Browsing by Author "Ndumbaro, Faraja"

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    Channels used to deliver agricultural information and knowledge to smallholder farmers
    (SAGE Pub, 2019) Ndimbwa, Tumpe; Mwantimwa, Kelefa; Ndumbaro, Faraja
    This study examined the effectiveness of the channels used to deliver agricultural information and knowledge to smallholder farmers in Tanzania. A descriptive cross-sectional design longside quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to collect data from 341 respondents. While the data collected through the questionnaire was analysed by using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 21, the data collected through the interview was analysed by using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that delivery of and access to timely and relevant agricultural information and knowledge, appropriately packaged, is one of the critical problems undermining smallholder farmers’ efforts to increase their production. As a result, most smallholder farmers mainly depend on informal channels. Besides informal channels, farmer groups and demonstration plots are becoming popular channels to deliver and access agricultural information and knowledge. To make a difference in agricultural production, deliberate efforts should be made to enhance the delivery of agricultural information and knowledge.
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    Delivery mechanisms of agricultural information and knowledge to smallholder farmers in Tanzania: A meta–analysis study
    (UDSM, 2019) Ndimbwa, Tumpe; Ndumbaro, Faraja; Mwantimwa, Kelefa
    Regardless of concerted interventions and initiatives made to foster agricultural information and knowledge delivery to smallholder farmers, access to these resources remains largely poor in rural Tanzania. To gain insights, the present study examined the delivery mechanisms of agricultural knowledge among smallholder farmers in Tanzania. The study employed a meta-analysis approach where 20 extant studies on agricultural information and knowledge in Tanzania were reviewed. During data analysis, Microsoft Excel 2010 was used to perform descriptive statistics analyses. The study’s findings reveal that there are various sources and delivery mechanisms of agricultural information and knowledge to the smallholder farmers in Tanzania. The findings further expose that there is no consensus on channels that are most suitable for delivering these resources to rural areas. While some prior studies show mass media as predominant sources, others inform that oral information and knowledge delivery mechanism are a prime sources and channels. Besides, the study reveals that rural Tanzania is not immune to factors that constrain delivery of agricultural information and knowledge. Factors like lack of communication tools, illiteracy, irrelevance of content, packaging information using languages farmers are not conversant with, lack of power supply, and limited income limit information and knowledge delivery and access. To speed up agricultural information and knowledge penetration to smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania, farmers groups, demonstration plots, farmers’ field study tours, agricultural shows and NGOs are recommended as sources and channels.