Welcome to SUAIRE
Sokoine University of Agriculture Institutional Repository (SUA IR). This repository was built and is maintained by the university library (Sokoine National Agricultural Library-SNAL) , in order to collect, preserve and disseminate scholarly output generated by University research community (staff and students) members.
This repository hosts a variety of openly accessible materials including: scholarly articles and books, theses and dissertations, conference proceedings and technical reports. For assistance about depositing your research output in the repository click here. SUA IR Policy click here or any queries contact us at snal@sua.ac.tz.
Communities in SUAIRE
Select a community to browse its collections.
- The Agroforesty Community is a collaborative network dedicated to advancing sustainable land-use practices that integrate trees, crops, and livestock. It serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, research dissemination, and practical innovations in Agroforestry. By fostering connections among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and local communities, the Agroforestry Community promotes environmental conservation, enhanced agricultural productivity, and resilient livelihoods.
Recent Submissions
Analysing urban and peri-urban youth employment in agribusiness in Malawi
(PLOS ONE, 2023) Mkandawire, Dingase; Gbegbelegbe, Sika; Nsenga, Justus V.; Yami, Mastewal; Kenamu, Edwin
The study aims to analyse key determinants of urban and peri-urban youth employment in
agribusiness in Malawi to support youth policies. A mixed-methods approach is used, which
combines both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative method involved a
Bivariate Logit Model and Multinomial Logit Model to analyse nationally representative sur-
vey data from the Fourth Integrated Household Survey in 2016–2017. The qualitative
method employed thematic analysis to data generated through Focus Group Discussions
and Key Informant Interviews for key stakeholders involved in agri-business in Lilongwe dis-
trict. The qualitative analysis, which focuses on a case study for urban and peri-urban youth
in agribusiness, was used to validate, and provide context for the quantitative analysis. The
results revealed that a majority of the urban and peri-urban youth engaged in agribusiness
across Malawi work in sole farming (family farms or ganyu); in addition, women outnumber
men in terms of engagement in agribusiness, and this stems from tradition. In addition, the
determinants that affect youth’s engagement in agribusiness consist of demographic fac-
tors, institutional support, assets, and shocks. It was also shown that men were more likely
than women to be engaged in sole farming, but they were as likely as women to be engaged
in other forms of agribusiness. The policy recommendation from this study is that programs
aimed at supporting youth engagement in agribusiness should consider a variety of factors;
If resources are limited, the programs should ensure that they offer capacity strengthening
for the youth in the form of extension services and practical training in agribusiness.
Resource governance using a hybrid institution in Momba district Tanzania: a process approach
(International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 2021) Mahonge, Christopher Paul; Nsenga, Justus Vincent; Itani, Juichi; Kurosaki, Ryugo
Natural resource governance fragmentation across scales can inhibit coordinated action
and reduce innovation capacity. The presence of bridging actors who connect relevant
stakeholder inside governance networks can aid in the resolution of this problem. In this
regard, community organization is crucial for effective resource governance. Within the
framework of community-based approaches, and using a case study, this study explores
the use of a hybrid institution to organize resource governance in Mfuto village in
Momba district, Tanzania. The authors use hierarchical and co-governance modes of
interactive governance theory to guide the process of data analysis. By applying content
and thematic analyses, our observation suggests that building the capacity of the
institution and linking it to the wider range of stakeholders are essential steps towards
the attainment of anticipated outcomes. Following this, the study highlights four salient
steps of an inverted pyramid model (IPM) and are derived from the resource governance
initiatives. The study’s implications and limitations as well as future research directions
are presented in the concluding section of the study.
Intra-household gender relations and women participation in non-industrial private forestry in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania
(Commonwealth Forestry Association, 2021) Nsenga, J.V.; Mwaseba, D.L.
This paper draws on a study conducted in the selected districts of Iringa and Njombe regions in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania where over
the past decade Non-industrial Private Forestry (NIPF) has emerged involving village-based domestic investors. Data for the study were
largely collected using focus group discussions (FGDs) of men and women tree growers. Data were analysed using content analysis focusing
on the emerging themes, subthemes, and patterns. The paper shows that gender division of labour characterizes silvicultural practices in private
forestry. Men play a key and dominant role in decision making on the allocation of labour and marketing of timber. We argue that, given this
arrangement, as long as men continue to dominate the market sphere, mere ownership of woodlots by women is not a feasible pathway to having
control over income obtained from the sales of timber from their woodlots. To address this, the paper comes up with some recommendations.
The SUA method- the case study from Mbinga
(JICA, 2004) Nsenga J.V.; Mahonge C.P.I.; Mtengeti E.J.; Rutatora D.F.; Tamura K.; Itani J.; Kanda Y.; Araki M.
SCSRD has been involved in developing the “SUA Method” by
putting participation at centre and emphasizes on fieldwork to
understand multiple realities of each location, while aiming at
leading to sustainable rural development. Mbinga District is one
of the project activity sites, and located in the Ruvuma region of
southern Tanzania. While understanding the realities of the
area, SCSRD together with the local government and NGOs,
shared ideas and implemented the activities in the framework of
the Ntambo perspective, as the focal feature which characterizes
Mbinga. In this paper, after the brief introduction of Mbinga and
SCSRD’s approach, two case studies from Kindimba and
Kitanda villages are introduced so as to explain how
characteristics of SUA method are put in practice in real
situation.
Effects of using post-harvest management technologies on household food security in Dodoma region, Tanzania
(African Quarterly Social Science Review, 2025) Mtenga Deodata Vicent; Nsenga Justus Vincent; Kayunze Kim Abel
In Dodoma Region, Tanzania, the adoption of grain post-harvest management technologies remains low despite their importance
for food security. This study, conducted in Kongwa and Chemba Districts between December 2022 and March 2023, analyses
effects of using grain post-harvest management technologies and household food security. The specific objectives were to
determine household food security status, analyse postharvest management technologies used for maize and sorghum, compare
household food security status based on grain post-harvest management technologies used, and determine effects of grain post-
harvest technologies and other factors on chances of being food secure. Data were collected from 384 households using a
questionnaire, a key informant interview guide, and a guide for focus group discussions. They analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics
software to compute descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that 52.1% of households were food insecure based on
grain consumption, and 43.5% were food insecure based on the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Use of
improved post-harvest technologies varied across activities, but no significant food security differences were found between users
and non-users of improved postharvest technologies. However, food security was significantly different between households
whose heads had different levels of education, between households which had different farm sizes, and between smaller and larger
households. Binary logistic regression results showed mixed results that household size had significant negative effect on the
chances of being food secure, based on amounts of grains consumed but that it had insignificant positive effect on the chances of
being food secure, based on HFIAS. Tractor use and group membership had positive significant positive effects on the chances of
being food secure, based on amounts of grains consumed. Processing grains and years of schooling had significant positive effects
on the chances of being food secure, based on HFIAS. It is concluded that working on the variables that had significant negative
effects on the chances of being food secure—household size, age of household head, and land ownership could help increase
chances of smallholder farmers being food secure. Such chances could also be increased by keeping up the variables that had
significant positive effects on the chances of being food secure—tractor use, being members of farmer groups, improved grain
processing means, and education (formal and non-formal). It is recommended to Kongwa and Chemba Districts to promote the
use of postharvest technologies analysed and others that are relevant so that more farmers can use them, thereby improving food
security. Farming households should join farmer groups, and the agricultural extension service should increase provision of
education to farmers on why and how to use the technologies and collaborate with suppliers of the technologies so that they could
supply them at more reasonable prices.