Browsing by Author "Graef, Frieder"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Agri-food value chains upgrading strategies choices: A participatory smallholder farmer centred approach
    (Trans-SEC, 2015) Mwinuka, Lutengano; Mutabazi, Khamaldin Daud; Graef, Frieder; Maeda, Claude; Makoko, Bashir; Swai, Elirehema
    Participatory situation analysis of existing food value chains (FVCs) has been done by screening and identifying most important commodity FVCs in the target Case Study Sites (CSS). This helps identifying constraints and potential food securing upgrading strategies, and linking food insecure households to the market. The upgrading strategies selected would then be adapted to the local needs of food insecure households for sustainably improve their livelihoods.
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    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
    (Springer, 2017) Graef, Frieder; Uckert, Götz; Schindler, Jana; König, Hannes Jochen; Mbwana, Hadijah A.; Fasse, Anja; Mwinuka, Lutengano; Mahoo, Henry; Kaburire, Laurent N.; Saidia, Paul; Yustas, Yusto Mugisha; Silayo, Valerian; Makoko, Bashir; Kissoly, Luitfred; Lambert, Christine; Kimaro, Anthony; Sieber, Stefan; Hoffmann, Harry; Kahimba, Frederick C.; Mutabazi, Khamaldin D.
    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.
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    ScalA-FS: expert-based ex-ante assessments of local requirements and success potential of upgrading strategies for improving food security in rural Tanzania
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2018) Uckert, Götz; Graef, Frieder; Faße, Anja; Herrmann, Ludger; Hoffmann, Harry; Kahimba, Frederick C; Kissoly, Luitfred; König, Hannes J; Lambert, Christine; Mahoo, Henry; Makoko, Bashir; Mrosso, Leon; Mutabazi, Khamaldin D; Mwinuka, Lutengano; Schäfer, Meike P; Schindler, Jana; Sieber, Stefan; Swai, Elirehema; Yustas, Yusto M
    Enhancing food security is the main goal of subsistence farmers, who are vulnerable to food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. Participatory research across food value chains (FVC) can help stabilize and enhance food security by developing upgrading strategies (UPS). However, prior to successful widespread adoption and geographical upscaling, such practices need in-depth understanding of their suitability in target areas and their particular local requirements. Ex-ante assessments of selected UPS were carried out by German and Tanzanian agricultural scientists using the BScalA-FS^ tool. The participating experts included those responsible for implementation. The tool aims to systematically evaluate, at the community level, UPS that have been success- fully implemented elsewhere, evaluate their potential for dissemination, and identify entry points for adjustments during imple- mentation. Assessment indicators were developed through a participatory process. UPS relate to a) natural resource management and crop production; b) food processing and bioenergy; c) income generation and market participation; and d) food consumption. Here we present the ScalA-FS assessment results on UPS suitability as well as on its implementation requirements. We focused on the local context needed to enable a productive collaboration between smallholder farmers and implementing research and/or development organizations. Implementation requirements for the selected UPS were assessed as generally low to medium, and projected suitability in most cases was high. Local knowledge and education (human capital) along with visible success after a short time were important criteria of success of UPS. Here, careful consideration of the challenges before and after implemen- tation of UPS is suggested. ScalA-FS should be applied early in the implementation process of UPS in order to support adaptations and successful upscaling at other locations.
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    Simulated willingness of farmers to adopt fertilizer micro-dosing and rainwater harvesting technologies in semi-arid and sub-humid farming systems in Tanzania
    (Springer, 2017) Mwinuka, Lutengano; Mutabazi, Khamaldin Daud; Graef, Frieder; Sieber, Stefan; Makindara, Jeremia; Kimaro, Anthony; Uckert, Götz
    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.