Browsing by Author "Raphael, E."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

The contribution of small scale dairy farming to community welfare: A case study of Morogoro Municipality
(eSAP, 2017) Urassa, J. K.; Raphael, E.
A socio-economic survey was conducted in Morogoro Municipality to study the contribution of the small-scale dairy farming to the welfare of the community. The main focus was on the identification of the production level of milk from the dairy cows, amount of income earned by the dairy farmers, items on which income from the dairy enterprise is spent and the constraints faced by the small-scale dairy farmers. A total of thirty seven smallholder dairy farmers from Morogoro Municipality were selected at random and were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Information on daily milk yield per cow and the amount sold by each household was collected through the questionnaire. Information was also collected on the contribution of the dairy enterprise to the family income, level of education of the respondents, employment status of respondents and constraints associated with the dairy enterprise as identified by the farmers. Results from the study show that about two thirds of the respondents had some formal employment and about a quarter (24.3) were involved in business. All the respondents reported the dairy enterprise to be an income supplementing activity to the household. The average milk yield for the respondents ranged between 6-10 litres per cow per day. Average milk production per farmer per day was 22 litres whereas the average daily income earned by the respondents was 3,950/= Tshs. The results from the study show that the dairy enterprise was mainly a male domain (94.6%) whereas only 5.4 percent were women. The major constraints experienced by the respondents in this study were lack of land and high costs of supplementary feeds as reported by 32.4% and 21.6% respectively. Other constraints included, diseases, lack of adequate capital, and theft of animals, milk market and death of animals, which were reported by less than 20% of the respondents. The study observed that income from the dairy enterprise was used to meet costs of various items including; buying food, paying for health services, school fees, purchase of new assets, paying bills for water and electricity and building houses. It can be concluded from this study that small-scale dairy farming has a potential of improving the welfare of households. In order to protect, promote and develop the smallholder dairy enterprise in Morogoro Municipality and elsewhere there is need for the farmers to form co-operative societies, which could assist them to acquire more capital needed in improving dairy production, and also seek markets for their milk. The Government should also improve the infrastructure for milk marketing so that smallscale dairy farming could contribute towards poverty alleviation
Microbiological and chemical characteristics of potable bottled water in Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2017) Raphael, E.
Tanzania has experienced an increase in the consumption of bottled water as a result of the population building trust that it is safer than tap water. It is the interest of public to consume water of high quality both microbiologically and chemically. Due to the fact that bottled water is produced from different geographical regions, it is expected to have different qualities in microbial flora loading, essential elements and heavy metals. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and safety of the bottled water produced from different geographically areas of Tanzania and make recommendations to the public and surveillance authorities. A cross-sectional study in which a total of 15 brands of bottled drinking water manufactured in 10 Regions which constitute four geographical zones of Tanzania were analyzed for microbiological contamination using the membrane filtration method and reported in terms of MPN/100 mls. Also Total Plate Count was done and reported in cfu/ml. Analysis of the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts used the concentration method which consisted of three stages:- concentration, separation and microscopic detection. The Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to determine the concentration of both essential macro elements (Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium) and heavy metal (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic) and the results were expressed in milligram per litre. Total coliform was detected in 2 brands of bottled drinking water from Lake Zone and Eastern Zone, also 10 brands of bottled drinking water from Northern Zone 3 out of 3, Lake zone 3 out of 5, Eastern Zone 2 out of 5 and Southern Highland Zone 2 out of 2 had a total bacterial count loads of above 500 cfu/ml, Eastern zone and Lake Zone each had a bottled drinking water brand exceeding 3 x 105. Cryptosporidium oocysts were not detected in all 15 bottled drinking water brands so complying with the standards. The concentrations of all three elements Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium were very low and statistically significant at a ‘p’ value of 0.05 as compared to their recommended maximum values by TBS which are 250mg/L, 100mg/L and 200mg/L for Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium respectively. Potassium was not compared because up to this moment there is no recommended value provided by TBS/WHO. Another objective was to compare the information displayed on the label if they match with the actual concentration in bottled drinking water. With exception of Magnesium which was statistically different at a ‘p’ value of 0.05, the remaining had no difference with their label. For heavy metals the results show that, the concentrations obtained in all samples were within the legal limits. Microbiologically, all bottled drinking water brands were safe to drink and can be used to process other food. The consumers of bottled water should make sure they do not depend on water to get their essential elements, because it was observed to have very low concentration of macro elements. Other sources of food higher in these elements should be used. The manufacturers of water should make sure that they balance the lost minerals before water is packed for sale.