Hosea Mpogole

Malnutrition among children of school-going age is a challenge of serious concern in developing countries especially Sub-Saharan Africa. Many programs focus on mothers and under-5-year-old children, leaving the school going age unattended. It has been shown that school meals can reduce school absenteeism, improve concentration in class and reduce early dropouts. In Tanzania, successful home-grown school feeding programs are localized in few areas but have not been scaled-out. The objective of this study was to analyze the policy and organizational environment which enables or promotes home-grown school feeding approaches. The study consisted of a systematic review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions in Arumeru and Babati Districts, Tanzania. In total, 21 key informant interviews with 27 participants and 27 focus group discussions with 217 participants were conducted. The results show that Tanzania lacks a clear policy on school feeding; there are no guidelines for ...

Inadequately planned transport systems result to traffic congestion, a challenge that has for long been a thorn in Dar es Salaam, the city most affected in Tanzania. Although traffic congestion has been a major concern in Dar es Salaam, marked reluctance has been noticed in taking measures towards a lasting solution thus, it is of diminutive surprise that limited studies and documentations on the same are in existence. Therefore, this study assesses traffic congestion in Dar es Salaam and particularly its implications for workers’ productivity. Travel time and productivity indexes were established from a sample of 96 workers who used public transport along Morogoro and Mandela Roads. Travel time index (TTI) is the ratio of the average travel time during peak period to the travel time during off-peak period. Findings reveal that TTI was 2.19. Workers spent about 2 times of the average commuting time to work and 3 times of the same commuting from work to their various residences. Abou...

This study investigated the usage of non-cash payments through m-money services among students of the University of Iringa in Tanzania. A convenient sample of undergraduate students and business operators within and around the University campus was used. It was found that 80% of utility shops accepted noncash payments through m-money, business operators were optimistic about the service although there were challenges related to transaction costs and network/sending errors. Approximately 81% of respondents frequently received money from their sponsors/relatives through their m-money accounts. About 63% of respondents made regular savings deposits on their mobile phones unlike their bank accounts. Over 60% used m-money services for non-cash payments and savings deposits. This has a significant implication for the recent movement from predominantly cash to non-cash payments as subscribers directly pay for their purchased items through their mobile phones without necessarily having cash at hand. Practical recommendations and a direction for further study are provided.

This study examined the extent of the adoption of mobile phone banking facility among small business owners at Iringa in Tanzania. A sample of 87 respondents was used. The study found that the adoption of mobile phone banking among the surveyed small business owners at Iringa was high. Majority of small business owners subscribed to the service primarily for sending and/or receiving money. Only a small proportion of respondents deposited their savings to the mobile phone banking facility. Also, it was noted that some commercial banks had a facility that allowed the transfer of money from ones' account to his/her mobile phone and vice versa, making the issue of where the money is initially deposited irrelevant. Reasons such as accessibility and convenience were found to be the most important in attracting small business owners to adopt the new technology. Generally, small business owners were positive towards the new technology indicating that it was complementing rather than com...

Literature shows that there are a number of different frameworks for managing international development co‐operation (IDC) projects. Those frameworks have their own strengths and weaknesses and they vary from being highly abstract to relatively practical. However, none of the frameworks provide help in situations where IT professionals are incapable to identify potential project risks when entering a new project milieu. The situation is common in the context of IDC projects. For this purpose, Kemppainen et al. (2012) designed a taxonomy‐based risk identification tool. The tool addresses potential risks by 55 quantified yes/no‐questions. The quantification specifies the significance of each issue to project success. The tool is aimed at guiding IT professionals, planners, donors, field staff, and other stakeholders to identify and mitigate potential threats that may materialize in an unfamiliar project context. The tool's questions were designed based on the literature analysis, ...

Despite the importance of financial information on access to credit, growth and sustainability, Micro and Small Businesses (MSBs) in Tanzania hardly keep records. This descriptive study investigated financial record keeping practices in MSBs in Iringa and Kinondoni Municipalities employing a sample of 245 owner managers. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Findings indicated that financial record keeping in MSBs remains a big challenge. Some MSBs occasionally kept records while others did not keep records at all. The most kept records were inventories and purchases rather than sales. Reasons for not keeping records included limited knowledge on the value of record keeping, limited skills, shortage of time, shortage of funds to hire skilled personnel and shortage of facilities such as tables/desks and cabinets to store records. The study established a significant association between record keeping and the performance of MSBs. Yet there were mixed perceptions of MSB owner manag...

Literature shows that there are a number of different frameworks for managing international development co-operation (IDC) projects. Those frameworks have their own strengths and weaknesses and they vary from being highly abstract to relatively practical. However, none of the frameworks provide help in situations where IT professionals are incapable to identify potential project risks when entering a new project milieu. The situation is common in the context of IDC projects. For this purpose, Kemppainen et al. (2012) designed a taxonomy-based risk identification tool. The tool addresses potential risks by 55 quantified yes/no-questions. The quantification specifies the significance of each issue to project success. The tool is aimed at guiding IT professionals, planners, donors, field staff, and other stakeholders to identify and mitigate potential threats that may materialize in an unfamiliar project context. The tool’s questions were designed based on the literature analysis, thei...

The subsistence production is chosen by farmers because it is subjectively the best option. However, subsistence farming on small and fragmented plots risks not reaching even farmers’ own food requirements, let alone producing a surplus. Therefore, it would have been expected that farmers would be commercialising production of profitable food crops. One of the more profitable food crops than many others as studies show is round potato (Solanum tuberosum). Nonetheless, the extent to which farmers have commercialised round potato production was not known. This study was then undertaken to fill this knowledge gap by analysing the proportion of land allotted to round potato production and the extent to which the crop was oriented towards the market by using the commercialisation index. A sample of 510 farmers was visited from three districts of the southern highlands of Tanzania. Results showed that round potato production was highly commercialised. This was evidence by the proportion o...

Studies on multiple borrowing and its effect on loan repayment among clients and sustainability of microfinance providers (MFIs) show contradicting results. Some studies indicate that multiple borrowing has a positive effect on loan repayment and sustainability of MFIs while others show that it leads to over indebtedness and consequently default on loan. Therefore, this study analysed the incidences of multiple borrowing, reasons for multiple borrowing, and effects of multiple borrowing on loan repayment at Iringa municipality in Tanzania. Results showed that prevalence of multiple borrowing at Iringa in Tanzania was very high. Over 70% of the 250 microfinance clients had at least two loans from different MFIs at the same time. In addition, about 16% had also borrowed from individual lenders. Major reasons for multiple borrowing were insufficient loans from MFIs, loan recycling,and family obligations. Over 70% of the respondents had problems in loan repayment because of multiple pen...

The rapid increase of the use of mobile phones has created a new channel for marketing. The use of Short Messaging Service (SMS) has become more important to access potential customers through their mobile phones. The new advertising platform, which is termed `mobile advertising', refers to any communication about products, services, and ideas using mobile phones for promotional purposes. This study examines the factors that affect consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising and the relationship between these factors and attitude. The study used a survey of Tanzanian University students who are mobile phones users. The results, conducted on 260 students who are mobile phone users, showed that Informativenss and credibility were found to uniquely, significantly and positively influence the prediction customers attitude towards advertising SMSs (β=0.22, p=0.000) and (β= 0.129, p=0.022) respectively while irritating and frequency were found to uniquely, significantly and negatively ...

ABSTRACT The rapid increase of the use of mobile phones has created a new channel for marketing. The use of Short Messaging Service (SMS) has become more important to access potential customers through their mobile phones. The new advertising platform, which is termed ‘mobile advertising’, refers to any communication about products, services, and ideas using mobile phones for promotional purposes. This study examines the factors that affect consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising and the relationship between these factors and attitude. The study used a survey of Tanzanian University students who are mobile phones users. The results, conducted on 260 students who are mobile phone users, showed that Informativenss and credibility were found to uniquely, significantly and positively influence the prediction customers attitude towards advertising SMSs (ß=0.22, p=0.000) and (ß= 0.129, p=0.022) respectively while irritating and frequency were found to uniquely, significantly and negatively influence the prediction customers attitude towards advertising SMSs (ß= −0.269, p=0.000) and(ß=0.265 p=0.000).

Inadequately planned transport systems result to traffic congestion, a challenge that has for long been a thorn in Dar es Salaam, the city most affected in Tanzania. Although traffic congestion has been a major concern in Dar es Salaam, marked reluctance has been noticed in taking measures towards a lasting solution thus, it is of diminutive surprise that limited studies and documentations on the same are in existence. Therefore, this study assesses traffic congestion in Dar es Salaam and particularly its implications for workers’ productivity. Travel time and productivity indexes were established from a sample of 96 workers who used public transport along Morogoro and Mandela Roads. Travel time index (TTI) is the ratio of the average travel time during peak period to the travel time during off-peak period. Findings reveal that TTI was 2.19. Workers spent about 2 times of the average commuting time to work and 3 times of the same commuting from work to their various residences. About 2.5 hours were lost on traffic jam per day and that people worked 1.4 times less than the required time due to traffic congestion. It was further established that in 10 working days, almost 3 days were lost to traffic congestion. Since there are ongoing efforts to improve the transport system through the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, it remains to be seen as to what extent traffic congestion will be reduced. In either case, this study provides a benchmark for comparisons.

This study investigated the market orientation of round potato farmers in the southern highlands of Tanzania. A market oriented farmer, assumed to be a maximiser of short run profit, is expected to select varieties with higher profit potential and in accordance with market preferences and would allot more acreage to a more profitable crop than those needed for home consumption. Thus, this study sought to achieve the following objectives: to determine the market preferences for round potato varieties; to determine factors guiding farmers’ selections for varieties they produce; to analyse the profitability by varieties; and to analyse the market orientation of the round potato farmers. A sample of 510 farmers was obtained in Njombe, Mbeya Rural and Nkasi Districts. Preferences for round potato varieties was analysed by using a mini market survey of 155 respondents. The collected data was analysed by using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Gross margin (GM) analysis, logistic regression and ANOVA models, and commercialisation index (CI) were adopted for data analysis. The overall results showed that red-skinned round potatoes were preferred to white/purple-skinned ones whereby consumers associated colour with dry matter content. Farmers’ criteria for variety selection included seed tuber availability, market demand, price, and common practices. Econometric results indicated that gender (p<0.01), education level (p<0.05), prices of previous season (p<0.01), location (p<0.01) and extension services (p<0.01) influenced farmers’ selection of varieties. Farmers who consulted the extension officers were 2.6 times more likely to choose varieties in accordance with the market preferences than others. The ANOVA model indicated that there was significant difference in profitability among varieties. Kagiri was the highest profitable variety with mean GM of TZS 794 889 per acre followed by Tigoni (TZS 618 167), Kikondo (TZS 484 900), and Arka (TZS 377 743). The proportion of land allotted for the crop ranged from 20% of total land under cultivation at Nkasi to 67% in Mbeya Rural. Furthermore, CI of 88% showed that round potato production was highly market oriented. Based on key findings, the study recommended that plant breeders should include consumer preferences as part of their breeding programme.

Literature shows that there are a number of different frameworks for managing international development co-operation (IDC) projects. Those frameworks have their own strengths and weaknesses and they vary from being highly abstract to relatively practical. However, none of the frameworks provide help in situations where IT professionals are incapable to identify potential project risks when entering a new project milieu. The situation is common in the context of IDC projects. For this purpose, Kemppainen et al. (2012) designed a taxonomy-based risk identification tool. The tool addresses potential risks by 55 quantified yes/no-questions. The quantification specifies the significance of each issue to project success. The tool is aimed at guiding IT professionals, planners, donors, field staff, and other stakeholders to identify and mitigate potential threats that may materialize in an unfamiliar project context. The tool’s questions were designed based on the literature analysis, their classification into five groups was derived from Tedre et al. (2011), and their taxonomy based scoring was derived from the researchers’ own data. Hence, the tool lacked wider empirical evidence. This study validated the tool based on empirical data of a sample of 83 IT experts and IT department leaders from a number of organizations, institutes, universities and international development co-operation projects in Tanzania. The mode value of the Likert-scale questionnaire answers were used to adjust the question-scoring scheme. Hence, the validated risk identification tool contains three question groups, namely; Institutional, Societal, and Technical characteristics, including totally 54 quantified questions.

Tanzania is deemed to have abundant land as compared to other East African countries. With this abundant land one would have expected that the process of land acquisition by investors would be less bureaucratic. However, this is not always the case. Access to land to (especially) foreign investors is not easy and quite often takes too long to complete. On the process, some investors lose interest to invest in Tanzania. Even when land is acquired, there are pronounced conflicts between smallholders and investors in some places. Those conflicts arise when smallholders feel that they have been deprived of their farmland because of not having adequate information during the deal or after investors failing to meet their promises of provision of social services and employment creation. Based on literature review, this paper discusses tenure systems in Tanzania, land reforms and policies, large-scale land acquisitions and emerging conflicts, and policy incentives of promoting investments without creating conflicts. The discussion is centred on the controversy between the notion of land abundance and access to it by investors in Tanzania. The paper concludes that the one-off payment in compensation in monetary terms may not be feasible in the long-run. Therefore, in order to increase access to investors and minimise land conflicts, the government should consider some policy incentives that promote smallholders participation such as joint ventures, contract farming and out-grower schemes

Studies on multiple borrowing and its effect on loan repayment among clients and sustainability of microfinance providers (MFIs) show contradicting results. Some studies indicate that multiple borrowing has a positive effect on loan repayment and sustainability of MFIs while others show that it leads to over indebtedness and consequently default on loan. Therefore, this study analysed the incidences of multiple borrowing, reasons for multiple borrowing, and effects of multiple borrowing on loan repayment at Iringa municipality in Tanzania. Results showed that prevalence of multiple borrowing at Iringa in Tanzania was very high. Over 70% of the 250 microfinance clients had at least two loans from different MFIs at the same time. In addition, about 16% had also borrowed from individual lenders. Major reasons for multiple borrowing were insufficient loans from MFIs, loan recycling,and family obligations. Over 70% of the respondents had problems in loan repayment because of multiple pending loans. We found that education level and number of dependants of the respondent significantly influenced the number of loan contracts. Recommendations are also provided.

The study analysed factors and relationship between performing well and liking mathematics in primary schools in Tanzania. Results show that repeated poor scores lead to dislike for the subject among pupils. Liking and performance in mathematics vary with class levels where more interest and good performance are found in standard one and two than in upper classes. Poor performance and consequently dislikes for mathematics increases from standard three to four and becomes critical at standard five. It was also found that competent teachers were left to teach examination classes, which was standard seven in most cases.Other reasons for the findings were low levels of competence of teachers themselves, lack of pupils' involvement in lively discussions, aggression of mathematics teachers, parents' poor knowledge of mathematics which limits them from helping, assessing and monitroing their children's progress, and the impact of parents and teachers' negative view of mathematics.

The study analysed factors and relationship between performing well and liking mathematics in primary schools in Tanzania. Results show that repeated poor scores lead to dislike for the subject among pupils. Liking and performance in mathematics vary with class levels where more interest and good performance are found in standard one and two than in upper classes. Poor performance and consequently dislikes for mathematics increases from standard three to four and becomes critical at standard five. It was also found that competent teachers were left to teach examination classes, which was standard seven in most cases.Other reasons for the findings were low levels of competence of teachers themselves, lack of pupils' involvement in lively discussions, aggression of mathematics teachers, parents' poor knowledge of mathematics which limits them from helping, assessing and monitroing their children's progress, and the impact of parents and teachers' negative view of mathematics.

This study investigated the usage of non-cash payments through m-money services among students of the University of Iringa in Tanzania. A convenient sample of undergraduate students and business operators within and around the University campus was used. It was found that 80% of utility shops accepted noncash payments through m-money, business operators were optimistic about the service although there were challenges related to transaction costs and network/sending errors. Approximately 81% of respondents frequently received money from their sponsors/relatives through their m-money accounts. About 63% of respondents made regular savings deposits on their mobile phones unlike their bank accounts. Over 60% used m-money services for non-cash payments and savings deposits. This has a significant implication for the recent movement from predominantly cash to non-cash payments as subscribers directly pay for their purchased items through their mobile phones without necessarily having cash at hand. Practical recommendations and a direction for further study are provided.