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Albeit its critical role in the development of the agriculture sector, the delivery of Extension and Advisory Services (EASs) in Tanzania has remained unsatisfactory and has had a limited impact on the sector. Among others, conventional approaches used in providing EASs have been found inadequate in meeting the priority needs of their clientele. Besides, they tend to demand many frontline extension agents who are few and are unable to serve farmers effectively. Thus, most recently, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to overcome many of the challenges associated with the conventional provision of EASs. As a result, various innovative ICT-based approaches have been blended with conventional EASs to improve the service to clients. These include the use of community radio stations, TV programs, telecentres, Mobile Phones (SMS), and web-based and mobile-based farmers' advisory information systems. This study draws on the work of the ICT-based Village Knowledge Centre (VKC) established in the Rungwe District in Mbeya Region. We explore the experiences of various stakeholders in using the VKC in the delivery of extension services. Challenges hindering the functioning of VKC are highlighted and recommendations to improve the functioning of VKC and consequently, the delivery of EASs are drawn.

In Tanzania, agriculture sector is known for employing more than 70% of the total population. Agriculture sector faces many challenges including climate change. Climate change causes low productivity in agriculture; low productivity is caused due to poor implementation of agricultural policies and strategies. This poor implementation of policies has also caused many farmers to be not competent in climate change adaptation. Over the years, provisions of agricultural advice and extension were provided by various approaches, including training and visit extension, participatory approaches, and farmers' field schools. However, provision of agricultural advisory and extension service is inefficient. Also, in most cases the usage of most agricultural innovations and technologies developed is limited. A literature review indicates that the main reasons given by Tanzanian farmers for not using improved technology are not lack of knowledge or skill, but rather that the technologies do not contribute towards improvements (e.g., the technologies are not profitable or they imply to high risk). Thus, agricultural extension service needs to be geared towards teaching farmers how to develop innovative and cost effective technologies that are contextualized. Limited numbers of agricultural extension staff and less interactivity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as radio and television, have been mentioned to be among the factors limiting the provision of agricultural advisory and extension services to the majority of farmers in Tanzania. The advancements in ICTs have brought new opportunities for enhancing access to agricultural advisory and extension service for climate change adaptation. In Tanzania, farmers and other actors access agricultural information from various sources such as agricultural extension workers and use of various databases from Internet Services Providers. Also there are different web- and mobile-based farmers' advisory information systems to support conventional agricultural extension service. These systems are producing bulk amounts of data which makes it difficult for different stakeholders to make an informed decision after data analysis. This calls for the need to develop a tool for data visualization in order to understand hidden patterns from massive data. In this study, a semi-automated text classification was developed to determine the frequently asked keywords from a web and mobile based farmers' advisory system called "UshauriKilimo" after being in use for more than 2 years by more than 700 farmers.

The ubiquitous nature of mobile phones offers a noble environment where farmers can learn informally anywhere, anytime and at any location. This is an innovative way to address some of the weakness of conventional agricultural extension service. Few empirical studies have reported on the development of mobile phone application to support blended learning for smallholder farming communities in developing countries. This study adopted a participatory action research method to develop innovative communication pathways in dissemination of agricultural information, agricultural knowledge and proven agricultural technologies from either extension agents or agricultural research centres or universities to farmers. The respondents who tested the system were selected random from 19 villages in Kilosa District, Tanzania. The developed systems support blended learning using mobile learning (m-learning) and electronic learning (e-learning). The findings from this study show that the systems can provide innovative mobile agricultural extension service to more than 380 smallholder farmers via web- and mobile-phone-based farmers' advisory information systems.

Suctioning of newborns immediately after birth, as part of delivery room resuscitation, is only recommended if the airway is obstructed. The aim of this study was to describe the use of suctioning during newborn resuscitation among survivors versus those who died within 3 days and potential suction-related heart rate responses and associations to newborn characteristics. This was a retrospective observational study from July 2013 to July 2016 in a referral hospital in rural Tanzania. Research assistants observed and documented all deliveries, newborn resuscitations were video-recorded, and newborn heart rates were captured with a dry-electrode electrocardiogram. Liveborn infants ≥34 weeks gestation who received ventilation and with complete datasets were eligible. All 30 newborns who died were included, and a total of 46 survivors were selected as controls. Videos were annotated and heart rate patterns were observed before and after the suction events. Suctioning was performed more frequently than recommended. No differences were found in suctioning characteristics between newborns who died versus those who survived. In 13% of suction events, a significant heart rate change (i.e., arrhythmia or brief/sustained >15% fall in heart rate) was observed in relation to suctioning. This represents a potential additional harm to already depressed newborns undergoing resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albeit its critical role in the development of the agriculture sector, the delivery of Extension and Advisory Services (EASs) in Tanzania has remained unsatisfactory and has had a limited impact on the sector. Among others, conventional approaches used in providing EASs have been found inadequate in meeting the priority needs of their clientele. Besides, they tend to demand many frontline extension agents who are few and are unable to serve farmers effectively. Thus, most recently, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to overcome many of the challenges associated with the conventional provision of EASs. As a result, various innovative ICT-based approaches have been blended with conventional EASs to improve the service to clients. These include the use of community radio stations, TV programs, telecentres, Mobile Phones (SMS), and web-based and mobile-based farmers' advisory information systems. This study draws on the work of the ICT-based Village Knowledge Centre (VKC) established in the Rungwe District in Mbeya Region. We explore the experiences of various stakeholders in using the VKC in the delivery of extension services. Challenges hindering the functioning of VKC are highlighted and recommendations to improve the functioning of VKC and consequently, the delivery of EASs are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares and contrasts two cases of smallholder-inclusive agricultural investment in Tanzania and investigates the factors that shape their vulnerability and resilience to risks and uncertainties that influence their performance and viability as a development strategy. Drawing on observations and interviews with smallholders, key informants and management and staff of two large-scale rice and sugarcane estates, we discuss how the division of ownership, voice, risks and rewards in these investments affect how small- and large-scale producers negotiate their relationships in practice, highlighting the role of the state and political economy factors in shaping these dynamics. We find that a lack of transparent and reliable policies and mechanisms for governing access to land, resolving contractual disputes, and marketing the crops in question reinforces power asymmetries between the participants, undermining the potential development impacts of both investments. The two estates moreover appear to enjoy different levels of state protection that render their commercial operations more or less vulnerable and resilient to various political and economic risks. We conclude that smallholder-inclusive agro-investments in Tanzania are unlikely to fulfil both a commercial and a development function in the absence of consistent, transparent and enforceable ‘rules of the game’ that incentivize and reward responsible agricultural investment behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article assesses the controversy surrounding a high-profile agricultural investment initiative, the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), which aims to modernise, commercialise, and transform Tanzania’s agricultural sector. Drawing on a review of SAGCOT literature and findings from consultations with SAGCOT stakeholders and intended beneficiaries, the article outlines the polarised narratives of “opportunity” and “risk” informing SAGCOT debates, and presents research findings that challenge these narratives. The findings suggest that agricultural investments are rarely as glamorous or as gloomy in practice as the polarised narratives around SAGCOT suggest, and illustrate the challenges involved in directing agricultural investments in ways that balance multiple interests and objectives in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Agriculture is the back bone of Tanzania's Economy. For it to contribute significantly to the economy, farmers need access to agricultural information and knowledge in timely, complete and quality manner. The traditional practice for delivering agricultural information in Tanzania is mainly through farmer-to-farmer visits, farmers' own experience and extension officers. The practice requires extension officers to visits farmers in order to give advisory services. Thus due to the few number of extension officers, the system is overstretched which necessitates the urgent need to find an alternative method to improve extension services. This paper presents a mobile based Farmers' Advisory Information System (M-FAIS) aimed at improving the coverage of extension services in Tanzania. The philosophy behind this initiative is on capacitating the extension officers to serve many farmers anywhere anytime. The study contributes to the approach for testing complex system in agricultural informatics. The approach integrates the conventional system testing approaches (technology-centric approach) and extends it to include consideration of system usability (user-centric testing approach) prior to system release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agriculture sector is the mainstay of the Tanzanian economy as it contributes 26% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 30 percent of export earnings and provides the bulk of raw materials for local industries. The agriculture sector provides employment to about 75 percent of the total labor force. Access to agricultural information and knowledge is timely, completeness and quality manner is very challenging in developing countries like Tanzania. Farmers in particular, require accurate, quality and timely agricultural information and knowledge regarding farming operations and practices, post harvest processing, marketing and weather forecast (to mention a few) in order to make an informed decision.Traditional practice for delivering agricultural information in Tanzania is through farmer-to-farmer and extension officers. The practice forces extension officers to visit farmers in order to give some advisory services. Thus due to the few number of extension officers the system is overstretched in Tanzania which necessitate the urgent requirement to find alternative method to improve the extension services. This paper presents a prototype of Web-based Farmers' Advisory Information System (FAIS) aimed at improving the coverage of extension services in Tanzania. Thus with the help of FAIS the few extension officers who are present in Tanzania they can serve many farmers at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent food-price crisis has contributed towards a huge increase in the number of hungry people in the world. The main purpose of this article is to use empirical data collected from food-surplus and food-deficit study districts to assess to what degree, and how, high food prices have affected smallholder farmers in Tanzania when it comes to production, income, food security, and livelihood security. The main finding is that some smallholder farmers in the food-surplus study area have benefited from high food prices, but that potential benefits are hampered by a range of factors other than food prices. In the food-deficit study areas, smallholder farmers are worse off due to the increase in food prices. The article discusses lessons learned and considers how smallholder farmers could take better advantage of the food-price increase and thereby improve their livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the nutrient content of foods commonly consumed (especially indigenous ones) in rural communities of Tanzania is limited. A study was conducted to determine the nutrient content of foods commonly consumed in the Iringa and Morogoro regions. A survey was carried out in six representative villages to identify the types of foods and to determine the frequency of their consumption. Representative samples of the raw foods were collected from local markets and brought to the laboratory for analyses. Determination of protein was done by the micro-Kjeldahl method, fat by Soxhlet extraction and moisture by an oven-drying method. The mineral content was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that there is a wide range of foods commonly consumed in the two regions, especially legumes and vegetables. The frequency of consumption depended mainly on the season, whereby during the dry season the frequency of consumption was two to three meals per day and in the rainy season was one to two meals per day. Foods rich in fats were nuts and oil seeds, while good sources of protein included legumes, nuts and oil seeds especially pumpkin seeds, which contained 34.36 g/100 g edible portion. Indigenous vegetables such as mnavu ( Solunum nigrum ), twangabilidiga , mlenda ( Corchorus olitarus ) and mkochwe were rich in iron and calcium, with values as high as 24.78 mg iron in twangalibidiga and 812.41 mg calcium/100 g edible portion in mkunungu . Magnesium was highest in mtosi (288.58 mg) and copper was highest in mkunungu (0.49 mg). Mkochwe contained the highest amount of manganese. This study shows that foods locally produced in these regions are rich in nutrients, especially micronutrients, and therefore if consumed in adequate amounts may help to prevent dietary-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, intrapartum-related complications account for approximately 2 million perinatal deaths annually. Adequate skills in neonatal resuscitation are required to reduce perinatal mortality. NeoNatalie Live is a newborn simulator providing immediate feedback, originally designed to accomplish Helping Babies Breathe training in low-resource settings. The objectives of this study were to describe changes in staff participation, skill-training frequency, and simulated ventilation quality before and after the introduction of "local motivators" in a rural Tanzanian hospital with 4000–5000 deliveries annually. Midwives (n = 15–27) were encouraged to perform in situ low-dose high-frequency simulation skill-training using NeoNatalie Live from September 2016 through to August 2018. Frequency and quality of trainings were automatically recorded in the simulator. The number of skill-trainings increased from 688 (12 months) to 8451 (11 months) after the introduction of local motivators in October 2017. Staff participation increased from 43% to 74% of the midwives. The quality of training performance, measured as "well done" feedback, increased from 75% to 91%. We conclude that training frequency, participation, and performance increased after introduction of dedicated motivators. In addition, the immediate constructive feedback features of the simulator may have influenced motivation and training quality performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]