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

Graef, Frieder; Uckert, Götz; Schindler, Jana; König, Hannes; Mbwana, Hadijah A.; Faße, Anja; Mwinuka, Lutengano; Mahoo, H. F.; Kaburire, Laurent N.; Saidia, Paul Sabas; Yustas, Yusto Mugisha; Silayo, V.C.K.; Makoko, Bashir; Kissoly, Luitfred; Lambert, Christine; Kimaro, Anthony A.; Sieber, Stefan; Hoffmann, H.; Kahimba, Frederick C.; Mutabazi, Khamaldin D.

doi:10.1007/s12571-016-0639-x

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Farm technologies are output-increasing in nature. The observed impacts are supported by the recent literature and ex-ante approaches of various technologies along the agri-food value chain [33].…”

Section: Fertilizer Microdosing Impact On Price Yields and Welfaresupporting

confidence: 67%

Fostering Fertilizer Use and Welfare Distribution in Tanzania: Implications for Policy and Practice

Mwinuka¹

2018

Soil Productivity Enhancement

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This chapter attempts to assess the way the welfare effect is distributed among various players of the fertilizer supply chain and how fertilizer use can be promoted using micro fertilization technology. As policy debates over fertilizer use promotion have not yet come full circle, this chapter derives important implications for policy and practice. In particular, illustrations and economic-surplus effects framework were used to indicate expected impacts of fertilizer microdosing on crop yields and welfare. Lowdimension diagrammatic analysis using supply and demand curves was used together with detailed assessment of actors' interactions in the fertilizer supply chain. In terms of welfare, crop producers, consumers and other market agents gain more if fertilizer microdosing is adopted by farmers. However, the magnitude of welfare effects varies as the slope of demand and supply curves change due to marginal fertilizer costs, crop prices and yield responses. Other influencing factors are soil moisture, the microdose rate, cropping system and general farm management practices. Thus, fertilizer microdosing can easily foster fertilizer use if the country elites implement a rational consistent policy, hence improving the welfare of players if adoption of the technology is reinforced with an efficient fertilizer supply chain.

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Section: Fertilizer Microdosing Impact On Price Yields and Welfaresupporting

confidence: 67%

Fostering Fertilizer Use and Welfare Distribution in Tanzania: Implications for Policy and Practice

Mwinuka¹

2018

Soil Productivity Enhancement

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“…This background was confirmed in an extensive survey carried out in Tanzania by the Trans-SEC Project (Innovating Strategies to Safeguard Food Security using Technology and Knowledge Transfer: A People-Centred Approach) (Below et al 2015;Graef et al 2014Graef et al , 2017Löhr et al 2016;Mutabazi et al 2015). The major constraints facing the Tanzanian agricultural sector are the reduction in the available labor force, low land productivity due to the application of poor technologies, and dependence on unreliable and irregular weather (Mmbaga and Lyamchai 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Our assessment was done for the Dodoma region of Tanzania, as part of the activities of the Trans-SEC Project (see Graef et al 2017). The study region lies between latitudes 5°50′S to 6°10′S and between longitudes 35°40′E to 36°05′E, at an elevation of 1020 m above sea level.…”

Section: Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the nature of African agriculture, where a large proportion of farmers are smallholders and subsistence-based, it is essential to invest in and develop accessibility to quality inputs, markets for produce, good soils and soil management techniques, innovative finance tools and other resources that are needed for sustained agricultural production (Graef et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is dry soil planting an adaptation strategy for maize cultivation in semi-arid Tanzania?

et al. 2017

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Agriculture has the greatest potential to lift the African continent out of poverty and alleviate hunger. Among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania has an abundance of natural resources and major agricultural potential. However, one of the most important constraints facing Tanzania's agricultural sector is the dependence on unreliable and irregular weather, including rainfall. A strategy to cope with climate uncertainty in semi-arid regions is to proceed with the sowing of the crop before the onset of the rainy season. The advantage is that when the rains start, seeds are already in the soil and can begin immediately the process of germination. The objective of this paper was to assess the effectiveness of dry-soil planting for maize as an adaptation strategy in the context of a changing climate in Dodoma, a semi-arid region in Tanzania. For this assessment, the DSSAT crop model was used in combination with climate scenarios based on representative concentration pathways. A probability of crop failure of more than 80% can be expected when sowing occurs during the planting window (of 21 days) starting on 1st November. The next planting window we assessed, starting on 23rd November (which was still before the onset of rain), presented significantly lower probabilities of crop failure, indicating that sowing before the onset of the rainy season is a suitable adaptation strategy. Results also indicated that, despite not reaching the highest maize grain yields, fields prepared for dry-soil planting still produced adequate yields. The cultivation of several fields using the dry planting method is a strategy farmers can use to cope with low rainfall conditions, since it increases the chances of harvesting at least some of the cultivated fields. We conclude that dry-soil planting is a feasible and valid technique, even in scenarios of climate change, in order to provide acceptable maize yields in semi-arid Tanzania.

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“…Declining natural resources and climate change are the major challenges to crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan African countries [32]. Silungwe et al [25] reviewed 187 papers focused on crop upgrading strategies (UPS) for improving rainfed cereals yields in semi-arid areas.…”

Section: Overview Of This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Water Conservation: Dynamics and Impact

Prima

Castellini

Pirastru

et al. 2018

Water

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Human needs like food and clean water are directly related to good maintenance of healthy and productive soils. A good understanding of human impact on the natural environment is therefore necessary to preserve and manage soil and water resources. This knowledge is particularly important in semi-arid and arid regions, where the increasing demands on limited water supplies require urgent efforts to improve water quality and water use efficiency. It is important to keep in mind that both soil and water are limited resources. Thus, wise use of these natural resources is a fundamental prerequisite for the sustainability of human societies. This Special Issue collects 15 original contributions addressing the state of the art of soil and water conservation research. Contributions cover a wide range of topics, including (1) recovery of soil hydraulic properties; (2) erosion risk; (3) novel modeling, monitoring and experimental approaches for soil hydraulic characterization; (4) improvement of crop yields; (5) water availability; and (6) soil salinity. The collection of manuscripts presented in this Special Issue provides more insights into conservation strategies for effective and sustainable soil and water management.

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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

Cited by 25 publications

References 39 publications

Fostering Fertilizer Use and Welfare Distribution in Tanzania: Implications for Policy and Practice

Fostering Fertilizer Use and Welfare Distribution in Tanzania: Implications for Policy and Practice

Is dry soil planting an adaptation strategy for maize cultivation in semi-arid Tanzania?

Soil Water Conservation: Dynamics and Impact

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