| dc.description |
Food security is one of the main goals of rural poor people. To enhance
food security in this context, participatory action research can help to ensure
sustained success while considering entire food value chains (FVC). This paper
assesses the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) as well
as their assessment criteria as developed by German and Tanzanian agricultural
scientists. The results form part of a larger participatory research project conducted
in two climatically representative regions of Tanzania: semi-arid Dodoma and
subhumid Morogoro. This paper presents the findings with respect to food
processing, waste management and bioenergy, along with income generation and
market participation. Assessments on other components of the FVC, including
natural resource management, crop production and consumption, are reported by
Graef et al (2015). The assessments for food processing revealed preferences for
preservation techniques, oil extraction processes and food storage devices for the
semi-arid region. In contrast, in the subhumid region, the experts favoured food
storage devices and preservation techniques. Assessments of waste management and
bioenergy UPS for both regions indicated the importance of animal feed from crop
residues, crop residues as mulch and compost from food waste, although with
somewhat different priorities. Assessments on income generation and markets in
both regions revealed preferences for savings and credit cooperatives and
communication techniques, but also indicated that warehouse receipt systems and
guarantee systems had a high impact. Assessments differed between the two
different climatic regions, and to some extent also between the nationality of experts and their gender. The authors therefore attach importance to integrating different
South–North and female–male awareness in assessments among scientists.
Moreover, local and/or regional stakeholders and experts should be involved in
developing site-adapted UPS for enhancing FVCs. |
|