Status and scope of kitchen gardening of green leafy vegetables in rural Tanzania: implications for nutrition interventions

Kitchen gardens in Tanzania are currently facing a variety of threats. However, many households depend on basic farming activities to meet household food needs. The objective of this study was to describe the current status and scope of kitchen gardening for improving the food security situation in the Morogoro and Dodoma regions of Tanzania. A cluster sampling method was used to select 383 households. The main respondents were mothers or caregivers responsible for food preparation. Techniques for data collection were observations, focus group discussions and face to face interviews. A small proportion (2.6%) of residents in the semi-arid Dodoma region had a kitchen garden as compared to the sub-humid Morogoro region (9.9%). Sweet potato leaves, cassava leaves, pumpkin leaves, cowpea leaves and African egg plant were the principal vegetables grown in the two areas. The market provided vegetables to 87% of the surveyed households. Vegetables sold at the market were mostly in the dried form, fresh vegetables in the market being those cultivated near ponds, especially during dry seasons. About 90% and 55% of the kitchen garden produce was used for home consumption in Dodoma and Morogoro, respectively. Women contributed 80% and 75%of the total labor for managing kitchen gardens in Dodoma and Morogoro, respectively. Socio-cultural factors (food habit and demand and supply of food materials), environmental factors (climatic factors, water availability), types of soils and farmers’ local knowledge and understanding (traditional knowledge and practices, formal and non-formal education) were the key determinants of vegetables grown in the traditional kitchen garden. Kitchen gardening was practised by few of the surveyed households and the diversity of the planted vegetables was low. Factors that influenced the presence of a kitchen gardens at household level were: sex of the household head (p?=?0.002), literacy status of the mother/caregiver (p?=?0.001) and the education level (p?=?0.001) of the respondent.     

Key factors influencing food security of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and the role of cassava as a strategic crop

Due to beneficial characteristics of cassava such as robustness and versatility for multiple uses, it can have a major role in contributing to local food security. The objective of this study was to find out whether and how the cultivation of cassava benefits smallholder farmers in the regions of Dodoma and Morogoro, Tanzania. In addition, the study assessed the main factors that support or threaten food security of smallholder farmer households in the survey region and analysed whether cassava cultivation could counteract them. We applied a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data were provided by a comprehensive household survey of the Trans-SEC project, and qualitative data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews. To approach the complexity of our chosen food security definition, three approaches for household food security measurement were applied. These covered the components of food availability, food access, and food utilization. Additionally, dependent variables for regression models were constructed and a multivariate analysis was run. The results show that cassava contributes to food security in the households, but achieving food security through cassava cultivation was constrained by several factors, including pests, missing markets, poor processing, social perception and lack of knowledge. Besides these, other factors affecting food security in the study area were found, uncovering some roots of local food insecurity and serving as a basis for further research and action on how to enhance food security.     

Expert-based ex-ante assessments of potential social,ecological, and economic impacts of upgrading strategies for improving food security in rural Tanzania using the ScalA-FS approach

Subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to food insecurity given their low adaptive capacity against ecological and socio-economic shocks. Therefore, food security is one of their main challenges. Participatory action research across food value chains (FVCs) can help stabilize and enhance food security by developing upgrading strategies (UPS) that enhance specific aspects of crop production, post-harvest processing, marketing, income generation, and consumption. However, prior to their widespread adoption or upscaling, UPS need holistic understandings of their potential social, ecological, economic, and institutional challenges and opportunities in target areas. This article reports the application of the “ScalA-FS” tool, which assessed the potential success of selected UPS using assessment criteria developed by agricultural scientists and local farmers in a participatory process in Tanzania. This work is embedded in a larger participatory research project conducted in semi-arid and sub-humid ecological settings of the Dodoma and Morogoro regions of Tanzania. Results from the assessment of the potential impact of the UPS differed strongly between the UPS and the social, economic and environmental assessment criteria, but only slightly between semi-arid and sub-humid regions. The positive impacts of food-securing UPS centre on productivity and income generation. Rain water harvesting, fertilizer micro-dosing, optimized weeding, and promotion of kitchen gardens were expected to have the highest impacts after implementation. The ScalA-FS ex-ante assessments provide a knowledge base about potential impacts, as well as the potential bottlenecks to address during the implementation of UPS.     

Is dry soil planting an adaptation strategy for maize cultivation in semi-arid Tanzania?

Agriculture has the greatest potential to lift the African continent out of poverty and alleviate hunger. Among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania has an abundance of natural resources and major agricultural potential. However, one of the most important constraints facing Tanzania’s agricultural sector is the dependence on unreliable and irregular weather, including rainfall. A strategy to cope with climate uncertainty in semi-arid regions is to proceed with the sowing of the crop before the onset of the rainy season. The advantage is that when the rains start, seeds are already in the soil and can begin immediately the process of germination. The objective of this paper was to assess the effectiveness of dry-soil planting for maize as an adaptation strategy in the context of a changing climate in Dodoma, a semi-arid region in Tanzania. For this assessment, the DSSAT crop model was used in combination with climate scenarios based on representative concentration pathways. A probability of crop failure of more than 80% can be expected when sowing occurs during the planting window (of 21 days) starting on 1st November. The next planting window we assessed, starting on 23rd November (which was still before the onset of rain), presented significantly lower probabilities of crop failure, indicating that sowing before the onset of the rainy season is a suitable adaptation strategy. Results also indicated that, despite not reaching the highest maize grain yields, fields prepared for dry-soil planting still produced adequate yields. The cultivation of several fields using the dry planting method is a strategy farmers can use to cope with low rainfall conditions, since it increases the chances of harvesting at least some of the cultivated fields. We conclude that dry-soil planting is a feasible and valid technique, even in scenarios of climate change, in order to provide acceptable maize yields in semi-arid Tanzania.     

Implications of climate-smart strategy adoption by farm households for food security in Tanzania

As the climate changes, farmers in developing countries seek to employ strategies to help them sustain food production. The objectives of this paper were to identify adaptation strategies in response to climate change and the determinants for their adoption, and to explore the impact of these strategies on food security. The analysis was based on a survey of 900 small-scale farmers in a semi-arid (Dodoma) and a semi-humid (Morogoro) region in Tanzania. Farmers in the semi-humid region tended to diversify their crops, i.e. added additional crop types. Given the more challenging environment in the semi-arid region, farmers there changed their portfolio of crops, i.e. substituted some crops or cultivars with others. Logistic regressions highlighted higher tolerance to risk, land ownership, education and experiences of farmers as drivers of adoption, while income diversification had a negative effect. The propensity score matching approach showed that adopters of climate-smart strategies are on-average more food-secure. These users showed a more diverse pattern of food consumption, greater protein intake and better economic access to food. Changing crop portfolios can help households to cope with climate-related shocks such as droughts and thus appears to be the best performing strategy, especially in terms of more stable food provisioning throughout the year.     

Factors influencing stunting among children in rural Tanzania: an agro-climatic zone perspective

This paper analyzed stunting in children in Tanzania and its linkages to agro-climatic conditions and related factors, unraveling the complex interactions of determinants of under-nutrition in two contrasting regions of Tanzania. We used logistic regression models to establish relationships between stunting and multiple variables belonging to different domains. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting in children was 41% and 21% respectively, while 11% of women had a Body Mass Index of below 18.5. Results also indicate that 17% of children and 16% of women were anaemic. Regression analysis showed that major determinants of child stunting in the semi-arid Dodoma region are cultivated land size, gender and age of the child, duration of breastfeeding, household size, use of iodized salt and the distance to a water source. In sub-humid Morogoro, cultivated land size, a child’s age, duration of breastfeeding, literacy status of the mother and Body Mass Index of the mother predict stunting. We discuss how these factors influence the nutrition status of children in each agro-climatic region. The pooled model provided strong evidence to link agro-climatic zone characteristics to stunting among children. It is recommended that nutrition interventions should be specific to agro-climatic environments. Implementing agro-climatic sensitive interventional actions may help to reduce undernutrition and food insecurity in specific areas.     

Drivers of rural-urban migration and impact on food security in rural Tanzania

This paper contributes to (1) the Valletta action plan by identifying root causes of migration in Africa, and (2) the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda reflecting the close links between migration and development. Our objectives are to identify drivers of rural-urban migration in Tanzania and to examine its impact on food security. The analyses are based on survey data of 900 rural households in the Dodoma and Morogoro districts of Tanzania from 2013. The logistic regression revealed that several household characteristics such as age of the household head, household size, and dependency ratio, but also employment and welfare status determine whether any household member migrates from the rural area to an urban area. Households from the more remote and food insecure Dodoma district were more likely to have migrants looking for jobs than households from Morogoro district. The Propensity Score Matching approach revealed that migration significantly worsens the food security status of rural migrant households in terms of access, availability and stability. This outcome is explained by the loss in labor input, leading to lower agricultural productivity of rural households, which cannot be compensated by the transfer of remittances from their respective migrants. Thus, migration does not always function as a pathway out of food insecurity in developing countries.     

Simulated willingness of farmers to adopt fertilizer micro-dosing and rainwater harvesting technologies in semi-arid and sub-humid farming systems in Tanzania

Productivity of African agriculture falls below the global average due mainly to limited use of productivity-enhancing technologies. In Tanzania, smallholders farm without fertilizer on fragile soils in rain-fed areas. Inadequate soil nutrients, nutrient mining, and soil-moisture stress are the main factors limiting crop productivity. Fertilizer micro-dosing (MD) and rainwater harvesting (RWH) through tied ridges appear to be appropriate technologies to help replenish soil nutrients and improve soil moisture for increased crop production. It nonetheless remains unclear whether these technologies can be adopted by smallholder farmers in Tanzania. There have been limited efforts to predict adoption and diffusion of new technologies in Tanzanian agriculture. This paper assesses the willingness of farmers to adopt fertilizer MD with and without tied ridges. Data were obtained from a household baseline study, participatory ex-ante impact assessments, and simulation exercises. Our cross-section analysis used integrated ex-ante assessment tools to understand sustainability and to prioritize and sequence technology adoption and diffusion. Simulation predicted the ex-ante impact of selected technologies, the adoption rate peaks, the likelihood for reaching peaks, and the possible time required to reach peak adoption. Our findings suggest the best paths that technology users should take, while considering factors which affect adoption during research planning, implementation, and testing of the farm level technologies.     

Novel two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis mapping for characterizing complex bacterial communities in environmental samples

Genomic DNA profiles such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE), and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) have been commonly used to characterize bacterial communities in environmental samples. We recently developed a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DGE) method with a combination of chain-length polymorphism analysis (CLPA) and DGGE analysis, in order to improve the DNA resolution and resolve complex environmental DNA fragments produced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The 2-DGE method can generate high-resolution DNA separation maps on the basis of the lengths and composition polymorphisms of DNA sequences. It can thus facilitate detailed analyses between bacterial communities in complex environmental systems such as soil or water. For the present paper, we further developed two novel 2-DGE methods using a combination of CLPA and TTGE (or CLPA and SSCP) and here describe their potential application to the characterization of bacterial communities in nature using clustering analyses. The results show that DNA amplicons can undergo more detailed separation by the two new mapping than by their corresponding 1-DGE fingerprints. Our findings also suggest that these two new 2-DGE mapping techniques are more easily carried out than previously described DGGE-based 2-DGE mapping because they do not require a chemical denaturing gradient gel.     

Mapping of maize storage losses due to insect pests in central Mexico

Postharvest grain storage are a major problem in Mexico, influencing the economy, livelihoods, and food security of most farmers. At present, very limited information is available on postharvest maize losses and the associated insect pests in Mexico. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify and map maize storage losses in Central Mexico (State of Mexico) to analyze the effects of major pests in the different regions and to provide useful data to policymakers and local stakeholders. The study was conducted with 120 farmers dispersed across all regions of maize production in the State of Mexico. Storage losses were quantified using standardized maize samples that harvest, stored for a year, and sampled periodically. These data, together with geographic coordinates, were integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) to generate maps of maize storage damage and weight losses. The resulting maps show that in the southern region of the State of Mexico the standardized samples exhibited the highest maize losses after a one-year storage period, with an average of 76% loss and 100% grain damage, followed by the northern region, with an average of 18% loss and 52% damage. The eastern region reported 10% loss and 16% damage, whereas the Central region showed 5% loss and 14% damage. The main storage pests identified displayed localized geographic distributions, with the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, being mainly localized in the South, the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatu, in the East and North, and the angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella, in the Northeast and Central regions. Thus, these maps are robust tools that will help towards improving storage facilities and increasing food security for small-scale farmers.     

Two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis mapping: a novel approach to diversity analysis of bacterial communities in environmental soil

The diversity analysis of bacteria is useful for the environmental assessment of soil. Traditional molecular-based methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis achieve a low-resolution display of bacterial DNA fragments on a gel. To improve the resolution, a novel two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis (2-DGE) method was designed. This method can generate a high-resolution DNA map that facilitates the detailed analysis of soil bacteria. This map can be obtained by utilizing 2-DGE to separate genomic DNA fragments produced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification on the basis of chain length and G+C content. To develop this 2-DGE method further and to apply it to the assessment of bacterial diversity, we carried out a 2-DGE mapping of bacterial DNA fragments from different environmental soils and computed Shannon index as well as plotted rank-abundance curves on the basis of the relative intensity of each spot on the maps. DGGE mapping was also performed to compare the resolution of the two methods. 2-DGE mapping was capable of generating a higher resolution display by a factor of more than 2 using a DGGE fingerprint pattern on a piece of gel. Furthermore, the higher number of detected spots from the 2-DGE map enabled the assessment of differences in bacterial diversity in complex soil systems using a logarithmic normal rank-abundance plot.     

MEASUREMENT OF CESIUM-137 IN FOODSTUFFS

Intensity of the 662‐keV gamma ray from cesium‐137 was closely monitored in a variety of foods and beverages, including milk, flavored milk, fruit juices, infant foods, cooking oil, biscuits and fish. Nuclear facilities in the region, and the proximity of Oman to India and Pakistan (where nuclear material exists) played an important role in influencing our investigation. Relevant food items were obtained at appropriate intervals from January to December 2003 and 2004, and subjected to high‐resolution gamma‐ray measurement with a 28‐cm² high‐purity germanium detector. Each sample was prepared in a suitable Marinelli beaker and counted for 12 h. The recorded specific activities in milk, fruit juices and oil were generally <1.0 Bq/L, and <2.0 Bq/kg in solid foods such as fish and biscuits. In general, we found that the food quality in this respect was high.     

The effectiveness of extension strategies for increasing the adoption of biofortified crops: the case of quality protein maize in East Africa

Biofortified crops can be promoted with extension strategies based on their agronomic qualities, nutritional qualities, or both, but the effectiveness of these different strategies has so far not been studied. Since 2003, quality protein maize (QPM) has been disseminated using both approaches in East Africa. This study therefore analyzes the effectiveness of promoting biofortified crops based on their agronomic and their nutritional qualities, using the adoption of QPM cultivars in East Africa as an example. A random sample survey was conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, with 423 households from QPM extension areas and 539 households from similar areas outside the extension zone. Propensity score matching and regression analysis were used to assess determinants of QPM adoption, including farmers’ awareness of QPM, understanding of its nutritional benefits, and evaluation of agronomic performance to evaluate the agronomic and nutritional extension strategies. Results showed high familiarity with QPM, but low understanding of nutritional benefits. Farmers evaluated QPM varieties as equal or superior to conventional maize for post-harvest traits, but not always for agronomic traits (in particular yield in Ethiopia and Tanzania). Adoption in extension areas varied from 73 % in Uganda and 25 % in Tanzania to none in Kenya. Key factors that increased adoption were farmers’ participation in extension, having heard of QPM, higher overall evaluation ratings of QPM vs. conventional maize varieties, and understanding of QPM’s nutritional benefits. Agronomic performance was found to be more important than an understanding of nutritional benefits. For biofortified crops to be adopted and have a nutritional impact on target populations, they should, first and foremost, be agronomically equal or superior to conventional varieties. If farmers are convinced of the agronomic performance of biofortified crops, additional gains in adoption can be achieved by focusing extension efforts on imparting to farmers knowledge of the benefits of biofortified crops for human nutrition.     

Speciation and quantitative mapping of metal species in microbial biofilms using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy

A scanning transmission X-ray microscope illuminated with synchrotron light was used to investigate the speciation and spatial distributions of metals in a microbial biofilm cultivated from river water. Metal 2p absorption edge signals were used to provide metal speciation (through shapes of the absorption spectra) and quantitative spatial distributions of the metal species. This paper presents sample data and describes methods for extracting quantitative maps of metal species from image sequences recorded in the region of the metal 2p edges. Comparisons were made with biochemical characterization of the same region using images recorded at the C 1s and O 1s edges. The method is applied to detailed quantitative analysis of ferrous and ferric iron in a river biofilm, in concert with mapping Ni(II) and Mn(II) species in the same region. The distributions of the metal species are discussed in the context of the biofilm structure. These results demonstrate that soft X-ray STXM measurements at the metal 2p absorption edges can be used to speciate metals and to provide quantitative spatial distribution maps for metal species in environmental samples with 50 nm spatial resolution.     

Vineyard trellising with steel posts distorts data from EM soil surveys

Above‐ground vine trellising distorted patterns of apparent conductivity in a vineyard soil as measured with an EM‐38 electrical conductivity meter. Vineyard trellising was equivalent to vertical shoot positioned (VSP) configuration, with row spacings of 2.5 m, 3.0 m and 3.5 m. Both one dimensional (single, across‐row transect), and two‐dimensional (GPS and multiple transect) EC_a profiles of a single test site were generated under the following vineyard configurations: (i) absence of any trellising (that is bare field), (ii) wooden end posts and steel mid‐row posts only, (iii) wooden/steel posts plus dripper guide‐wire, and (iv) wooden/steel posts plus dripper guide‐wire plus a combination of cordon, gripper and foliage wires. All treatments were applied and then dissembled within a single day. The EC_a profile of the bare site was found to be modified by all subsequent treatments, with the least modification from posts only, and the degree of modification increasing in step with the addition of wires up to the maximum number used. EC_a values were found to increase from a range of 20–50 mS/m for the bare field to a range of 100–130 mS/m for the assembled trellising, with the amount of increase greatest for the smaller row spacing. EC_a values measured in the across‐row transects were elevated everywhere in the inter‐row space with considerably higher values closer to the steel posts and/or wires. Overall, our results suggest that (i) EM‐38 surveys are still likely to be useful for delineating soil zones in established vineyards with trellising comprising steel posts, except for those with row spacings less than 3.0 m; (ii) that extreme care must be exercised by an operator to ensure that the EM‐38 antenna/sensor unit remains mid‐row throughout transects and (iii) that changes in trellising structure and/or row spacing, will introduce artefacts in EM‐38 maps.     

Participatory problem analysis of crop activities in rural Tanzania with attention to gender and wealth: ‘setting the scene’ to enhance relevance and avoid exclusion in pro-poor innovation projects

Many Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) projects continue to treat smallholder farmers as a homogenous social group and ignore the de-facto exclusion of certain subgroups that are hard to reach due to a variety of social, economic or cultural factors. This study took place as a first step in an AR4D project (Trans-SEC) that focussed on innovation testing with smallholder farmers in Central Tanzania. A participatory problem analysis aimed to develop understanding by researchers of the farmers’ crop production system and the local context. A participatory approach was employed to identify the main problems from the perspectives of farmers, giving attention to socio-economic and gender-related differences. Extracting from a larger participatory situation analysis, this paper describes the approach, methods and results of the problem analysis and also incorporates results from a household survey of the key problems faced by different smallholder farmers across four case study sites in the Morogoro and Dodoma regions of Tanzania. Results from the participatory sessions contextualised the quantitative results derived from the concurrent household survey. The paper highlights the critical problematic circumstances of low-income households, which are suffering most from inter-connected problems across their crop activity system. Results point to the problem of a lack of labour and time available to women, especially those heading households or of lower economic status. We argue from these results that intersecting, socially differentiated problem situations are an important consideration in defining relevant points of entry for AR4D projects and for shaping subsequent stages of research design to foster more inclusive, pro-poor processes. We conclude by outlining the benefits and challenges of conducting a participatory situation analysis as a first step in an AR4D project.     

Mapping grapevine vigour,topographic changes and lateral variation in soils

Direct mapping of variability in soils can be a complex, time-consuming and costly process. Consequently, maps of geophysical data such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) are commonly used as proxies for soil maps, and these geophysical maps are most useful if they relate to variations in plant attributes such as grapevine trunk circumference. This article demonstrates that vine trunk circumference in five pinot noir vineyards is primarily influenced by changes in slope, elevation and aspect. Variability in GPR maps shows mixed correlations with vine trunk circumference data. In contrast, multi-frequency EMI surveys yield soil apparent electrical conductivity data that commonly show significant correlations with variations in vine trunk circumference data, especially when coupled with global positioning system surveys, suggesting that this is the preferred geophysical tool for mapping variability in soils.     

Social organization,constraints and opportunities for kitchen garden implementation: ScalA and ScalA-FS assessment tools in Morogoro and Dodoma,Tanzania

Tanzania is the second largest country in East Africa with about 50 million inhabitants in 2014, and it is also considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. The country strongly depends on agriculture production. Like many other poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania sees food security as a central part of development and poverty reduction efforts. This work aims to investigate the opportunities and constraints of implementing a policy of “Kitchen Gardens” as a practice for two regions of Tanzania. The research was carried out with a qualitative approach through a first round of semi-structured interviews using a Scaling up Assessment Tool (ScalA), and a second round with a questionnaire survey, using a Scaling up Assessment Tool for Food Security (ScalA-FS) by Tanzanian and German experts from the Trans-SEC project. The experts assessed implementation suitability and the institutional requirements of Kitchen Garden across the food value chains in two Tanzanian regions with different climate regions, namely Dodoma (semi-arid) and Morogoro (sub-humid). Kitchen Garden assessments did not differ significantly between these regions. The ScalA tools provided a range of statements that allowed an overview of the structural situation to be obtained, which could enable Kitchen Garden activity to be incentivized and scaled up. However, a number of specific aspects, potentials, challenges, and likely bottlenecks of implementation related to their feasibility and institutional requirements, were indicated, which should be carefully monitored during implementation. Adopting the recommended strategies could help to close gaps in implementation, enhance community empowerment and social network development, reduce food insecurity and improve the health of the communities.