Publications

A capability statement concerning our work on Agriculture in Africa which focuses on equity and growth for smallholders.

La présente note thématique est basée sur les expériences de la SNV en matière d’appui aux pasteurs en Afrique, en vue d’améliorer leurs moyens d’existence. Elle se fonde sur une large gamme d’études de cas qui, à travers le continent, mettent en évidence un certain nombre de traits communs aux
pratiques des pasteurs. La collaboration avec les pasteurs nous a appris qu’ils ne sont pas les traditionalistes que l’on décrit souvent. Ils s’adaptent au changement rapide comme tout autre groupe en Afrique. La présente note met en exergue l’éventail de stratégies d’adaptation, d’options de commercialisation et de mécanismes institutionnels qui ont cours à l’heure actuelle au sein de ces communautés. Ces expériences démontrent que le travail de la SNV a permis d’apporter des améliorations  tangibles aux moyens d’existence des éleveurs, tout en augmentant leur contribution au développement écon omique dans certains des milieux les plus difficiles en Afrique aujourd’hui.

This document presents basic information about biogas technology in the form of Biogas Digest Volume 4. The document contains 19 sections on different countries and regions. They are respectively:
• Biogas technology in Bangladesh
• Biogas technology in Belize
• Biogas technology in Bolivia (region Chochabamba)
• Biogas technology in Burundi
• Biogas technology in China (Sichuan)
• Biogas technology in Columbia
• Biogas technology in India
• Biogas technology in Orissa (India)
• Biogas technology in Sangli (India)
• Biogas technology in the Ivory Coast (region of Korhogo)
• Biogas technology in Jamaica
• Biogas technology on Java (province of Central Java)
• Biogas technology in Kenya
• Biogas technology in Morocco (region of Souss-Massa)
• Biogas technology in Nepal
• Biogas technology in Tanzania
• Biogas technology in Thailand
• Biogas technology in Tunisia (Sejenane, El Kef)
• Biogas technology in Vietnam

The aim of the reserach was to get a further understanding of the souvenir sector within the Zanzibar tourism industry. By focussing very much on the tourist perspective this survey explores the market demands and needs. By understanding the overall system it was then possible to analyse the market opportunities of Zanzibari products. This was to determine an appropriate course of action for increasing benefits to Zanzibaris working in the souvenir subsector.

In June 2010 SNV, together with IFAD, organised a conference on ‘brokering knowledge for upscaling best practices in Inclusive Markets Access in East & Southern Africa’, which brought together over 70 participants from 11 African countries from donor, public and private sector to share experiences. This report summarizes the main issues discussed during the conference, of which the main focus was seeking to bring about systemic change for larger-scale sustainable inclusive markets with a wider significance.

This publication has been produced as part of a series under the Building Advisory Practice (BAP) initiative of SNV East Africa; conceptualized and supported by a team of SNV staff and advisers. Lead consultant for the BAP initiative is Rob Sinclair.

An energy transition is required in Tanzania. Household energy needs are currently largely met by unsustainable wood fuel resources and many households experience energy poverty. The traditional strategies to introduce modern energy are slow and unable to reach households in inaccessible and poor areas. 

To make an energy transition and to meet the energy demand in Tanzania in a sustainable way solar PV (photovoltaic), improved cook stoves (ICS) and biogas technologies were selected based on the appropriateness of the technologies in rural Tanzania and their sector development.

Moreover this study shows that sustainable energy provision requires a sector of independent enterprises that own the capacity to provide these appropriate energy technologies. Cluster strategies promote the development of groups of such enterprises. The institutional setting for such cluster strategies was found to rely on civil society organizations, mainly because the representation of the rural energy topic on the local level by district governments and public agencies is virtually absent. 

Based on the research in Tanzania inceptive cluster strategies are reported and five types of cluster promotion are categorised. The research results point to cluster promotion through existing value chains as currently the most suitable strategy for achieving this goal. In rural Tanzania it makes economic sense to use the limited infrastructure to integrate energy provision and appropriate energy enterprises with existing business activities, such as diary and Jatropha production. The crux is to create the right institutional setting to develop the mutual benefits of sustainable energy provision for households and enterprises.

School WASH case study

This annual report provides more detail of the strategic position choices SNV made in East and Southern Africa in 2007 and illustrates our approach with case studies from our practice.

This report gives an overview of SNV’s proceedings in the edible oilseeds sector in Tanzania, from 2007 to 2010. Interventions aimed at increasing income for at least 80,000 smallholder households to derive a higher income from oilseeds production or related activities by 2010. To that effect key interventions included: Producer Group Strengthening, Market Intelligence and facilitating Value Chain Financing.

Energy in Africa capability statement

Biogas: Viable or Not? An explorative study to the feasibility of introducing biogas and the impact on HHs’ livelihoods in the Northern regions of Tanzania (2007).

In the first part of the study an extended overview of the geographical context, the theoretical framework underlying the research, and the methodology used is presented. The report continues with an overview of the history of biogas is Tanzania with elaboration on its main actors, such as like SIDO, AATP, GTZ, CAMARTEC, ELCT, SUDURETA, HEIFER, ABC, PHCA, BSC, KAKUTE and FIDE. It continues with an evaluation of the present status of biogas, the socio-economic profile of users and non-users, a status and technical performance of the biogas plants and its appliances, and positive and negative lessons learned.

Further, the study evaluates the requirements that are needed for the introduction of biogas. These are divided in technical, socio-cultural, financial/economical and institutional requirements. A division is made between contextual and conditional factors. These factors were given a score according to their current status, where the scores show an overview of the feasibility of introduction of the technology.

In the third part the study looks at the impact of biogas on HH level and gives a future outlook. A comparison of theory and practice is presented, as well as the impact of biogas on HHs livelihoods.

The fourth and last part of the report present concluding remarks, looking at which initiatives and developments have occurred so far in Tanzania, the main contextual and conditional factors related to introduction of biogas, the impact of biogas on the livelihood of the HH, and the outlook for the future of biogas in Tanzania.