Papers by Radegunda Kessy
Acta horticulturae, Nov 1, 2018
Traditional African vegetables are important for their nutraceutical benefits and contributions t... more Traditional African vegetables are important for their nutraceutical benefits and contributions to farm household incomes. Consequently, their consumption, particularly among rural and urban households in developing countries, has been promoted and emphasized in recent years. Despite their multiple benefits, consumer awareness, and preference for traditional vegetables is low. This study uses the awareness, interest, desire and action (AIDA) marketing communication model to evaluate consumer awareness and perceptions and assess factors that influence consumption of traditional vegetables among 258 respondents in the Arusha region of Tanzania. Most of the respondents were aware of the nutritional importance of traditional vegetables, willing to purchase them for home consumption, and had a positive perception of their benefits. Consumers who had participated in the promotional activities were more willing to purchase and grow traditional vegetables than non-participants. The major sources of information about human nutrition and traditional vegetables included health centers, schools, friends, relatives, and radio programmes. African nightshade, African eggplant, amaranth and okra were the most widely consumed traditional vegetables. They were mainly purchased from the market. Regression estimates indicate that the consumption of traditional vegetables increases with positive health perceptions, better training, domestic production of vegetables, and increased promotional activities. Scaling up consumers awareness and home gardening would help to increase availability and consumption of traditional vegetables.
Lessons Learned from a Postharvest Training and Services Center in Arusha, Tanzania
Between 2013 and 2016, CABI's Good Seed Initiative (GSI) worked with partners in Tanzania to stre... more Between 2013 and 2016, CABI's Good Seed Initiative (GSI) worked with partners in Tanzania to strengthen the seed system for Africa Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) through promotion of farmer seed enterprises using two models-contract farming (Arusha) and Quality Declared Seed (QDS) (Dodoma). This study, conducted in 2019 aimed to assess the sustainability of farmer seed enterprises and project strategies that were important in satisfying the continued functioning of farmer seed production, 3 years after GSI project closure. Data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) (73 men, 69 women), and individual interviews with seed sector stakeholders. Results show that farmer seed enterprises under both models continued to thrive, creating avenues for income diversification and contributing substantially to household incomes (>50%). Quality Declared Seed was a viable strategy for providing quality seed to farmers, in central Tanzania (Dodoma), which lacks a strong formal seed sector. However, QDS production was challenged by lack of access to foundation seed, extension services, inspections and seed testing services, which are key for quality seed production. Contract farmers in Arusha continued to engage in contractual arrangements with seed companies for bulking AIV seeds, including globally important vegetables such as tomatoes and onions, building on farmers' experience in producing AIV seed. Two interviewed seed companies reported an increase in contracted seed quantities in Arusha and Manyara regions from 14 MT (2016) to 41 MT (2019), and an increase in the number of contracted farmers from 112 to 250 in the same period. However, contract farming was dominated by men, due to land ownership and decision-making dynamics, and challenges still existed emanating principally from how they were negotiated. Linking seed producers to the market through innovation platforms and contracts, stimulation of demand for AIVs through nutritional awareness, and promotion of the value of using quality seed for increased productivity were important in ensuring the continued functioning of farmer seed enterprises. The commercial viability of seed production also provided incentives for continued seed production. Development efforts supporting farmer seed enterprises should consider facilitating women to equally participate and take advantage of the benefits of contract farming to the same extent as their male counterparts. Government mandated agencies should support the functioning of the QDS system to facilitate the continued supply of quality seed in areas less served by the formal seed sector, and for crops not well integrated into the formal system. Key highlights • Farmer seed enterprises under QDS and contract farming continued to thrive in the two study locations, providing financial benefits to seed producers and the community at large. • The quantity of AIV seed produced and number of farmers producing seed more than doubled under either system. • Market linkages, nutritional awareness campaigns, and promotion of the value of using quality seed for increased productivity were important in supporting the continued functioning of farmer seed enterprises. • Seed policy regulations, especially quality assurance should be implemented to ensure production and distribution of quality seed. CABI Study Brief 34: Impact Context African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have traditionally been significant contributors to food, nutrition and income for smallholder farmers in East Africa, providing important sources of micronutrients, fibre, vitamins and minerals (Ghosh-Jerath et al., 2016), and increasing dietary diversity (Ochieng et al., 2018). They are an important means of livelihoods for thousands of supply chain actors, especially for women and youth who play a central role in production, and almost exclusively in handling and marketing of the AIVs (Dinssa et al., 2016; Weinberger et al., 2011). Demand for AIVs is also increasing in peri-urban and urban areas, especially for low-income populations that constitute the majority of town and city dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa (Dinssa et al., 2016). However, gaps in access to quality seed significantly affect the production and supply of AIVs (Afari-Sefa et al., 2012; Croft et al., 2018). Weinberger et al. (2011) estimate that the share of traditional vegetable seed sold in the formal market is 10%. This gap is principally due to underdeveloped seed supply and distribution systems, and a general lack of structured seed markets for AIVs (Afari-Sefa et al., 2013).
Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Mar 1, 2020
This is a great honor and major source of encouragement to our partners to do more," said Robin B... more This is a great honor and major source of encouragement to our partners to do more," said Robin Buruchara, PABRA's recently retired director, who accepted the prize at the ceremony. "This award will help us scale out and reach even more beneficiaries across Africa.
This paper analyzes rural households awareness, perceptions and factors influencing decisions to ... more This paper analyzes rural households awareness, perceptions and factors influencing decisions to purchase solar dried vegetables. Solar dried vegetables have higher nutritive value and hygiene than open sun dried vegetables. Findings show that about 36 percent of the rural households are aware of solar dried vegetables. Decision to purchase solar dried vegetables were influenced by female household head, income level, experience in the consumption of dried vegetables and awareness of the importance of solar dried vegetables. Thus, awareness creation and promoting solar driers to dry vegetables is suggested as an effective way to continuously access nutritious vegetables, particularly among households faced with frequent droughts. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge the financial support from the Bureau for Food Security, (USAID), under the terms of Award No. AID-BFS-IO-12-00004. The opinions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the ...
Lessons Learned from a Postharvest Training and Services Center in Arusha, Tanzania
Postharvest Extension and Capacity Building for the Developing World, 2018
Research Papers in Economics, 2016
Traditional African vegetables have recently received considerable attention for their contributi... more Traditional African vegetables have recently received considerable attention for their contribution to food and nutrition security and opportunities for enhancing smallholder livelihoods. Promoting the production and consumption of traditional vegetables is expected to enhance household nutrition among urban and rural households. The Good Seed Initiative (GSI) program promoted production and consumption of nutrient-dense traditional African vegetables in Arusha region in Tanzania to reduce malnutrition through diet diversification. This study estimated the impact of the program on households, women of childbearing age, and children’s dietary diversity. The study used cross-sectional data from 258 program participants and 242 non-participants households and applied matching techniques to control for problems associated with unobserved heterogeneity, which could otherwise bias the outcome estimates. We compared our findings with the inverse probability of treatment weighting to correc...
Agriculture & Food Security, 2021
Background Quality seed is at the core of the technological packages needed to increase crop prod... more Background Quality seed is at the core of the technological packages needed to increase crop production, nutrition, and rural wellbeing. However, smallholder farmers in Tanzania have limited access to affordable quality seeds, and over 90% of seed sown is saved by farmers from previous harvests, though its quality is often poor. The Good Seed Initiative (GSI) aimed to enhance access to quality African indigenous vegetable (AIV) seed in Tanzania, through the promotion of farmer seed production, using two models—contract farming and Quality Declared Seed (QDS). This study assessed post-GSI project sustainability factors and explored the prospects for replicating the approach in a wider regional context. Methods The study was conducted in Arusha and Dodoma, targeting locations where the GSI project was implemented. Qualitative tools employing focus group discussions (73 men, 69 women), and key informant interviews were used for data collection. Results Farmer seed production under both...
African Journal of Business Management, 2017
African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have gained prominence in the recent past due to nutritional... more African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have gained prominence in the recent past due to nutritional and health benefits. The low requirement for high value inputs has enabled low resource farmers to practice AIVs production. There have been improvements in the production of high quality AIVs seeds as well as more production of the AIVs leaf and fruits. As a consequence, there are occasional gluts of the AIVs leaf and fruit especially during the main production season. This study examined the challenges associated with production of processed AIVs and possible market opportunities using data from 10 AIVs processing groups and 21 key informants that were purposively selected. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. It was established that processors did not have the necessary skills, knowledge and training required for processing of AIVs in more economically attractive ways. There was no diversity in the processing methods and processed products. Types and sources of packaging materials were restricted in various respects. Processors did not have special storage facilities for the AIVs. The share of processed AIVs in the total consumption of the vegetables was 25%. Sixty percent of those interviewed stated that the demand for all types of processed AIVs was increasing. Many institutions were supporting processing of AIVs. Quality of processed AIVs was perceived to be same as that of the fresh AIVs. Consumers were willing to pay more money for better quality processed AIVs. In order to increase sales of processed AIVs there should be informal agreements, partnerships or contracts depending on the degree of relationship between processors and consumers to guarantee target markets. Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) and Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) need to create awareness regarding the specific quality requirements for processed AIVs. Training should be provided on different processing methods and the range of products that could be produced for different consumers. There should be financial support and/or linking of processors with the different credit institutions. It is necessary to provide processing infrastructure and training on marketing of the processed products. Specific requirements for the premises, processing rooms and standards should be explained to the processors to assure the requisite quality. Product branding has to be undertaken especially at two levels, which are indicating the key attributes of AIVs on the packages and certification by TBS and TFDA as well as having their labels on the containers of the packed products.
Development in Practice, 2018
African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have potential to sustainably address malnutrition, a growin... more African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have potential to sustainably address malnutrition, a growing problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Their consumption is however, limited by poor perceptions and lack of awareness of nutritional benefits. There is limited evidence of the effectiveness of community-focused information dissemination approaches in influencing participants' perceptions and uptake of innovations in AIVs to address malnutrition. This article aims to fill this knowledge gap, using a case study focusing on pastoral communities in Monduli district in northern Tanzania. Target communities participated in a communitybased nutritional outreach facilitated by the Good Seed Initiative (GSI), held at Monduli district hospital in September 2014. The results provide evidence of the achievements of the GSI intervention, and the effectiveness of alternative information dissemination approaches.
Economic Botany, 2019
This paper analyzes rural households' awareness, perceptions, and factors influencing decisions t... more This paper analyzes rural households' awareness, perceptions, and factors influencing decisions to purchase solar-dried traditional African vegetables (TAVs). Solar-dried vegetables have higher nutritive value, good appearance, good taste, and better hygiene than open sun-dried vegetables. A simple random sampling was used to obtain 244 rural households in Dodoma and Singida regions of Tanzania. Descriptive statistics were used to measure awareness and perception of solar-dried TAVs while logit regression was employed to estimate factors influencing households' decision to purchase solar-dried vegetables. The study findings indicate that about 36% of rural households are aware of solar-dried TAVs and know their nutritional and health benefits. Most households purchase and consume the open sun-dried types due to lack of knowledge of the benefits of solar dried vegetables. The decision to purchase solar-dried vegetables is influenced by sex of household head, income level, previous experience in consuming sun-dried vegetables, and knowledge of the nutritional and health benefits of the solar-dried vegetables in diets. Thus, awareness creation and promotion of solar drying of TAVs is suggested as an effective way to continuously access nutritious vegetables, particularly in regions faced with frequent droughts.
Acta Horticulturae, 2018
Traditional African vegetables are important for their nutraceutical benefits and contributions t... more Traditional African vegetables are important for their nutraceutical benefits and contributions to farm household incomes. Consequently, their consumption, particularly among rural and urban households in developing countries, has been promoted and emphasized in recent years. Despite their multiple benefits, consumer awareness, and preference for traditional vegetables is low. This study uses the awareness, interest, desire and action (AIDA) marketing communication model to evaluate consumer awareness and perceptions and assess factors that influence consumption of traditional vegetables among 258 respondents in the Arusha region of Tanzania. Most of the respondents were aware of the nutritional importance of traditional vegetables, willing to purchase them for home consumption, and had a positive perception of their benefits. Consumers who had participated in the promotional activities were more willing to purchase and grow traditional vegetables than non-participants. The major sources of information about human nutrition and traditional vegetables included health centers, schools, friends, relatives, and radio programmes. African nightshade, African eggplant, amaranth and okra were the most widely consumed traditional vegetables. They were mainly purchased from the market. Regression estimates indicate that the consumption of traditional vegetables increases with positive health perceptions, better training, domestic production of vegetables, and increased promotional activities. Scaling up consumers awareness and home gardening would help to increase availability and consumption of traditional vegetables.
Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 2015
Traditional African vegetables are receiving more attention for their significant contribution to... more Traditional African vegetables are receiving more attention for their significant contribution to food and nutrition security and enhanced livelihoods of smallholders. Although demand is increasing for these nutrients-dense crops, the production of traditional vegetables in Tanzania remains low. Technical innovations can reduce yield gaps and increase the productivity of traditional vegetable crops. This paper measures the technical efficiency of farm households that produce traditional vegetables in Tanzania using a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function. This study reports data from a primary survey of 181 households that cultivated traditional vegetables in five regions (Arusha, Tanga, Morogoro, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam) of Tanzania. The results show that overall mean technical efficiency is 67%. It indicates that if the average farmer of the sample could achieve the technical efficiency level of most efficient counterpart, then average farmers of the sample could increase their output by 27% with better use of available production resources given the current state of technology. Farmers were observed to be more technically efficient in the Arusha region than in the other study regions. Possible reasons for the observed regional difference include agroclimatic variability, access to extension services, and infrastructure facilities. A linear relationship exists between farm size and technical efficiency. The study concludes that strengthening farmer associations to encourage knowledge sharing and enhancing the existing cluster approach to farming may help to improve technical efficiency.
Technical efficiency of smallholders’ traditional African vegetable production in Tanzania: a stochastic frontier approach
Acta Horticulturae, 2015
Traditional African vegetables are receiving more attention for their potential contribution to f... more Traditional African vegetables are receiving more attention for their potential contribution to food and nutrition security and enhanced livelihoods for smallholder producers. Although demand is increasing for these nutrient-dense crops, the productivity of traditional vegetables in Tanzania remains low. Technical innovations can reduce yield gaps and increase the productivity of traditional vegetable crops. This paper measures the technical efficiency of farm households that produce traditional vegetables in Tanzania using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function. Data was obtained through a survey of 181 households that cultivated traditional vegetables in five regions (Arusha, Tanga, Morogoro, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam). The results show considerable levels of technical inefficiency in the production of traditional vegetables. Technical efficiency among farm households could be increased by 33% through the better use of available production resources. The test for equality of technical efficiency indicated that there were statistically significant differences in technical efficiency across farm size, with larger landholdings having higher observed values than smallholdings. Strengthening farmer associations to encourage knowledge sharing and enhancing the existing cluster approach to farming may help to improve technical efficiency.
Acta Horticulturae, 2015
The world has arrived at a critical crossroads in the effort to promote food and nutrition securi... more The world has arrived at a critical crossroads in the effort to promote food and nutrition security. Globally, several attempts are underway to mitigate the scourge of malnutrition due to unhealthy and imbalanced diets. There is increasing political interest and growing public health awareness and advocacy for diversifying diets with highly nutritious traditional vegetables and fruits and other nutrition-sensitive crops. These foods contribute essential micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and other health-related phytochemicals to staple-based diets, and their consumption is crucial for the attainment of several Millennium Development Goals, such as improving maternal health and reducing child mortality. Despite these nutritional benefits and the high farm-gate values per unit of land, the production and marketing of traditional vegetables from Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are constrained by factors such as poor quality and availability of seeds, lack of appropriate market information and support systems, and high postharvest losses. This paper investigates the determinants and pathways for smallholder participation in traditional African vegetable production and identifies entry points for farmers to increase traditional vegetable production by linking nutritional awareness and promotion with potential high value markets. A primary survey of 181 traditional vegetable growers from five regions of Tanzania indicates that perceptions about the nutritional value of traditional African vegetables are a main driver of household production decisions in the sector. Traditional vegetables have high farm gate values compared to field crops, and contribute significantly to household income. Future efforts to increase profitability of traditional African vegetables should emphasize interventions that will improve value addition and market efficiency, and help stabilize prices during seasonal gluts.
Experimental Agriculture, 2015
SUMMARYRecent years have seen increasing political interest and growing public health awareness a... more SUMMARYRecent years have seen increasing political interest and growing public health awareness and advocacy for diversifying diets into highly nutritious traditional vegetables, fruits and other nutrition-sensitive crops as a more viable approach to mitigate the growing scourge of malnutrition due to unhealthy and imbalanced diets. These foods contribute essential micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and other health-related phytochemicals to staple-based diets and their consumption is crucial for the attainment of several Millennium Development Goals. Despite their nutritional benefits and the high farm gate values per unit of land, the production and marketing of traditional vegetables from Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are constrained by factors such as poor quality seeds, lack of appropriate market information and support systems, and lack of consumer awareness of their nutritional importance. This paper investigates the determinants and pathways for sma...
How promoting consumption of traditional African vegetables affects household nutrition security in Tanzania
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2017
Traditional African vegetables have recently received considerable attention for their contributi... more Traditional African vegetables have recently received considerable attention for their contribution to food and nutrition security and opportunities for enhancing smallholder livelihoods. Promoting the production and consumption of traditional vegetables is expected to enhance household nutrition among urban and rural households. The Good Seed Initiative (GSI) program promoted production and consumption of nutrient-dense traditional African vegetables in Arusha region in Tanzania to reduce malnutrition through diet diversification. We estimated the impact of promotion activities on households, women, and children's dietary diversity. The study used cross-sectional data from 258 and 242 households in intervention and control regions, respectively, and applied matching techniques and inverse probability weighting to control for unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias, which could otherwise bias the outcome estimates. We found that households benefiting from traditional vegetab...
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Papers by Radegunda Kessy