Browsing by Author "Mwaipopo, Rehema E."

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    Advances and Trends in Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Technologies and Research on Fruit Vegetables Produced in Tanzania
    (CAB International, 2022-05-17) Shango, Abdul J.; Maswi, Philip B.; Malya, Rashid B.; Maro, Janet F.; Mwaipopo, Rehema E.; Majubwa, Ramadhani O.; Kilewa, Ramadhan A.; Philipo, Mashamba L.
    Ecological organic agriculture (EOA) is a holistic production management system that can solve many problems in the vegetable crops’ value chain (VC). It is, however, unclear about the EOA technologies for the fruit vegetable VC that have already been validated or are in process of validation in Tanzania. A systematic literature search on EOA technologies relevant in Tanzania was conducted for research articles from 2010 until 2021. Most 10(30.4%) studies on fruit vegetables were equally distributed each 5(15.2%) in the years 2019 and 2020, respectively. A total of 33 records on fruit vegetables covered eight (8) regions of mainland Tanzania and one (1) region from the island of Zanzibar. Most 18(55%) studies were conducted in the Morogoro region. Based on the fruit vegetable VC, 26(68.4%) studies were for field establishment and management. Nine (9) key areas were identified, where most 9(27.3%) studies were on crop productivity and protection. Seventeen (17) EOA technologies were applied in fruit vegetables, mostly biocontrol 7(21%) in tomatoes. Overall, 27(81.8%) studies only researched the EOA technologies, while 3(9.1%) studies validated the EOA technologies, 2(6.1%) researches were in progress, and 1(3.0%) was progressing validation. Few 3(9.1%) studies portrayed the involvement of youth and women using the principles of participatory action research (PAR) during the validation. Generally, the EOA technologies are readily available, require minimal skills and labour, are cost-effective, sustainable, easily implementable in the fruit vegetable VC and can be simply accessed and utilized in cultivating organic fruit vegetables.
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    The Role of Conservation Agriculture in Enhancing Biodiversity and Common Beans Productivity
    (Elsevier B.V, 2026) Mng’ong’o, Marco E.; Mwaipopo, Rehema E.; Ojija, Fredrick.; Matimbwa, Hadija.
    Conservation of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is vital for maintaining ecosystem stability and resilience. Conservation agriculture, a sustainable farming approach that involves minimum tillage and reduced use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and growth promoters, has gained attention as a potential strategy to enhance biodiversity and reduce production costs. This study investigated the role of conservation agriculture in enhancing biodiversity and common bean productivity in Tanzania. The study compared plots practicing conservation agriculture (minimum tillage and reduced agrochemical use) with those using conventional farming methods. Biodiversity metrics, that is, earthworm populations, bird species richness, bird nest abundance, bird species diversity, bee visitation rates, and bean yield were assessed. The results showed significant positive effects of conservation agriculture on biodiversity, emphasizing its potential role in promoting sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and household improvement due to reduced production costs and increased yield per unit area. Earthworms per meter square observed to increase from 12 in the non-conservation plots to 34 in the conservation plots, which is likely to improve nutrient cycling and productivity. Furthermore, conservation plots had a higher number of bird species flying around (36− 76) compared with 14–32 in nonconservation plots (4000 m2 ) at 50 % bean flowering. The number of bird nests observed in the two plots during bean harvesting varied significantly (P