Moshi Co-operative University (MoCU)

This study explored the impact of Cooperative Education and Training (CET) on the performance of Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) in Ukerewe and Sengerema districts, Tanzania, using the qualitative approach. The study sample consisted of 64 respondents who were selected using purposive sampling. Respondents were members of AMCOS in Ukerewe and Sengerema districts. Data was analyzed using qualitative thematic approach. The study revealed that CET has a positive impact toward effective implementation of set goals in cooperative organizations. The education helps leaders of the AMCOS to know the direction in which the organization should move. It is therefore concluded that without CET, cooperative organizations under investigation would have lost their direction. The study recommends that cooperative organizations should prioritize CET to help members understand their rights and responsibilities and improve the organization’s performance. Leaders of cooperative organizations should take CET seriously to ensure that the organizations move in the right direction. Cooperative societies should periodically evaluate the effectiveness of their education and training programs so as to identify areas that need improvement and to ensure that the programs meet the needs.

Purpose: Satisfaction of members with services offered by co-operatives is key for a co-operative success. However, it remains questionnable whether co-operatives have really achieved their expected objectives. This paper analysed the determinants of farmers’ satisfaction with access to services offered by Irish Potato Farmer Co-operatives in Northern and Western Provinces of Rwanda. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employed descriptive design in cross-sectional research. Data were analysed descriptively and inferentially. Service accessibility level among Irish potato farmers was measured by developing an index. In assessing the level of farmers’ satisfaction, satisfaction index was adapted. Demographic and socio-economic factors influencing farmers’ satisfaction with Irish potato farming services were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Findings: The regression results indicate that only gender, primary occupation, livestock ownership, and co-operative membership significantly affected farmers’ satisfaction with co-operative services. Findings reported a low level of farmers’ satisfaction with farming services, and co-operatives in the study area failed to resuscitate their activities, forcing some farmers’ exit from Irish potato farming activities.Practical Implications: The findings of this study generate facts to inform IPFCs, community development partners, and policymakers about farmers’ satisfaction with co-operative services and how they should be improved. In addition, the paper contributes to the literature by analyzing farmers’ accessibility to farming services and satisfaction with co-operative services in developing countries.Originality/Value: This paper took a holistic perspective to cover all services that members expect from their co-operatives.KeywordsCo-operativeCo-operative servicesFarmersSatisfactionIrish potatoRwanda

Agripreneurship as one of the means to ensure food security in Tanzania has received scant attention. This study bridges the knowledge gap by showing the state of the art on agripreneurship and food security in Tanzania, research themes and new developments on the two concepts, showing literature gaps and practise on the concepts, and showing how agripreneurship is a solution to food insecurity in Tanzania. Herein, a total of 61 articles retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science databases on the themes of agripreneurship and food security were reviewed. This study has demonstrated agripreneurship techniques can be a solution to food security by ensuring food availability, accessibility, and affordability. Thus, it is recommended to the policymakers that they formulate a policy that focuses on both supply-side and demand-side factors. Furthermore, agripreneurs are urged to update their knowledge and skills so that they can access timely information through ICT tools, mostly TV, radio, and phone.

The rationality of the decision to use health insurance depends on the individuals' level of health insurance literacy (HIL). HIL facilitates health information-seeking behaviour among individuals and helps providers and intermediaries offer clients timely and suitable health insurance. This study adopted the institutional theory of organisations as the theoretical lens to analyse the relationship between HIL and participation in health insurance amongst members of co-operatives. The study also assessed the moderation effect of co-operative institutions' capabilities on the relationship between HIL and participation in health insurance among co-operative members. Using the sample of 480 co-operative members, partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test for the direct influence of HIL on participation in Ushirika Afya health insurance and the moderation role of co-operative institutions' capabilities in this relationship. Findings indicate that HIL is a significant factor influencing participation in health insurance, particularly in Ushirika Afya. On the moderation effect, the link between HIL and participation in Ushirika Afya health insurance is strong when the co-operative institutions' capabilities level is high. It weakens when the institutions' capabilities level is low. For sustainable participation in health insurance among co-operative members, it is crucial to formulate awareness programmes and continuous training to increase HIL. Moreover, to build strong co-operative institutional capabilities, there is a need to increase initiatives in such aspects as management training in various dimensions relating to health insurance operations.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that persists in environment, bio-accumulate through the food chain and can exhibit toxic effects with threatening effects to environment, humans and animals. Due to their volatility and semi-volatility, they are found in the air and they have potential of being transported to high altitude mountain locations as well as to high latitude areas. The objectives of this study have been to look into environmental and health impact of the POPs, studies that have covered the transport of the POPs through atmospheric air, water and other POPs sources such as sediments and soils. Thirdly to look into possible solutions that has been put forward regarding POPs removal from the environment. The methodology that was used to look for the references were through the Google, PUBMED, Google Scholar and Research-gate. Initial search retrieved 63 peer reviewed articles and abstracts. The studies revealed that POPs are still in the environment causing health effects through their toxicity. The sources of POPs in humans and animals is through food chain and lipophilic nature of the compounds. Solutions that have been put forward by the studies are: Stop using POPs, substitute POPs with non-toxic chemical compounds and have a wide range of non-chemical alternatives.

Handheld optical sensor was used to measure canopy reflectance at red region (656 nm) and near-infrared region (774 nm) to generate NDVI data for monitoring rice productivity under soil amendment with combinations of fertilizers at two levels of water regime in smallholder Irrigation Scheme, in Lower Moshi, North Tanzania. The study was carried out in an experimental design which consisted of two irrigation water levels (flooding and system of rice intensification) with multi-nutrients (NPK) and single nutrient (urea) application replicated three times in a randomized complete block design. Flood irrigation water was applied at 7 cm height throughout the growing season, while SRI treatment irrigation water was applied at 4 cm height under alternate wetting and drying conditions. The annual rates of fertilizers applied was 120 kg N/ha, 20 kg P/ha, and 25 kg K/ha. The variety SARO-5 was used in this experiment. Simple correlation coefficient (r) was used to measure the degree of association between field crop performance parameters (plant height, number of tillers, biomass, yield) and NDVI across growth stages and three positions of the sensor above the canopy in the tested fertilizer combinations and water regimes. Results show that at any given fertiliser combinations and water levels, there was no significant correlation between plant height and NDVI except for the plant height at a vegetative stage for 0.6 m above the crop canopy and booting stage at 0.3 m and 0.6 m above the canopy, respectively (P < 0.05). A good correlation was also observed between NDVI at booting and full booting stage regardless of the position of the sensor above the canopy and the number of tillers at full booting growth stage (P < 0.05). A significant relationship was observed between rice grain yield and NDVI at the vegetative, booting, and full booting stage. The simple linear regression models explained only slightly < 30% of the yield predictions by NDVI at the early stage of the crop growth, decreasing gradually to 5% at the full booting growth stage. Results demonstrate a positive linear relationship between rice grain yield and NDVI for the tested soil fertiliser amendments and irrigation water regimes. Thus, we conclude that handheld NDVI-based sensor can be used in smallholder rice yield predictions for optimising soil fertiliser use and irrigation water management. This allows future multi-functional land management within the soil–water-food nexus.

This paper examines the influence of perceived university and institutional support on business start-up intentions using empirical data collected from 391 technical graduates in Tanzania. Specifically, the paper examines the influence of perceived educational, concept, and business development support on business start-up intentions and the mediating effect of institutional support on the hypothesized relationships. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the influence of perceived university support on business start-up intentions and the mediating effect of institutional support on the hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that concept development and institutional support significantly influenced business start-up intentions. However, institutional support partially mediated the influence of perceived university support on business start-up intentions through concept development support but fully mediated through educational and business development support. Conclusively, institutional support matters a lot if colleges and universities are to properly groom and orient graduates towards business start-ups. Technical colleges and universities should employ experiential pedagogical methods while designing tailor-made business development services to equip graduates with know-how and hands-on skills to enhance their potential to venture into business start-ups.

This paper investigates the relationship between supplier development and procurement performance in the public sector. Furthermore, the paper examines the moderating role of contract management difficulty on the relationship between supplier development and procurement performance. Using cross-sectional data collected from 179 public procuring entities, the main findings of the study are two-fold. Firstly, the relationship between supplier development and procurement performance in public sector is positive and significant (β = 0.2343 and p = 0.0014). Also, contract management difficulty negatively and significantly moderates the relationship between supplier development and procurement performance (β = −0.1447 and p = 0.0190). In this aspect, the influence of supplier development on procurement performance is negatively affected by contract management difficulties. The study contributes to the supplier management, procurement performance, and contract management literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of supplier development on procurement performance in developing countries like Tanzania. Also, the conditional effects of contract management difficulty on the relationship between supplier development and procurement performance matter. The study’s findings have important implications for procurement practitioners in the public sector and policy makers.

This paper examines the effect of innovativeness and proactiveness on export performance and the moderating effect of risk-taking on the relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness, and export performance. A quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional survey design were employed. In addition, stratified random sampling was employed to obtain data from 250 managers of manufacturing-exporting SMEs. Hypotheses were examined using the PROCESS macro test. The findings affirm that innovativeness is a significant predictor of export performance (β = 0.3854 and p

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between financial leverage and financial performance of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Tanzania (SACCOS). The study used a panel data set of 115 SACCOS in Tanzania in the period 2011–14 and fixed-effects models for analysis. The study considered the direct relationship between financial leverage and financial performance and the moderating effect of board meetings on the relationship between financial leverage and the SACCOS’s financial performance. The results show that financial leverage is negatively and significantly related to SACCOS financial performance. Also, board meetings have the significant and positive moderating effect on the financial leverage–financial performance relationship. Finally, the study suggests that SACCOS in Tanzania need to embrace more on mobilising internal funds from their members instead of relying on debt. This can reduce the dependence on debt which has been one of the operational costs’ drivers of the SACCOS in Tanzania.

The purpose of the study was to establish the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for the primary Agricultural Marketing Co-operatives Societies (AMCOS) at Rombo District in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed to establish factors that members perceive to be critical to their success, and to assess their contribution to the AMCOS performance. The study identified factors through intensive literature review, then refining them before testing them through survey to members and employed survey by distributing 334 questionnaires to members to the AMCOS that have the autonomy to do business directly without dependingon their umbrella institutions. Qualitative data were also used in order to validate the quantitative data. Data from survey were analysed by factor analysis in order to have factors which were mostly accepted by the AMCOS members. After categorising the factors obtained from the factor analysis, regression analysis was conducted to assess their influence on the performance. Qualitative data were analysed using content Analysis by the help of ATLAS Software. The study established Eleven (11) CSFs that were categorised into: commitment (use of personal skills, members’ control and promotion), governance (measurement system, governance structure, leadership support, and transparency), strategy (self-evaluation, objective development, strategy focused, living the vision of the institution). The study found the CSFs to have positive significant influence on the primary AMCOS performance. The study concludes that members of the primary AMCOS do have their common factors which they believe to be key for the success of their institutions, that affect positively the performance of their cooperatives. The study recommends that, the CSFs suggested by the members should be given priority in any decision that is intended to affect the cooperatives that can be easily translated according to their expectations to have strong institutions.

The study is aimed at examining how institutional arrangement factor fosters service delivery systems, specifically how By-laws, Acts and Policies influence service delivery. A cross-sectional research design was used for the study. The study was conducted in Dodoma City as well as Kongwa and Chamwino District councils in Dodoma Region using a sample of 399 village council and street committee members. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used in data analysis in order to determine the influence of institutional arrangement factors on local government authorities’ service delivery. The study established that By-laws, Acts and Policies were positive predictors of institutional arrangements towards service delivery. Compliance with institutional arrangements increases the propensity of LGAs to serve the citizens in an efficient manner. Based on the conclusions, it was recommended that by-laws should be provided to citizens and all service delivery potential actors in LGAs. The approved national education and health policies and Acts need to be available and accessible to lower local government authorities in order to maintain the facilitation effects of institutional arrangement for sustainable LGA service delivery.

Cash Transfers (CT) as a strategy for poverty reduction acquired prominence in Latin America but spread later to the rest of the developing world including Tanzania. Government through its umbrella institution, Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) introduced what has become the largest CT for poor households in the country since 2010 to date. Although there is growing evidence on the impact of CT on poverty reduction, results are contextual. Thus, the paper examined the causal effect of CT on poverty reduction in Lindi District, Tanzania. Specifically, the study assessed the impact of CT on households’ overall wealth, housing conditions, use of basic services, productive and non-productive assets. The study employed Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to estimate the effects of CT on households by matching recipients and non-recipients’ households using Nearest Neighbor, Radius caliper and Mahalanobis matching techniques. Sample size constituted 398 respondents, split into equal number of recipients and non-recipients’ households. Five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 13 Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) were conducted. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. Findings indicated that CT to poor households by itself is not enough to significantly reduce extreme poverty. However, the results indicated significant effect of CT on five poverty indicators which are type of floor, sanitation facilities, livestock, mobile phone and chair. The study recommends to government adoption of multi-intervention programs directed on key living standard indicators such as productive assets to transform the quality of low-income households.

This study assessed the spatial and non-spatial patterns of household fuel choice and the factors influencing choices using data from rural and urban areas of Maswa District, Tanzania. Household spatial information was collected using a handheld Garmin Trex Global Positioning System to enable modeling and visualiza-tion of energy consumption. The Hot Spot Analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*) method was used to map the clusters of different types of cooking fuels. The non-spatial data were fitted to a Multinomial Logit model to estimate the significance of the factors that influence the choice of cooking fuels. A transition from traditional to modern fuels as explained in the "energy ladder" model suggests that with increasing affluence, a progression is expected from traditional biomass fuels to more advanced and less polluting fuels. Contrary to this model, however, multiple-fuel use or fuel stacking was more prevalent than fuel switching. Fuel stacking constituted traditional (firewood, 63.9% of the households), transitional (charcoal, 66.6%), and modern (kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and electricity, 25.4%) fuels. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were essential in household fuel choices. Overall, biofuels are the most common energy sources both in rural and urban areas, albeit at a varying degree of magnitude and significance. These results suggest the need to increase the production of biomass resources and end-use efficiency while promoting the use of clean fuels.

This study assessed the Cash Transfer (CT) effect on food demand and its implications on food security in Lindi District using Almost Ideal Demand Framework. The study employed the Instrumental Variable (IV) technique. To gather households’ information, a questionnaire was administered to 398 households, apportioned to two groups of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries’ households using the ratio of 1:1. Five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 14 Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Findings indicated that CT has effect on demand for roots and tubers, cereals and vegetables. Roots and tubers and cereals are staple foods in Lindi district, implying that, as the income rises, poor households demand for staple food together with its side dishes tend to increase. This increase on demand had no significant effect on reduction of food insecurity. Therefore, to further increase food demand and ultimately reduce food insecurity, the study recommends TASAF to increase the amount of money given to poor households and introduce food schemes that directly focused on tackling food insecurity.

The book “The Environmental Questions in Global Economics: The African Story” was written by Adela Barungi. The book focuses on global economics and trade policies while revealing the extent to which it has affected the African continent. The author analyzed the current crises of the environment in Africa in the historical processes of Western exploitation and underdevelopment of the continent. The author argued that Africa had assumed an environment greatly shaped by Western values. To concretize what is discussed in the book, Uganda is taken as an example of a third-world country that is environmentally affected by global economic and trade policies.

Foods from unripe cereals, such as pepeta, i.e., a flakes prepared in Tanzania from immature rice, are popular. However, factors determining sensory quality of these immature rice flakes are inadequately characterised. In this study, grain size, colour, and volatile compounds of immature rice destined for pepeta production were investigated at different maturity stages (i.e., dough-grain, mature-grain, fully-ripe, and over-ripe) and processing conditions (i.e., roasting at 80, 100 and 120 °C, with and without prior to water-soaking for 12 h at room temperature). The highest brightness, lowest redness and yellowness values in pepeta resulted from the pounding process. About 53 volatile compounds were identified in Lawama and TXD306 variety; their concentrations decreased as grain matured except for Lawama at the mature-grain stage. Odour-active compounds such as 2-isopropyl-5-methyl-1-heptanol, butyl acetate, and butyl propionate were formed upon processing into pepeta, whereas abundant 2-pentyl-furan and 2-methoxy-4-vinyl phenol significantly increased with roasting temperature. No characteristic volatile pattern was observed to differentiate pepeta from other processed rice products. Soaking before roasting had no significant (p < 0.05) effect on grain size, colour, or volatile compounds. Degree of maturity and roasting temperature both had impact on colour and volatile compounds, and subsequent sensory quality of the pepeta product.

Most rural Tanzanians have had no access to electricity. But efforts have been made to remedy this, including an extension of the national grid and the establishment of independent power plants in rural areas. The result is a recordable increase of people with access to electricity; however, the realization of reliable power for both consumers and suppliers has remained a puzzle. This paper out to examine the reliability of rural electricity systems based on consumer measures; to find out determinants for system reliability; and examine how outage incidences exacerbate households’ expenditure on backup fuels. Reliability was assessed through a stepwise approach, where a general system reliability index and trend analysis were used. It was found that system reliability was enhanced because consumers only spent 6–15 days per year without electricity due to outages. These are tolerable outages, given the volatility of the rural system. Further, weather, fire outbreaks in bushes, and lightning, significantly determined system reliability. Nonetheless, despite the reasonable reliability, some outage incidences had dragged consumers into unplanned expenditure on backup fuel. It is recommended that there should be a continuous inspection of the system, and the use of supervisory control and data acquisition device on the distribution line for accurate monitoring is imperative.