Browsing by Author "Hillary, Mtagulwa Mzee"

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Assessment of women’s productive roles in household food and income and associated factors in Kilindi district, Tanzania
(INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS), 2024) Hillary, Mtagulwa Mzee; Mbwana, Hadijah Ally
Women make up half of the global workforce in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors to provide household food and income. The study aimed to examine women's productive roles in household food and income in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 cropping seasons and associated factors among crop farmers and agro- pastoralists in Kilindi District, Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used in a cross-sectional survey involving 209 crop farmers and 136 agro-pastoralist women, who were selected through multistage random sampling. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 20. The factors associated with women’s productive roles in household food and income were determined by using linear regression and multivariate ordinal logistic regression, respectively. Significance was considered at 5% (P≤0.05). The findings revealed that 40.0% of agro- pastoralists and 44.2% of crop farmer women in the 2020/21 cropping season produced 5–15 sacks of maize. About 10% of both agro-pastoralist and crop farmer women in 2019/20 cropping season earned more than Tsh. 200,000. Women with no formal education among crop farmers (AOR = 2.601, p = 0.023) increased their household incomes two times compared to women with primary education. Women who owned land among agro-pastoralists (AOR = 7.845, p = 0.025) increased household incomes seven times compared to women who did not own land. The age of female crop farmers (p = 0.045) decreased their contribution to the household's food production. Women face challenges in maize farming to support household food and income. This study suggests that women should have access to land, education, credit, and farming technology.
Prevalence of malnutrition and community perceptions of women's barriers to child growth: Case study in Kilindi District, Tanzania
(Tanzania Journal of Health Research, 2025) Hillary, Mtagulwa Mzee; Mbwana, Hadijah Ally
Introduction : Everyday lives of children depend on interactions with their parents, especially on care and feeding practices, which are essential to their development, health, and overall well-being. Objectives: This paper aimed to examine the prevalence of undernutrition and barriers facing women during the growth of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months among crop farmers and agro- pastoralists in Kilindi District. Methods: About 136 agro-pastoralist women and 209 crop farmers were chosen using multistage random sampling and participated in a cross-sectional survey. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the data during the face-to-face interview. A length board and a weighing scale were used to measure length and weight, respectively. IBM SPSS Statistics version 20, NVivo software version 8, and WHO Anthro 3.2.1 were used to analyze the data. Significant differences in the distribution of nutritional status were determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Significance was considered at 5% when P≤0.05. Results: Approximately 94.2% of crop farmers' children and 91.8% of agro-pastoralists' children were breastfed and given complementary food. The main women's barriers to child growth were food insecurity, workload, inadequate health facilities, culture, and inadequate nutritional knowledge. Crop farmers had a higher prevalence of stunting (37.1%), underweight (16.3%), and wasting (7.7%) than agro- pastoralists, who had a prevalence of stunting (28.5%), underweight (13.8%), and wasting (4.4%). Conclusion: The crop farmers' children are more malnourished than agro-pastoralists. Income- generating activities, such as crop and livestock production, adequate health services, labor-saving equipment, and nutritional knowledge, have to be put into consideration by policymakers at the household level in order to improve the nutritional status of children.
Productive and reproductive roles of women and associated factors on the nutritional status of children in Kilindi district, Tanzania
(Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2024) Hillary, Mtagulwa Mzee; Mbwana, Hadijah Ally
Background: The prevalence of stunting can be caused or lessened by the nature of women's productive and reproductive roles. The objective of this study was to examine the risk factors of child stunting based on the productive and reproductive roles of women among crop farmers and agro-pastoralists in Kilindi District. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 209 crop farmers and 136 agro-pastoralist women with children aged 6–23 months was conducted. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information on household demographics; time allocated for reproductive roles, women's involvement in maize farming and sale of maize produce. Anthropometric measurements were taken to determine the nutritional status of children. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. Risk factors of stunting were determined using multivariate logistic regressions. Chi-square was used to determine the relationship between women's involvement in maize farming and the sale of maize in households and stunting. Results: The results from crop farmers revealed that being a male had an increased possibility of stunting by 2.601 times compared to being female (OR = 2.601, 95% CI; 1.302, 5.196). Children aged 13-18 months (OR = 2.820, 95% CI; 1.295, 6.143) and 19-23 months (OR= 4.999, 95% CI; 1.829, 13.664) increased the likelihood of stunting by 2.820 and 4.999 times respectively compared to children aged 6-12 months. Mothers with no formal education augmented the chance of being stunted by 2.212 times compared to mothers with primary education (OR = 2.212, 95% CI; 1.019, 4.799). There is a decreasing probability of children being stunted as time spent on cooking between 21 and 30 hours per week among agro-pastoralist women. Crop farmer women who collected firewood between 11 and 15 hours per week had a 0.205 times lower risk of increasing stunting. Children's age, gender, and mother's level of education all increased the likelihood of stunting among crop farmers. Cooking time (21-30 hours per week) among agro-pastoralists and collection of firewood (11-15 hours per week) among crop farmers had a lower risk of increasing the likelihood of stunting. Nutritional interventions should address maternal education, proper child care, and feeding practices.