Browsing by Author "Mhando, D. G."

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Accessibility and utilization of agricultural information among women farmers: the case of Korogwe District, Tanzania
(2010) Mniambo, B. D.; Mattee, A. Z.; Mhando, D. G.
This study was conducted in Korogwe district involving 100 women farmers randomly selected from four villages. Household data was collected using a structured questionnaire, and supplemented by interviews for key informants and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyse the data. The findings showed that education, age, extension services, and mass media determine the access and utilization of agricultural information. Furthermore, low production was due to lack of extension services, low education of the respondents, inability to access credit and unawareness of sources of information. Moreover, sources of agricultural information such as extension services, mass media, and farmers' own efforts have a direct linkage with the accessibility to agricultural information. The study recommends that efforts to increase farmers' access to agricultural information should be improved. There is a need of improving extension services so as to reach and benefit women farmers. Vugiri ward is located in the highlands that are vulnerable to soil erosion which contributed to poor crop production, hence efforts should be made to introduce soil management practices so as to arrest the situation and increase crop production.
Forage availability and its quality in the dry season on smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania
(2008) Mtengeti, E. J.; Phiri, C. H.; Urio, N. A.; Mhando, D. G.; Mvena, Z.; Ryoba, R; Mdegela, R. H.; Singh, B. R.; Mo, M.; Wetlesen, A.; L⊘rken, T.; Reksen, O.
The study was conducted on smallholder dairy farmers in Tanzania. A number of forage species and feed supplements were collected and analysed. Panicum maximum and P. purpureum constituted the bulky forage in about 20 and 11 households, respectively. The crude protein (CP) content of P. maximum and P. purpureum ranged from 6.5 to 8.5% and 7.8 to 10.2% while in vitro dry matter digestibility ranged from 44 to 50 and 48 to 51%, respectively. The mineral content of these two grasses were adequate for Ca but 95% of the forages were deficient in Cu and Zn and 84% in P. The CP content of multipurpose tree leaf was 3 4 times higher than that of grasses. In conclusion, the study revealed that dairy farmers depended solely on natural grasses and crop residues, which are low in CP, digestibility and mineral content.