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Case study sites
FoCo-Active uses a cross-sectional study design. Case study sites were selected by purpose for the rural-urban comparative study and project participants are randomly selected using a school sampling procedure.
Dar es Salaam region
Dar es Salaam is the biggest commercial city and financial hub of Tanzania and a special administrative region. It covers an area of about 1,393 km² comparable in size to Mauritius. Dar es Salaam is divided into five municipal councils of Ubungo, Kigamboni, Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala. It borders the Indian ocean to the East and is completely surrounded by Pwani region from the mainland.
The FoCo-Active Project operates in Ilala district, with project interventions in the case study wards of Upanga Mashariki, Kinyerezi and Gongo la Mboto. These wards generally exhibit contrasting levels of urbanisation and socio-economic conditions, with the highest level of urbanisation in Upanga and the least in Gongo la Mboto.
Climate
Dar es Salaam region has a modified type of equatorial climate and is usually hot and humid with temperatures of between 25 to 35 °C. It has a bimodal rainfall pattern with long rains from March to May while short rains occur in October to December with an annual precipitation of 800-1100 mm per annum. Humidity ranges from 55 to 100 %. Dar es Salaam has three main agro-ecological zones i.e. the upland zone, middle plateau, and the low lands. Soils include sandy clays and clayey sands in the coastal plain, rendzinas, and coarse sands. The main natural vegetation includes coastal shrubs, Miombo woodland, coastal swamps and mangrove trees.
Social and economic
According to the 2022 Tanzanian population and housing census, Dar es Salaam region has a population of about 5,383,728 inhabitants and had a population growth rate of 2.1 %. Dar es Salaam is an important administrative, commercial and industrial centre contributing to about 40 % of Tanzania’s industrial manufacturing units. The population is engaged in commercial activities from both the formal and informal sectors with about 45 % of the businesses as retail enterprises and 75 % of the population living in unplanned and unserviced settlements. Though various estimates of the Dar es Salaam residents involved in agriculture exist, at least 35000 of the residents are engaged in some form of food production, most especially those in poor and middle-income social group much as some from the high income group are also involved. Vegetable production features most prominently in home/backyard gardens and open spaces in peri-urban areas. However, livestock keeping is also practised with poultry, pigs and cattle as the main components of the system. Main vegetables grown include chinese cabbage, amaranthus, cassava leaves, okra, sweet pepper and eggplants.
Pwani region
Pwani (Coastal) region is situated on the coast of Tanzania and surrounds Dar es salaam city administrative region. It also borders the administrative regions of Morogoro to the west, Tanga to the north and Lindi to the south with the Indian ocean running along its east borders. Pwani region has a total area of 32,547 km². Pwani region is divided into eight administrative districts (Bagamoyo, Kibaha, Kisarawe, Rufiji, Chalinze, Kibaha and Mafia and Mkuranga).
The FoCo-Active project operates in Mkuranga district. The district experiences the highest malnutrition rates within the region. Project interventions are specifically implemented in the Mkamba ward and Kisegese ward as case study areas. The wards experience contrasting nutrition security indicators with Mkamba having better nutrition situation.
Climate
Pwani region experiences a bimodal rainfall pattern with an average precipitation of between 800-1000 mm per annum and average annual temperature of 28 °C. Long rains are experienced from March to June while short rains occur in October to December. Pwani region topography is mainly of a coastal belt ranging from 0 to 100 m above sea level with sand, sandy loam and heavy clay soils. Corresponding with this, Pwani region is clustered in three main agro-ecological zones:
- coastal belt zone
- river basins and lowlands zone
- highland plateau zone
Social and economic
According to the 2022 Tanzanian population and housing census, Pwani region has a population of about 2,024,947 inhabitants and the second highest population growth rate at 6.1 %. The main economic activity in Pwani region is agriculture, employing over 80% of the population. Livestock keeping, fishing and tourism are the other significant economic activities in the region. However, the region is also fast experiencing an industrial growth especially for the districts of Mkuranga and Bagamoyo. Agricultural production in the region is mainly subsistence rain fed but several irrigation schemes are also operational supplied with water from the three major rivers, i.e. Rufiji, Wami and Ruvu, mostly for cultivating paddy, horticultural crops and sugarcane. Major cash crops grown are cashew nuts, coconut, sesame, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, passion fruits, and watermelon. Major staple food crops in the farming system, include maize, cassava, rice, beans, groundnuts, green gram, sweet potatoes and yams. Vegetables grown include cabbages, spinach, amaranthus, tomatoes, onions, okra, lettuce, eggplant, bell pepper and carrots.
