportunistically collected at water hole. Relativel...