iagri annual report (2013-2014) · iagri annual report – year iv page 1 annual report october 1,...

iAGRIAnnualReport–YearIV Page1

AnnualReportOctober1,2013-September30,2014

submittedby

InnovativeAgriculturalResearchInitiative(iAGRI)

October,2014


TheOhioStateUniversitywww.osu.edu

OfficeofInternationalProgramsinAgriculture113AgriculturalAdministrationBuilding2120FyffeRoadColumbus,OH43210Tel:(614)292-7252Fax:(614)292-1757

InnovativeAgriculturalResearchInitiative(iAGRI)P.O.Box3114,SokoineUniversityofAgricultureMorogoro,Tanzania

Tel:+255232600743(landline)Tel:+255763267934(mobile)

Cover photo: iAGRI-sponsored scholar Mahinda Athuman, a Master's student at the University ofNairobi,withasoilmoisturemeterandadrip irrigation line inanexperimentalsorghumfieldat theMinistryofAgriculture'sAriMakutuporaResearchInstitutenearDodoma,Tanzania.

This publication is made possible by the support of the American people through the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID). The contents do not necessarily reflect the views ofUSAID or the United States Government. It was prepared by The Ohio State University underCooperativeAgreement621-A-00-11-000090-00withUSAID/Tanzania.


Table of Contents ExecutiveSummary........................................................................................................................................5

Long-TermTraining....................................................................................................................................5

Research.....................................................................................................................................................7

CapacityBuilding........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction..................................................................................................................................................11

DescriptionofProgram................................................................................................................................11

ImplementationProgress.............................................................................................................................12

Long-TermDegreeTraining......................................................................................................................12

IR1.2 PhaseIiAGRICollaborativeResearchProgram........................................................................14

IR1.2 BorlaugProgramResearchAwards.........................................................................................16

IR1.2 GraduateStudentSummerResearchInternships....................................................................16

IR1.2 PhaseIICollaborativeResearchPrograms...............................................................................16

IR1.3 SUACapacityBuilding..............................................................................................................18

CapacityDevelopment-TeachingProgramInfrastructure.....................................................................19

CapacityBuilding–Leadership/ChangeManagement............................................................................21

IR3–IncreasedInvestmentinAgricultureandNutritionActivities............................................................22

IR3.1 SUACapacityBuilding–IndividualProgramStrengthening.........................................................22

SUACapacityBuilding–Short-TermTraining..............................................................................................26

ShortCoursesOffered..............................................................................................................................26

ShortTermTrainingofSUAStaffintheU.S............................................................................................27

IR8–EnablingPolicyEnvironmentforAgricultureandNutrition...............................................................29

IR8.1 AgriculturalPolicySeminarSeries............................................................................................29

IR8.2PolicyBriefsShortCourse..............................................................................................................30

ProjectAdministration.................................................................................................................................30

ActivitiesImplementedinZanzibar..............................................................................................................32

PhDDegreeTraining.................................................................................................................................32

M.Sc.DegreeTraining..............................................................................................................................32

UndergraduateDegreeTraining.................................................................................................................32

iAGRIHighlights............................................................................................................................................32

CohortIViAGRIStudentsPlacedinGraduateDegreeTrainingPrograms...............................................33


ClimateChangeConferenceSeries...........................................................................................................34

CreationofInnovationPortfolio..............................................................................................................35

LeadershipWebinarforiAGRIFellows.....................................................................................................35

CandidateCompletionofStudies.............................................................................................................36

CollaborationwithSUAAgribusinessInnovationProgram......................................................................37

M.Sc.StudentPlacementsinIndia...........................................................................................................37

SUALeadershipChangeManagementInitiative......................................................................................37

Problems/Challenges....................................................................................................................................37

SpecialIssues................................................................................................................................................39

PlannedActivities.........................................................................................................................................40

Cross-CuttingIssues...................................................................................................................................41

ImprovedEnablingPolicyEnvironmentforbothAgricultureandNutrition............................................41

IncreasedCapacityofWomentoParticipateinAgricultureandNutrition.............................................42

FINANCIALSUMMARY..................................................................................................................................42

ANNEXES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….43

AnnexI:PMPIndicators...........................................................................................................................44

AnnexII:EnglishTourConclusions...........................................................................................................46

AnnexIII:NeedsAssessmentReport........................................................................................................49

AnnexIV:iAGRINewsUpdate..................................................................................................................55

AnnexV:iAGRIProjectUpdate................................................................................................................58

AnnexVI:SUAWebsiteNeedsAnalysisReport.......................................................................................59

AnnexVII:SUGECOProposal....................................................................................................................67

AnnexVIII:MORAGGConceptNote.........................................................................................................74

AnnexIX:PositionDescription–CommunicationsManager...................................................................77

AnnexX:PositionDescription–ProgramsCoordinator..........................................................................79

AnnexXI:PositionDescription–InnovationPortfolioManager.............................................................80

AnnexXII:LibHubProposal......................................................................................................................82

AnnexXIII:SUAConvocationDraftStrategicPlan..................................................................................89

AnnexXIV:SUGECOProgramExpansion..................................................................................................98

AnnexXV:TrainingGoalsofiAGRIin2014............................................................................................100


ExecutiveSummary

iAGRIisaUSAID-fundedprojectdesignedtostrengthenthecapacityofSokoineUniversityofAgriculture(SUA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives (MAFC) to contribute toTanzania’s development goals, particularly those found in the Tanzanian Government’s AgriculturalSectorDevelopmentPlan,itsAgricultureandFoodSecurityInvestmentPlan,anditscompactdevelopedundertheComprehensiveAfricanAgriculturalDevelopmentPlan.Thefourprincipalobjectivesof iAGRIare to (1)provide135 individualswithpost-graduatedegreetraining,approximatelyhalfofwhich is tooccur in the U.S.; (2) promote collaborative research among staff from SUA, MAFC, six Americanuniversities forming the Ohio State University Consortium (OSUC), and Global South institutions; (3)strengthen the institutional capacity of SUA to contribute to food security in Tanzania; and (4)strengthenTanzania’slinkageswithU.S.andGlobalSouthresearchandeducationalinstitutions.

Long-TermTrainingTo date 128 post-graduate students have been placed in degree training programs at institutions onthreecontinents(NorthAmerica,Africa,andAsia)andhaveeithercompletedorcontinuedtheirstudies.

StudentPlacementsthatHaveBeenCompletedorAreContinuing

CohortI

B.Sc. M.Sc. Ph.D Total

OSUC 6 6CohortII

CohortIII

OSUC 10 10SUA 4 4RUFORUM 10 10South/South 2 2

CohortIV

OSUC 23 23SUA 9 2 11RUFORUM 11 11South/South 4 4

SUBTOTAL 3 108 20 131

OSUC 12 16 28SUA 3 8 2 13RUFORUM 9 9


Sixty-sevenofthesestudentshavebeenplacedatOSUConsortiuminstitutions.Ofthese,51wereM.Sc.placements and 16were Ph.D. placements. Thirty students were placed by RUFORUM at itsmemberinstitutions in Sub-SaharanAfrica. Thirty-five studentswereplaced at SUA, including10B.Sc. studentsfrom Zanzibar1and two at the Ph.D. level. Furthermore, six students have been placed at the PunjabAgricultural University in India.2 In the coming year, several more students will be placed in degreeprograms, and they will include three students who chose to defer their studies for a year due topersonal problems. One will pursue a PhD and the other two MSc degree programs at OSUCinstitutions. It is unlikely that an additional call for proposals will be made for this limited studentCohortV.3ChartI–iAGRIGraduateDegreeTrainingPlacements–CohortsI–IV

1Threeofthese10studentsplacedattheB.Sc.levelcontinuetopursuetheirundergraduatedegreesatSUA.2AdecisionwasmadetofocusGlobalSouthplacementsatoneinstitutioninordertoincreasetheprobabilityofhavingtheseplacementsresultinalong-termrelationshipbetweenSUAandthatinstitution. Itwasbasedontheassumptionthatgreaternumberswouldleadtogreaterfutureinteractions.3AnothercallforapplicationsfortrainingwoulddependonUSAID/TanzaniarequestingthatalargeCohortVbetrainedundertheprogram.

ByLocation

5%20%

52%

23%

OSUC

RUFORUM

SUA

PAU

ByGender

Female49%

Male51%


CohortIstudentshavenowcompletedtheirresearchandhavegraduated.AllofthemreceiveddegreesfromOSUC institutions and their degreeswere based on research conducted in Tanzania. All of themwerejointlysupervisedbyOSUCadvisorsandSUAsupervisors.ManyCohortIIM.Sc.studentswillhavecompletedtheirdegreeprograms, includingdefensesconductedusingthe internet.Anumberof themwere unable to complete their field research in time and are scheduled to defend their theses andgraduate at the end of the fall, 2014 academic term. Additionally, the ten students from Cohort IIIpursuingM.Sc. studies at OSUC institutions have returned to Tanzania to pursue their field researchduring the coming fiscal year. They joined 20 other Cohort III students being trained at OSUC andRUFORUM institutions. They are being advised by their respective American and African advisors,depending on the university where they studied, and their SUA supervisors. Several Ph.D. studentsstudying at OSUC institutions also returned to Tanzania during the year to work on their dissertationfieldresearch.TheM.Sc.studentsplacedatPunjabAgriculturalUniversity(PAU)haveremainedinIndiaandwillconductrelatedresearchthere.

Students consulted regularlywith their advisors by email and video conferencewhile conducting fieldresearch in Tanzania. Students who study in the U.S. and in Africa outside Tanzania are expected tohaveanapprovedresearchproposalinhandpriortoreturningtoTanzania.

Studentsandadvisorswereprovidedaccesstowhitepaperswrittenoneightprioritythemesidentifiedby iAGRI during its initial year for consultation to help define relevant student research topics. ThesethemesareconsistentwiththeFeedtheFuture (FtF)topics identifiedbyUSAIDTanzania. Studentsareencouraged to work from this base when identifying their research problems, and they have beenencouraged to collaboratewith otherUSAID-funded projects and CGIAR research programs located inTanzania.TheiAGRIProjectManagementhasfacilitatedthiscollaboration.

ResearchEight of the 9 collaborative research projects originally selected for funding as Phase I of the iAGRIresearch program continued during the year. They focus on Feed the Future topics identified asprioritiesforiAGRI.Fiveareledbywomenscientists. FivePIsareemployedbySUA;oneisemployedbyMAFC; and two are employedbyOSUC institutions. Aworkshopwas held for these PIs in early 2014.PIspresentedpreliminaryresearchresultsaswellasresearchplansforthecomingsixmonths.Sevenofthe 8 presentations were excellent and demonstrated substantial progress in the research.Recommendations were made about how to move the other project forward, including substantiveinputs fromOSUC partners. All of the projects have received important inputs fromOSUC co-PIswhohavevisitedtheprojectsitesinTanzaniaduringtheyear.PIswererequestedtopresentannualreportsfor their projects in June. They were reviewed by PMU staff and by outside reviewers. The reportsindicatedthatsubstantialprogresscontinuestobemadeonthem.


CLIMATECHANGE

CROPIMPROVEMENT

GENDER

EXTENSION

NUTRITION

WATER

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

ChartII–FeedtheFutureFociofCollaborativeResearchProjects

12.5

37.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5

An agricultural policy project funded under the Agricultural Policy Seminar Series (APSS) has beencompleted. Seminars were held at which the researchers shared their results and appropriate policyrecommendations ensuing from the research. Attention was also given to the preparation of policybriefsbasedontheresearchfindingsforpolicymakersandgovernmentprogrammanagers.

Duringtheyear,planswerealsodevelopedforaPhaseIIofiAGRIresearchprojects. UnlikePhaseI,highpriority topics for research were pre-identified and contacts were been made with researchers inTanzania and at OSUC institutions who are highly qualified to address them. Topics were identifiedthrough interactionswithUSAID-fundedFeed theFuturepartners inTanzania and targeted toaddressUSAID priorities in Tanzania. Topics for important research over the coming year are major maizeproductionconstraints,dripirrigationforhorticultureproduction,ricedemand,andagriculturalriskandclimate change. The PMU has also discussed the possibility of funding another series of agriculturalpolicyprojectsinconjunctionwithSERA.

CapacityBuildingCapacitybuildingduringthepastyearfocusedonfivedimensions,(a) infrastructure;(b)staff training;(c) leadershipdevelopment;(d)privatesectorengagement;and(e)SUAprogramstrengthening.

Infrastructure–TheiAGRIProjectManagementUnit(PMU)continuedtoworkwiththeQuality

Assurance Promotion Bureau (QAPB) at SUA to equip and service classrooms with audio-visualequipment.ThePMU alsoworkedwith the SUA library staff to increase access to scientific journals

AxisTitle


fromaroundtheworldthroughawebportal,knownasLibHub,aUSAID-fundedfacilitythataggregatesonline journal articles from multiple sources into a single searchable database, and through TEAL, aprogram managed by the Cornell University library that provides access to up-to-date literature toresearchscientistsaroundtheworld.

Short-Term Training – Several short-courses were offered to SUA staff and post-graduatestudents by visiting staff fromOSUCmember institutions and by other African experts. Courseswereoffered on SPSS programming for statistical analysis; gender mainstreaming in agriculture; qualitativemethods of research; program evaluation research; and development of policy briefs.Most of thesecourses were led by staff from OSUC institutions and staffed by the PMU in Morogoro. Ten OSUCadvisorsofferedseminarson topicsgermaneto the fieldworkof theirstudents to SUAstaffandpost-graduatestudents. TheseseminarswereorganizedbythePMU.

Several staff fromSUAandMAFCtraveledto theOSUC institutionstoobservehowadministrativeandprogramtopicsofinteresttothemarebeingmanagedandadministeredintheU.S.Thesestaffpersonswere invited togive seminars toOSUCstaffon topicsof related interest. Several co-advisors forPh.D.students also visited OSUC institutions to interact with their students and co-advisor counterparts ontopicsgermaneto completionof student thesesanddissertations. Thesevisitswerewell receivedandareexpectedtoleadtocontinuedinteractionsoverthelongterm.

Leadership Development - Bosserman and Associates continued to provide inputs to SUAleadersrelatedto leadershipdevelopmentandchangemanagement.SUA’s leadershaveembracedtheneed for change to address current and future pressing issues, such as infrastructure improvements,revenue streamdiversification, riskmanagement, staff capacity and increased studentdemand. USAIDrequested iAGRI to prepare a proposal to strengthen SUA’s capacity to administer and manageuniversityprograms,consistentwiththefindingsofaDeloitteauditof itsadministration.ThePMUhascollaborated with the Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI) in conducting aTraining Needs Assessment (TNA) that has confirmed the findings of the Deloitte audit and outlinedspecific training objectives. iAGRI is currently in the process of identifying partners to prepare anddeliveraseriesoftrainingexercisesthatwilladdresstheneedsidentifiedintheTNA.ThesecourseswillbeofferedtoSUAadministrativestaffoverthecomingyear.

Private Sector Engagement – iAGRIhasbeenpromotingways toengageSUAwith theprivatesector,amajorpotentialstakeholderandsupporterofSUAactivities.AninnovationportfolioconsistingofaseriesofwaysinwhichSUAanditsstaffcanprovideresearchanddevelopmentinputsofinteresttopotentialprivatesectorinvestorshasbeendeveloped.Thisportfolioisbasedlargelyonresearchresultsemanating from student theses and iAGRI collaborative research projects. In addition, iAGRI has alsobeen interactingwith potential private sector investors regarding the potential to use SUA’s land andfacilities forproduction inways that generate income for SUAandprovideopportunities for SUA staffandstudentstoconductresearchanddevelopmentactivitiesfundedbytheseinvestors.

SUA Program Strengthening – Specific academic and research programs and facilities at SUAhavebeenidentifiedforstrengthening.TheyincludetheprograminSoil,WaterandClimateChange.A


major conference was held jointly by SUA, OSU/iAGRI and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences(NMBU)/NORADonissuesofclimatechangeandagriculture.Planninghasbeenundertakenforafollowupconferenceforthecomingyearconcerningprivatesectorcontributionstoclimatechangeadaptationand mitigation. Other targeted programs also relate to building relationships between SUA and theprivatesectorandNGOcommunity.TheyincludeattemptstostrengthenSUAlinkageswiththeSokoineUniversity Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO), and the Tanzanian Horticulture Association(TAHA).

GlobalSouth-SouthLinkages–Theselinkagesarebeingstrengthenedlargelythroughdegreetraining.ThroughRUFORUM,iAGRIhasplacedanadditional21studentsatRUFORUMaffiliateinstitutions,inZambia,Malawi,KenyaandUganda. Inaddition,fourmorestudentswereplacedatPunjabAgriculturalUniversityinIndia. WeanticipatethattheseplacementswillleadtolongterminteractionsamongstaffandstudentsatSUAwithcounterpartsattheseinstitutions.


Introduction

ThisAnnualReport concerns theUSAIDFiscal Year2013/2014, and covers theperiod fromOctober1,2013toSeptember30,2014. Itcontainsanarrativeofactivitiesconductedduringthisperiodalongwithadiscussionofresults,outputsandpreliminaryimpacts. ItisorganizedtobeconsistentwiththeUSAIDtemplateusedtomonitorandevaluateitsprogramsinhighereducationandfoodsecurity.ThefocusisonmajorfoodsecurityindicatorsfoundintheUSAID/TanzaniaFeedtheFutureprogram.

All four iAGRI objectives have been addressed during the reporting period. All students fromCohort Ihave graduated. Four M.Sc. students from Cohort II have also graduated, while others, along withCohort III studentshavecontinuedtheirprogramsofstudyandresearchover thepastyear.Oversightfor their activities has been provided by the iAGRI Management Entity (ME) – the InternationalPrograms in Agriculture Office located at Ohio State University - and the Project Management Unit(PMU) located in Morogoro. Additionally, Cohort IV students were recruited and placed at OSUCinstitutions, at RUFORUM member institutions, at SUA and at Punjab Agricultural University. iAGRIsupport continued for eight collaborative research projects involving partners from SUA, MAFC andOSUC institutions. Four agricultural policy projects initiated in 2012 were brought to closure.Development of another phase of food security focused research collaborations was also explored.iAGRIprogrammingalsofocusedonbuildingthecapacityofSUA’sacademicandresearchprogramsandthecapacityofSUAleadershiptomanagechange.

FundingforiAGRIhasbeensufficient,havinggraduallyincreasedfromaninitialallocationof$500,000inMarch,2011,to$2,500,000inAugust,2011,to$6,000,000inJune,2012,to$11,400,000inMarch,2013to $17,200,000 in August, 2014. The latter increase accompanied a formal extension of the iAGRIcooperativeagreementforoneyearandtheadditionofrelatedprogramperformancecommitmentsbytheOSUME. Fundinghasbeen sufficient to cover additional training, research and staff developmentcommitments.AttentionwillneedtobegiventoprojectcoststhroughtheendofFY2014-2015andtheprobableneedtoobligateadditionalfundingfortheproject.

DescriptionofProgramiAGRIisdesignedtostrengthenthetrainingandcollaborativeresearchcapacitiesofSUAandtheMAFC.ThisisconsistentwiththethemeandroadmapoftheUSAIDFeedtheFutureinitiative,particularlyasithas been made operational by USAID/Tanzania. It is also consistent with Government of Tanzaniaprioritiesas reflected in itsAgriculturalSectorDevelopmentProgramand theTanzaniaComprehensiveAfricaAgriculturalDevelopmentProgramcompact.iAGRIhasfourmajorobjectives,namelyto:

➢ Provideadvanceddegreetraininginagriculturefor135Tanzanianpost-graduatestudents,twentyofwhomaretobetrainedatthePh.D.level;

➢ Establishaprogramof agricultural research involving collaboration betweenandamongSUA,MAFCandOSUCrepresentatives;

➢ StrengthenthecapacityofSUAtodirectlydevelopandimplementagriculturalinstruction,internship,researchandoutreachprogramsandtomanageassociatedchangeseffectively;and


➢ PromotecooperationbetweenSUA,U.S.universitiesandGlobalSouthuniversities.

ImplementationofiAGRIinvolvesapartnershipbetweenandamongTanzanianinstitutionsandtheOhioState University Consortium (OSUC). OSUC represents six major U.S. land-grant institutions of highereducation. TheyareOhioStateUniversity (OSU), the lead institution;MichiganStateUniversity (MSU);theUniversity of Florida (UFL); Virginia Tech (VT); TuskegeeUniversity (TU); and Iowa StateUniversity(ISU). Together, these U.S. universities have many years of experience working with human andinstitutional capacity development in Sub-SaharanAfrica, including a historyof collaborationwith SUAand MAFC institutions in Tanzania. In addition, other U.S. land-grant universities and Global Southinstitutions, such as Punjab Agricultural University (India), have provided training and technicalassistanceinputsuponrequest.

ImplementationProgressThis has been a year of consolidation of programming activities associated with the four majorobjectives of iAGRI. Similar to the past Annual Report, this one is organized around the IntermediateResults (IRs) associated with the USAID/Tanzania Monitoring and Evaluation Plan and the ProjectManagementPlanpreparedbyiAGRIatitsonset.

Long-TermDegreeTraining

Long-termdegreetraining isorganizedbycohortsofstudentsselected for training intheU.S.atOSUCmember institutions,atRUFORUMmember institutions,atSUA,andatGlobalSouth institutions.Asoftheendofthisyear,fourcohortshavebeenselectedandplacedfortraining.

● Cohort I was comprised of 6 M.Sc. students placed at OSUC member institutions during theinitial five months of the project. One of these students was from Zanzibar. All of thesestudents have completed their degree programs and graduated. The five students whodefended their thesis research from Morogoro did so via video-conferencing. Their researchfocused on priority Feed the Future themes identified by the Needs Assessment conductedduringthefirstyearoftheproject.

TableI–PlacementsofCohortIVStudentsbyPartnerInstitutions

University Number Percentage

OSUC 23 46SUA 11 22RUFORUM 12 24PAU 4 8


• CohortIIconsistsof53students,27ofwhomwereplacedatOSUCmemberinstitutions.AllM.Sc.studentsspenttheyearinTanzaniaworkingontheirfieldthesisresearchandseveralof themcompleted their thesis researchandhavegraduated. Anadditional16students, who had completed their course work the previous year at RUFORUMmember institutions and at SUA, continued to elaborate their M.Sc. theses. Severalrecently completed all degree program requirements and graduated. Thosewho havenotcompletedtheirdegreeswillberequiredtodosobytheendofthecalendaryearatwhich time their iAGRI fundingwill be terminated. SixteenPh.D. candidates continuedtheirstudiesintheU.S.Additionally,twoPh.D.studentsplacedatSUAcontinueintheirrespectiveprogramsof study.ManyPh.D. studentsspent time inTanzaniaworkingontheir fieldresearchfortheirdissertations. Theywereadvisedbytheiradvisors,both intheU.S. and at SUA. Some of themanticipate graduating by the end of the followingfiscalyear. Threeof the10students fromZanzibarwhowereplaced inB.Sc.programsatSUA,continuedtheirprogramsofstudy.

• Cohort III includes 10 M.Sc. students placed at OSUC member institutions. Theycompletedtheir requiredcourseworkandhavesince returned toTanzania toconductM.Sc. thesis research. Cohort III also includes 10 students placed by RUFORUM at itsmember institutions,and4M.Sc.candidatesplacedatSUA.Theywillallworkontheirthesisresearchoverthecomingyear.Thiscohortalsoincludes2M.Sc.studentsplacedatPunjabAgriculturalUniversitywhoarecompletingtheirdegreerequirementsinIndia.

• Cohort IV candidateswere placed at their respective institutions of study. The Cohortincludes 23 students placed at OSUC member institutions in August, 2014, elevenstudentsplacedbyRUFORUMat itsmember institution,9M.Sc. and2Ph.D. studentsplacedatSUAand4M.Sc.studentsplacedatPunjabAgriculturalUniversity.Thiscohortwas larger than anticipated due to the addition of 15 placements through anamendment to the iAGRI Cooperative Agreement. As was true for previous Cohorts,candidatesfortrainingatOSUCmemberinstitutionsattendedworkshopsonTOEFLandGRE testingprior to taking these tests. A call forapplicationswaspublished in severalnational newspapers in August of the previous year andwas also distributed throughwebsitesandothervenues.

Special emphasis was given to identifying women candidates in order to reach theobjectiveof training asmanywomen asmen. Including Cohort IV, over 48 percent ofthe students placed by iAGRI have been women. Several additional students will beplaced in M.Sc. programs the following year, including several who delayed theiradmissioninfall,2014forpersonalreasons.

Advising of Long-Term Degree Candidates - In order to increase the local relevance of non-Tanzaniangraduatedegreeprograms,studentshavealsobeenassignedTanzanianco-advisors.TheOSUCandTanzanianadvisorsandthestudentareexpectedtointeractovertheentire lifeofthedegreeprogram,beginningwiththeselectionofanappropriatethesis/dissertationtopic.Students and their advisors have been given access to literature describing priority Feed theFuturethemes,whichwerefurtherrefinedinthe iAGRINeedsAssessmentreportmentioned


above. They have also been encouraged to interact with other Feed the Future partners inTanzania, including international agricultural research center representatives in identifyingresearch topics. This process has been effective in the preparation of theses defended byCohortIandCohortIIM.Sc.students.

Placements at Global South Institutions - Four students from Cohort IV were placed ingraduatedegreeprogramsat thePunjabAgriculturalUniversity (PAU) in India. PAU ispartofthe state agricultural university system in India and is recognized as one of its premiereuniversities. Having made significant contributions to the Green Revolution in India, it iscurrentlyfocusedonaddressingsustainabilityoftheIndianagriculturalandfoodsystems.Twoof these students are pursuing degrees in Food Technology. Another student is pursuing aM.Sc.degree inHumanNutrition;andafinalstudent ispursuingaM.Sc.degree inSoils. Theyjoinedtwostudentswhowillcompletetheirdegreesduringthecomingyear.

AnimportantiAGRIobjectiveistobuildlong-termcollaborationbetweenSUAandotherGlobalSouth institutions. RUFORUM was sub-contracted by iAGRI to place students from severalCohorts, and has numerous member institutions in Eastern and Southern Africa. Similar tootherGlobalSouthplacements, thesewillhelpbuildmoreproductiveandmutuallybeneficialtiesbetweenitsmemberinstitutionsandSUA.

TOEFL/GREExamWorkshop-Twentyninecandidatesforgraduatedegreetrainingparticipatedin a two-day workshop devoted to preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language(TOEFL) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Results of these tests are required forplacements atmostU.S. universities. Theworkshopwas administeredby the iAGRI PMUandME. FranklinUniversityprovidedtheworkshoppresentersunderanagreementwiththeME.

VisitsbyOSUCCo-PIstoTanzaniatoCollaboratewithPartnersonResearchProjects(2013-2014)

OSUCScientistBell,Patrick**

HomeInstitutionOhioStateUniversity

TanzaniaPIDidasKimaro

HomeInstitutionSUA

Boman,Brian UniversityofFlorida SophiaKashenge-Killenga MAFCChase,Carlene UniversityofFlorida AndrewTarimo SUADawkins,Norma TuskegeeUniversity LilianMpinga MAFCDoamekpor,Prosper TuskegeeUniversity JoyceKinabo SUAMasinde,Dorothy IowaStateUniversity RafaelWambura SUAMiller,Sally OhioStateUniversity DelfinaMamiro* SUARakowski,Cathy OhioStateUniversity NyambililaAmuri SUASutton,Claire** OhioStateUniversity DidasKimaro SUA

*ScientistsareCo-PIs;OSUClistedscientistsareactualPIsfortheseprojects.**GraduatestudentsfromOSUwhohaveworkedontheproject,includingfieldwork,overthepast14months.

Student evaluations of the workshop indicated that they found them to be very useful inpreparation for the tests.Of the30 candidateswhoparticipated in theworkshop, 25were


eventuallyadmitted tograduatedegreeprogramsatOUSC institutionsand22 initiated theirstudiesinfall,2014.

IR1.2 PhaseIiAGRICollaborativeResearchProgramiAGRIhas continued to fund8 collaborative researchprojectsaspartof itsoverallprogram.EachprojectinvolvesparticipationofatleastoneresearcherandfromSUA,fromtheMAFC.

SummaryDataforPhaseIiAGRICollaborativeResearchProjectsPrincipalInvestigator Base ProjectTitle OSUCPartnersAMURI,Nyambilila SUA ImprovingAgriculturalProductivityandCropNutritive Rakowski,OSU

QualitythroughaGenderSensitiveApproachtoCerealandVegetableProductioninTanzania

CHASE,Carlene FloridaImprovementofTomatoProductivityandQualityin Chase,Florida

TanzaniathroughReductionofAdverseEffectsofBiotic Xin-Chao,FloridaandAbioticStresses

KASHENGE-KILLENGA, MAFC IntegratedSaltAffectedSoilManagementOptionsfor Boman,FloridaSophia sustainableRiceProductivityinTanzanianIrrigation

Schemes

KIMARO,Didas SUA AgriculturalInnovationforSmallholderFarmersthrough Lal,OSU

LocallyAdaptedConservationAgricultureforImprovedFoodSecurityintheContextofClimateChange

KINABO,Joyce SUA FromSoilElementstoFoodNutrients:ImprovingNutrient Dawkins,Tuskegee

ContentofFoodsforHumanConsumptionviaAgriculture

MILLER,Sally OSU ImprovedSoilHealthandGermplasmtoAdvanceTomatoMcSpadden,OSU

ProductioninTanzania Francis,OSUTesten,OSU

TARIMO,Andrew SUA PromotionofLow-CostDripIrrigationTechnologyfor Boman,Florida

EnhancingAgriculturalProductivityandLivelihoodsof Dick,OSUSmall-ScaleFarmersinSemi-AridAreasofTanzania

WAMBURA,Raphael SUA UsingtheAgriculturalInnovationSystems(AIS)Approach Masinde,ISU

toImproveMaizeandRiceProductionthroughExtension Doamekpor,ServiceDeliveryinMorogoroandDodoma,Tanzania Tuskegee


ScientistsfromOSUCpartner institutionshavebeenactiveparticipants inalloftheseresearchendeavors. Two of the projects are headed by U.S. based PIs and others have involvedgraduatestudentsfromOSUCmemberinstitutions. ParticipationhasincludedinteractionusingtheinternetandvideoconferencingaswellasvisitstoTanzania.Initially, the selection process followed by iAGRI had identified 9 proposals for funding.However, the project led by Dr.Malley, Ilonga Research Institute, was suspended due to itsinability to identify an appropriate team leader. The original PI for this project accepted amajoradministrativepostandwasunabletocontinueinthisposition.

IR1.2 BorlaugProgramResearchAwardsSeveral iAGRI-sponsoredstudents locatedatOSUCmember institutionswereawardedUSAID-fundedBorlaugresearchawards.Theseawardsofupto$20,000areintendedtobuildstudentlinkages with international agricultural research centers (IARC). The iAGRI students, whoreceived theBorlaugawards, arebuilding linkageswith IARC facilities inEastAfrica, includingTanzania.Severalstudentsreceivedtheseawardsduringthepreviousyear.BetweenJuneandAugust,severalofthemandtheiradvisorsinteractedwithCGIARcounterpartsinEastAfrica.ItisanticipatedthattheseinteractionswillleadtothesisanddissertationresearchthatisalignedwithFeedtheFutureprioritiesandresearchprogramssupportedbyIARCs. Itisalsoanticipatedthattheywillleadtolong-termcollaborationsbetweenSUAandMAFConcestudentsgraduateandreturntotheirhomeinstitutions.IR1.2 GraduateStudentSummerResearchInternships

Severalstudentswhohadparticipatedinthe2013summerresearchinternshipprogramfundedfromOSUsources,returnedtoTanzaniatocontinuetheirresearchundertheaegisofthePhaseI Collaborative Research program. Theyworked on the project being directed by Prof. DidasKimaro. TheirgraduatestudiesadvisoristheOSUCco-PIforthisproject. OneofthestudentsisfundedthroughtheBorlaug fellowshipprogramfor12months; theotherstudentwas fundedby the collaborative research project. While in Tanzania, they continued to collect data onphysical and chemical characteristics of soils in a rice irrigation region in northern Tanzania.Thesedatawillbeusedtoassesschangesbroughtonbyclimatechangesintheregion.IR1.2 PhaseIICollaborativeResearchPrograms

Progress was made regarding the definition and initiation of a Phase II of the iAGRICollaborativeResearchprogramduringtheyear.Thisphasewilladdresskeyconstraints


encountered in the production of priority Feed the Future crops; problems encountered byFeedtheFuturepartners inTanzania incarryingouttheirprojectactivities;andgreaterdirectinvolvementofOSUC researchers in thedefinitionand implementationofprojects. The iAGRIManagementTeamidentifiedprioritiesforthisphasebecauseitbelievesthattheywillfacilitategreaterrelevanceofprojectedresearchtomeetthegoalsoftheUSAID/TanzaniaMissionFeedtheFutureprogram.Four areas have tentatively been identified for research investments. Actual progress indevelopmentoftheseprojectshasvariedbytopic. Fourpotentialresearchproposalsareunderconsideration and are directed to the following topics: (1)maize value chain constraints; (2)climate change and horticulture production/drip irrigation; (3) rice demand; and (4) riskmanagementinagriculture.MaizeProductionConstraints-InitiallyiAGRIfacilitatedinteractionbetweenmaizeresearchersatIowaStateUniversityandresearchersfromMAFCandSUA.ThisinteractioncenteredonhowtoaddressproductionconstraintsidentifiedthroughiAGRI’scollaborationwithNAFAKA,aFeedthe Future project in Tanzania. These constraints were stem borer; drought tolerance; andstriga. Eventually, they were supplemented with maize lethal necrosis disease which hasemerged as another major constraint in Tanzania.4 Through e-mail and video conferencingbetween Tanzania and Iowa, a concept note was developed for this research. A visit by theIowa State researchers to Tanzania was arranged for early September at which time a fullproposal was developed by the Iowa State and Tanzanian teams. This was based oninteractionsatsitestobe included intheactualresearchactivity.Thisprojectwillbe initiatedatthestartofthecomingFiscalYear(FY2014-2015).5Climate Change and Horticulture Production/Drip Irrigation - Horticulture producers beingserviced by TAPP, another Feed the Future project in Tanzania, and by the TanzanianHorticulture Association (TAHA), a grower’s association affiliated with SUA, rely heavily onirrigation for crop production. Much of this activity occurs in the northern part of Tanzania.TheslopesofMountKilimanjaroarebeingimpactedbyclimatechanges,includingtemperatureregimesandaccess to rain fall. iAGRIhasengaged several researchers from theUniversityofFlorida, whowork on drip irrigation to study this process. Both have been engaged in iAGRIactivities through collaborative research and iAGRI-funded graduate students. Recently, anauthorityindripirrigationatSUAhasbeentaskedwithpreparingaconceptnoteonthistopic.It will be shared with counterparts at the University of Florida and serve as a basis fordevelopingaresearchprojectontheseproblems.Itisanticipatedthatdripirrigationwillbean

4ThisdialoguewasinformedbyanimportantstudycommissionedbyiAGRI,namely,CatherineKuwite,“MaizeResearchinTanzaniawithFocusonDroughtTolerance,Striga,andStemBorerControl:AnAnalysisofCurrentKnowledge,ResearchGapsandRecommendationsforaResearchAgenda.”5AcopyofthisproposalisfoundintheAnnextothisreport.


important component of the solution to these climactic changes. Funding of this proposedprojectwilllikelyinitiateoverthecomingyear.RiceMarketingandPricingPolicy-Thecompetitionbetweenimportedanddomesticallygrownrice and the sensitivity of consumer demand to the price of rice, are factors that have animportant impact on the development of the rice sector in Tanzania. iAGRI is working withSERA, another Feed the Future partner, on these issues. Edith Lazaro, a M.Sc. candidate inagriculturaleconomicsatOhioState, isconductingherfieldresearchonricedemand.ShehasbeenallocatedadditionalfundingbyiAGRItoundertakefieldworkonthedemandforimportedversus domestic rice. This study will yield important baseline results about consumerpreferencesfordifferentricevarieties.Additionalresearchonpricingpoliciesfordomesticandimportedricewillbedevelopedbasedonthisstudy.LikelyparticipantsinthisresearchwillbeagriculturaleconomistsfromMichiganState,OhioStateandSUA.Weanticipatethatateamofresearchers from these institutions will prepare a concept note based on the results of thethesisresearchmentionedpreviously.RiskManagement inAgriculture -Climatechangehas increasedtheriskassociatedwithcropproduction in Tanzania, particularly in regard to rain-fed agriculture and the production ofcerealcrops.SeveralagriculturaleconomistsatOhioStatehavebeenencouragedtodevelopaproposal in coordination with counterparts of SUA to address this issue. Specifically, thisactivitywilllookintothepossibilityofestablishingacropinsuranceprogramtomitigatetheriskassociated with production under variable climactic conditions. The OSU researchers haveexperienceinWestAfricainconductingasimilarprojectdesignedtoassesstheeffectsofcropinsurance on production practices. Based on a recent visit to Tanzania, which includedinteractions with potential counterparts at SUA, Ministry of Agriculture policy makers, banksectorrepresentativesandPMUstaff, theyhavepreparedaconceptnotewhichoutlineshowthey can address the research problem. It is currently under review by PMU and ME staff.Basedondevelopmentofafullblownproposal,weanticipatethattheresearchwillbeinitiatedduringthefirsthalfofthecomingyear.IR1.3 SUACapacityBuilding

Based on interactions with SUA leaders and with the USAID/Tanzania Mission, iAGRI hascommitted to initiatingachangemanagementprogramatSUA. Theprogramrelates toSUA’scurrent attempt to implement a restructuring plan. During FY2013-2014 Steve Bosserman ofBosserman& Associates, Inc. continued to provide iAGRIwith organization design support inordertostrengthenthecapacityofSUAtodevelopandintroduceinstitutionalchangebasedoninteractions between formal and informal systems at SUA. Thismodelwas introduced duringthe first quarter of the year. Primary emphasis was given to instigating “conversations thatmatter.” During the rest of the year attention was given to increasing the flow ofexperimentation and learning from these conversations in order to discover additional “waysthatwork.”


ModelforDevelopingandIntroducingInstitutionalChange

Effortswere thenundertaken topackage informationabout theseways thatwork inorder toinfluence the formal system to make “changes that sustain,” thereby ensuring the system’slong-term viability. Conversations about ways that work centered on “organizationalexperiments”beingconductedby iAGRI,allofwhichare individuallyandcollectivelydesignedto strengthen SUA’s capacity to manage effectively ongoing operations and neededorganizational changes inducedbySUA’spolitical, social andeconomicenvironment. Eighteensuch experiments were initially identified during PMU staff informal system discussions withSUA staffof areasneedingattention. Theyemergedaspriorityexperiments after subsequentdiscussionsof themwithSUA leadership. Mostofthemhavebeen in theprocessofimplementationduringthepastyear. Theyarelistedinthefollowingtable.6

CapacityDevelopment-TeachingProgramInfrastructureClassroom Services Unit Support - In response to a SUA administration request, iAGRI hasstrengthenedtheQualityAssuranceandPromotionBureau(QAPB),aunitdesignedtoimprovestandards and performance related to academic activities, physical facilities, services andstudentexperiences.iAGRIpurchasedfurnitureandequipmentfortheQAPBoffice.Ithasalso

6Capacitybuildingactivitiesreportedinthissectionincludebutarenotlimitedtothosedesignatedasorganiza-tionalexperiments. Thosenotlistedasorganizationalexperimentsareitalicized.


providedsupportfortechnicalstaffmemberswhoareresponsibleforundertakingtheday-to-dayactivitiesoftheunit.

OrganizationalExperimentsConceivedand/orContinuedduringFY2013/2014

ClassroomComputerProjectorInstallationClassroomServicesUnitSupportCommercialHorticultureProjectConvocation(UniversityAlumniAssociation)EnglishLanguageProgramInductionTrainingforNewDeans,Directors,andHeadsInnovationPortfolioInternationalConferenceonClimateChangeInvestmentandAssetUtilizationLeadershipWebinarSeriesforiAGRIStudentsMentoringProgramQualityManagementTrainingProgramSokoineNationalAgriculturalLibrary(LibHub)SokoineUniversityGraduateEntrepreneur’sCooperative(SUGECO)StatisticalCollaborationLaboratoryTeachingAssistantPilotProgramUniversityTeachingandLearningImprovementProgramUniversityWebsiteRenovation

SUAWebsiteRenovation-MostSUAwebsiteusershaveindicatedthatitneedstobeupdated.Specific attention needs to be given to enhancing overall online presence and building thecapacityoftheSUAComputerCentretomanagewebpresencefortheUniversity.Thisimpliesrebuilding its existing content into a format that is easily navigated, easily updated, containsdownloadable documents, and is positioned for further growth and development. Over thepastyear,iAGRIsponsoredaconsultanttoreviewthestatusofthewebsiteandtorecommendchanges to it. Togetherwith SUAandPMU staff she assessed studentuseof thewebsite, itsusability, and suggested improvements to it. Basedon report recommendations, a consultantwill be contracted toworkwith SUA’s computer center staff to revamp the system over thecomingyear.Negotiationswill continuewithSUAregarding theneed to identifyan individualwhosesoleresponsibilitywillbewebsitemaintenance.Classroom Computer Projector Installation - During the previous quarter, the PMU workedwith QAPB leadership in undertaking an assessment of equipment currently being used inclassrooms. Aresultofthisactivitywasthepurchaseofclassroomprojectorsandprojection


screens and their installation on SUA’s campuses. Currently, this equipment is beingmaintained by the technicians at QAPB, and additional equipment installations are expectedduringthecomingyear. iAGRI issupportingapersonwho issupervisingallclassroomservicesunit activities. For long term sustainability of this activity, iAGRI has requested theQAPB torecruit the CSU personnel under SUA's policy, in order for the Unit to continue workingefficientlyoncetheiAGRIprojectcomestoanend.CapacityBuilding–Leadership/ChangeManagement

Investment andAssetUtilization - SUAsuffers from lackof sufficient resources toeffectivelymanageitsportfolioofactivity. Inanefforttodiversifyandincreaseitsrevenuestreams,iAGRIhasbeenworkingwiththeSUAleadershiponwaystobetterutilize itsresources, including itsextensivefarm.Severalopportunitieshaverecentlyarisentorentoutportionsof itsfarmandrelatedfacilitiestoprivatesectorinvestors.Theyaredisposedtopayfortheiruse,improvetheassets, and return someof the profits to support related research at SUA and training of itsstudents.However,SUAcurrently lacksthecapacity toevaluateandmoveonsuchproposals.SUA's Investment Policy of 2004 called for the creation of an Investment and ResourceMobilizationUnittosettheparametersforinvestment,evaluateproposals,andnegotiatewithpotential investors.Over thepast year, iAGRIhasbegun toassist SUA to createandmobilizesuchaunit. Thiseffortwillcontinueintothecomingyear.InnovationPortfolio - iAGRIhasdevelopedaportfolioof15proposedresearchprojectsaimedat attracting external sponsored research funding. The projects in the portfolio complementresearch that is currently being carried out by iAGRI-funded students and iAGRI-fundedcollaborative researchers. Projects are selected on the basis of their potential to attractinterestandsupportofsponsorsfromtheprivate,publicandvoluntarysectors.Thegoaloftheportfolio istocommercializetheresearchof iAGRIstudentsandcollaborativeresearchersandto attract new sources of funds for research at SUA. iAGRI has marketed the innovationportfolio to private firms and NGOs in Tanzania and abroad and has received severalexpressionsofinterest.APMUstaffpersonwashiredduringthelatterpartoftheyeartoleadthisactivity.Commercial Horticulture Project - iAGRI stimulateddevelopmentof anMOU involvingTAHA,TAPP, SUA and iAGRI. Based on its content, iAGRIwill support the creation of a commercialhorticulture facility on the SUA campus. TAPP and TAHA will provide support for producerproductionactivitiestraining,whileiAGRIwillprovidesupportthehireofindividualstooverseethe operation. This support will be limited to one year on the expectation that this facility willgeneratesufficientincometosupportthesepositionsinsubsequentyears.Leadership Webinar Series for iAGRI Students - PMU staff worked with faculty of the OSUDepartment of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership to undertake aleadershipwebinaroffered to iAGRI trainees in late2013andearly2014. Thiswebinar serieswasheldforstudentsofCohortsIandIIoftheiAGRITrainingProgram.Participantswerevery


pleased with the program and several were actively engaged in the conduct of a similarprogram for high school students in the Morogoro region. iAGRI will offer the revisedleadershipwebinarseriesoverthecomingyearforstudents inCohorts IIIand IV.Thecontentwill also be packaged so that other iAGRI groupsmay participate in instructor-led leadershiptraining. Preliminary plans were also made for a webinar series focused on organizationalleadership(versusindividualleadership)inspring2015.QualityManagementTrainingProgram(QMTP)-iAGRIreceivedapprovalfromUSAIDtomoveforwardwithaQMTP. Thefirststephasbeencompleted,namely,atrainingneedsassessment.iAGRI engaged the Eastern and SouthernManagement Institute (ESAMI) in Arusha to designand implement the assessment. It is now under review and will be used to design andimplement subsequenttrainingmodulesrelated to project management, asset management,auditing, and procurement in response to a January 2012 Stage II risk assessment reportcommissioned by USAID Tanzania. Subsequent learning modules will specify behaviors foradministration that promote excellence in performanceper ISO 9001 standards and establishprinciplesofsocialresponsibilityasoutlinedbyISO26000.InductionTrainingforNewDeans,Directors,andHeadsofDepartment-Halfofthemid-levelleadershipatSUAchangedduringthepastyear.Thispresentsanopportunitytoworkwiththisleadershiptoexplorehowtobettermanagerespectiveprogramsandtoinnovateinwaysthatallow for program improvement over time. The PMU has been discussing this trainingopportunitywith SUA staff aswell aswith the iAGRI change consultantandhasprogrammedtrainingtobeprovidedto thesemid-level leaders. Continuationof this training intheformofscheduledmeetingstoexplorespecificleadershiptopicshasalsobeendiscussedduringthelastmonthsofthepastfiscalyear.

IR3–IncreasedInvestmentinAgricultureandNutritionActivities

IR3.1 SUACapacityBuilding–IndividualProgramStrengtheningMentoring Program - iAGRI has supported development of an active, staff-basedmentoringprogramatSUA. Thisprogramisdesignedtogivespecialattentiontomentoringoffemalestaffand students as well as junior lecturers. The project sponsored a three-day mentoringworkshop inAugustwhichwasattendedby10 female studentsand13male students. Itwasalsoattendedby14potentialmentorsofwhichfourwerefemaleand10weremale.Overthecourse of the coming months, iAGRI intends to provide additional special training to thementorswhomissed thisworkshop. As part of the organization for the formal launch of thementoring program, iAGRI will (a) provide mentors and mentees with information aboutavailable resourcesandopportunities formentoring; (b)presentplans for the comingyear tothe SUA community; (c) sharementoring goalswith potentialmentees; (d) initiate discussionabouthow tonetworkmentorsandmentees;and (e) identifyand share specific roles for thementoringprogramcoordinationunit.


SokoineUniversityGraduateEntrepreneursCooperative(SUGECO) -SUGECOisacooperativeorganization originated by members of the Department of Agricultural Economics andAgribusiness at SUA. It is designed to provide entrepreneurship training to SUA students andgraduates and to stimulate agribusiness activity among its members. SUGECO currently hasaround200members andhasdevelopedan impressiveprogram that, amongotheractivities,helpsyoungentrepreneursobtain loans fromCRDBBankforbusinessdevelopment. iAGRIhasassisted thecooperative leaders todevelopa strategic frameworkand is currently finalizingasub-agreement with SUGECO that will fund professional staff for one year to supportprogrammatic and fundraising activities. SUGECO has a huge potential to stimulateagribusinessdevelopmentintheMorogororegionandbeyond.TheprogramisledbyDr.AnnaTemu,SUASeniorLecturerofAgribusiness.Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) -Access to appropriate scientific literaturewasidentifiedbymanySUAresearchersasamajorproblemrelatedtotheirabilitytopublishresultsin reputable scientific journals. Over the past year, the library completed its training andpromotion program to enhance the use of LibHub, an online platform that allows users tosearch and download up-to-date research publications. This platform was introduced to thelibrarybyPMUstaffwhobecameawareofitthroughUSAIDcontact.Intotal,389studentsand93staffwereintroducedtotheplatformanddownloadsincreased10timesoverthepreviousyear.LibrarystaffmemberscontinuetoworkwithpartnersatSUA’scomputercentreandwiththe makers of LibHub to increase their technical capabilities for managing the system andincorporatingnewresources.Theyarealsopreparingaphase IIproposal to iAGRI for trainingandresourcesthatwouldcontinuetoenhanceaccesstoanduseofelectronicresources.Gender Policy Implementation Committee (GPIC) - The GPIC was originally formed in 2003followingtheformulationofaSUAGenderPolicy,consistentwiththe2002SUAstrategicplan.The GPIC ismandated to ensure implementation of the policy. The GPIC reports to the SUASenate throughaCoordinatingCommittee. Itsmajor functionsare (1) tomonitorall activitiesthatrelatetogenderwithinSUA;(2)toworkwithrelevantorganizationswithinSUAtoensuregender disaggregated data are collected, stored, and reported in various documents of theuniversity;(3)totaketheleadincoordinationofgender-relatedprograms;(4)totakeanactiverole in developing proposals to develop gender-sensitive infrastructure facilities within SUA;and(5)toreviewgenderpolicyfromtimetotimeasnecessary. iAGRIhascontinuedtointeractwith this committee over the year, principally through Carolyne Nombo, the PMU GenderSpecialist. OSUC inputs have been provided through the services of an OSUC gender facultymember.EnglishLanguageProgram-DuringiAGRI’srecruitmentofdegreetrainingcandidatesfromSUAandMAFC, itbecameapparent thatmanyTanzaniansgraduatingwithBachelordegrees fromTanzanianuniversitiespossessEnglish languageskills thatare too limited for serious scientificstudyatthegraduatelevel.AlthoughEnglishisthemediumofinstructionatsecondaryschoolsand universities in Tanzania, most students entering SUA do not possess sufficient Englishlanguageandcommunicationskillstoexcelinuniversity-levelstudies.Thissituationhas


undermined SUA’s efforts to provide its graduateswith a quality education. iAGRI isworkingwith SUA’s Department of Social Sciences, which is mandated to provide English languageinstructiontostudents,toimprovethecurriculumandresourcesavailabletostudents.VirginiaTech has been providing OSUC support through Dr. Elsie Paredes who assessed the currentsituationatSUAandhasprovidedongoingadvicetotheSUAstaffresponsiblefordesigningtheimprovementplan.

Aspartofitsinstitutionalcapacity-buildingatSUA,iAGRIfundedastudytourforaSUAteamtovisit two other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to identify best practices in second-languageinstruction and to build networks with language programs in other African universities. TheteamvisitedEnglishlanguageprogramsatseveraluniversitiesinSouthAfricaandGhana. Teammembers observed how these universities incorporate English language training into theirundergraduate degree programs. A report on cutting-edge practices on English languageteaching programs, including information about Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)methodologies and related infrastructure/English language teaching facilities was completedduring the fourthquarter. Recommendationswill beusedby the team toprepareaproposalabouthowtoimprovetheEnglishLanguageandCommunicationSkillsprogramatSUA.

Statistical Collaboration Laboratory -Conversationswith SUA researchers and their graduatestudents have highlighted the need for SUA to provide effective statistical inputs to theresearch programs conducted by them. In response to this, iAGRI continues to supportdevelopmentof a statistical support laboratory for researchersat SUA. Technical support andtraining from the OSUC is being provided by Virginia Tech. iAGRI-funded student, EmmanuelMsemo, has completed hisMaster’s training at Virginia Tech and returned to SUA. BenedictKazuzuru,SUAstaffperson, initiatedasixmonthresidentialprograminMaywiththeVirginiaTech statistics laboratory. He will play an important leadership role at SUA in developing itsownCenter. AnotheriAGRI-fundedstudentinitiatedhisstudiesatVirginiaTechinfall,2014.Convocation (University Alumni Association) - Alumni are a major source of support foruniversitiesintheU.S.,contributingsubstantialfinancialresourcesandinfluencingdecisionsofothersupportorganizations.DiscussionsatSUArevealedthatmanyfacultyandadministratorswere aware of this and desirous of developing a similar dynamic association. Over the year,AGRI facilitated thedevelopmentof a plan to address objectives elaboratedby the ExecutiveCommitteeoftheConvocation. TheExecutiveCommitteeisconstructingadatabasecontainingnamesandcontactinformationofalumni.ThenextannualConvocationevent isscheduledforNovember,2014andwillmark the30-yearanniversaryof the firstdegrees conferredbySUAafteritbecameindependentfromtheUniversityofDaresSalaam. TheExecutiveCommitteewishes to have as many alumni as possible attend this event and collectively celebrate theoccasion.7 The ECC invited Andy Gurd, Chief Operating Officer of the Ohio State UniversityAlumniAssociation,tovisittheSUAcampusduringthepastyear.Heinterviewedcurrentand

7Fromthebeginningofdegree-grantingontheMorogorocampusin1972until1983,studentsundertakingstudiesinagriculturereceiveddegreesfromtheUniversityofDaresSalaam.


future alumni (students) and met with the Executive Committee to develop and initiate astrategicplanningprocessforbuildingandsustainingmutually-beneficialrelationshipsbetweenSUA and its alumni. A strategic plan has been completed andwill form the basis for relatedactivitiestobeundertakenoverthecomingfiscalyear. PMUstaffassistedwithitspreparation.

International Climate Change Conferences - Many SUA researchers are addressing climatechangeanditsimpactonagriculturalproductionandthelivelihoodsofruralresidents. Someofthis research is being funded by NORAD through programs at SUA. iAGRI supported therealization of a major conference at SUA on climate change, namely, “Climate Change,Sustainable Intensification and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa.” It represented anopportunityforSUAresearchersandgraduatestudentstopresenttheresultsoftheirresearchonclimatechangeatan internationalgatheringandattractedscientists fromnumerousotherSub-Saharan nations as well as international agricultural research centers, Norway and theUnited States. U.S. representation was from OSU Consortium partner institutions. Theconference was co-sponsored by SUA and provided an opportunity for the university tohighlight its contributions to this significant issue. Financial support for the conference wasprovided by USAID and NORAD. The conference represented the first time that thesedevelopment assistance agencies have collaborated in promoting development activities inTanzania.PresentationsmadeattheconferencearepostedontheiAGRIwebsite(http://www.iagri.org/events/climatechange2013).Manyof thesepaperswill soonappear inapublication by Springer.8During the year, a Steering Committee was formed to plan for afollow up conference in June, 2015 to deal with climate smart agriculture with a specialemphasisonsustainabilityandresiliencetoeffectsofclimatechange.Extension Linkages - Linkages between SUA and theMAFCextension systemhavedecreasedovertheyears.Inthepast,SUAprovidedimportanttechnicalinputstoextensionfieldworkersandtonationalextensionpolicymakers. These linkagesalsoservedtokeepSUAstaffabreastof major agricultural production and community issues faced by extension workers. Inresponsetothissituation, iAGRIarrangedforanexecutivevisitbykeyextensionpersonneltothe U.S.: Anne N. Assenga, Director of Training Institutes, MAFC, Joyce K. Mvuna, AssistantDirector Agricultural Extension, MAFC, and Catherine P. Msuya, Department Head ofAgriculturalEducationandExtension(DAEE),SokoineUniversityofAgriculture,visitedtheOSUcampus in January. Thepurpose of their visitwas to strengthen linkages betweenMAFC andSUA in order to enhance the quality of extension service delivery in Tanzania. The visitorsprepared a report that included a series of recommendations for future action. Among themare(a)curriculumreviewattheMinistryAgriculturalTrainingInstitutes(MATI)andatDAEE;(b)revitalization of the Tanzanian Society of Agricultural Education and Extension in order tostrengthentiesbetweenDAEEandvariouselementsofMAFCextension;(c)needsassessmentfortrainingofextensionworkers in thefieldwithservicetrainingtobeprovidedbyDAEE; (d)creation of advisory committees for extension offices consisting of various stakeholders; (e)strengtheninglinkagesbetweentraining,researchandextensionwithinMAFC;and(f)reviewof

8RattanLal,BalRamSingh,DismasL.Mwaseba,DavidKraybill,DavidO.Hansen,LarsOlavEik(eds.),SustainableIntensificationtoAdvanceFoodSecurityandEnhanceResilienceinAfrica. Amsterdam:Springer,2014.


applicationofaCommunicationforDevelopmentprograminTanzania.Thisreportwillbeusedtoprogramadditionalrelatedactivitiesoverthecomingyear.University Teaching and Learning Improvement Program - Student-centered learning is animportant focus for academic programs. At the request of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor-Academic, iAGRI agreed to sponsorworkshops on improved pedagogicalmethods for facultymembersatSUA. Plansweredeveloped for thisprogramandaseriesofon-goingworkshopswereconductedonteachingmethods.Teaching Assistant Pilot Program - As class sizes have increased at SUA due to increasingenrollments, lecturers find themselves increasingly involved with student interactions andgradingofpapers.Graduateteachingassistantsrelieve this loadatU.S.universities.FollowinguponaSUAplantoengagegraduatestudents in theundergraduateteachingprogram, iAGRIstaffworkedwiththeOfficeoftheDeputyViceChancellor-Academictodesignapilotprogramtotrainanduseteachingassistantstoteachclasses,advisestudents,andgradeexaminations.AcademicdepartmentsintheFacultyofAgriculturewerecontactedandaskedtoallocateofficespacefortheteachingassistants.Theyalso identifiedapoolofappropriategraduatestudentstoparticipateintheprogram. Severaldepartmentsutilizedstudentsasteachingassistantsoverthepast year. Their experiences arebeing evaluated andwill beused to perfect and enlargetheprogramoverthecomingyear.IR3.1 SUACapacityBuilding–Short-TermTraining

Short Courses Offered - Facultymembers fromOSUCmember institutions and professionalsfrom other Tanzanian institutions offered several short-courses to SUA staff and graduatestudents. They were widely advertised and well attended. Attendees were requested toprovidefeedbackonthecontentandoperationofthecourses.

Qualitative Research Methods - Dr. Gary Straquadine, OSU Department of AgriculturalCommunication, Education, and Leadership, provided a one-week short course on qualitativeresearch methods in late June. Prior to his arrival in Tanzania he met virtually with SUAinstructors who teach qualitative methods to identify specific training needs. The trainingcontinued upon his return to the U.S.; he has conducted two virtual follow-up sessionswithcourse participants to emphasize and extend the skills presented. He has also committed toadvising academic staffmemberswho teach qualitative researchmethods on how to furtherdeveloptheirowncoursematerials.SPSSUtilization -MargaretBeaver,MSU,provided aweek-long course inMayonuseof theStatisticalPackage for theSocialSciences (SPSS) for research facultyandgraduatestudentsatSUA.Shepreparedatutorialpackagefortheshortcoursepriortoherarrival inTanzania.Thecoursewasheavilysubscribedandparticipantevaluationsindicatedahighlevelofsatisfaction.


The consultantwill continue toprovide followup consulting as needed to SUA staffwhowillteachthecourseinthefuture.ProgramMonitoring and Evaluation - Dr. Graham Cochran, OSU Department of AgriculturalCommunication, Education, and Leadership, provided a one-week course on evaluationresearchmethods inJune.He introducedparticipantstothebasicsofevaluationresearchandthenassignedthem1)todesignanevaluationplanforaprojecttheyplantoproposeor2)toproduceacourseenhancementplanforanacademiccoursetheyteach.Thisactivitysupportedself-directedlearningduringtheweekoftheshortcourseandlaterthroughcollaborationwithpeers and follow-up webinars with Ohio State University faculty. Dr. Cochran has alreadyadvised course participants on evaluation research projects they are conducting during twoonlinefollow-upsessions.ThesesessionstookplaceinJulyandAugust,2014.Gender andAgriculture -CathyRakowski,genderspecialistatOSU,conductedashortcourseonalternativegenderanalysisframeworksforgraduatestudentsandinterestedacademicstaffin July. It was attended by 46 individuals, half of whom were men. Rakowski continues tofollow up with course participants on the application of these frameworks to their specificresearchactivities.PolicyBriefPreparation-DavidNyangi,MSU,andAnneNyamu,RegionalStrategicAnalysisandKnowledgeSupport System (ReSAKSS),delivereda three-day short course to SUA researchersonhow to communicate research findings topolicymakers. Participantsworked in groups tocreate and present a policy brief based on their own research after learning the basics ofeffectivepolicy-briefwriting.Seminars Presented at SUA by OSUC Staff - MostOSUC visitors to SUA under the iAGRIprogram presented seminars to interested faculty and graduate students in their areas ofcompetency. Seminars were arranged by the iAGRI Training Committee. They were wellattendedandbeneficialtotherespectiveaudiencesasevidencedbyevaluationfollowups.ShortTermTrainingofSUAStaffintheU.S.

SeveralSUAstaff traveledtoOSUCpartner institutions forshort-termtrainingduringthepastyear. Their interactionswithcounterpartscenteredontheSUAstaffpersons’specificareasofinterest. It isanticipatedthat thesevisitswill leadtoadditional iAGRI-fundedprogrammingatSUA,designedtostrengthenteaching,researchandadministrativecapacity.Flavianus Magayane - Dr. Magayane met with members of the Department of AgriculturalCommunication,EducationandLeadershipatOSUtofollow-uponthevisitofthreeTanzanianextension administrators to OSU during the previous quarter. Options for collaboration withSUA’s Department of Agricultural Education and Extension were discussed. He also advisedseveralOSUfacultymembersonshortcoursesthattheywerescheduledtoprovideatSUA inlateJuneandearlyJuly.Dr.Magayanealsoupdatedhisknowledgeonresearchmethodology,includingdatameasurementoptions.


SeminarPresentationsbyOSUCFacultyatSUA

OSUCPresenter University TitleRobertAgunga OhioState CommunicationforDevelopmentfromaSystemsPerspectiveAdeliaBovell-Benjamin Tuskegee MineralContent,RheologicalandThermalPropertiesofan

IsomerizedSweetPotatoStarchSyrup

NormaDawkins, Tuskegee CheomopreventiveImplicationsofPortlucaOleracea

MywishMaredia MichiganState CanAnimatedEducationalMaterialsInduceLearningandAdoptionamongLow-LiterateFarmers?

KumarMallikarajunan VirginiaTech MycotoxinManagementinPeanutsRobertMartin IowaState TheNewExtension–AModelforApplyingEducationalProcess

CompetenciesMarioMiranda OhioState UsingWeatherIndexInsurancetoPromotetheEfficiencyof

AgriculturalCreditMarketsinDevelopingCountries

AbdoulSam OhioState TheRoleofGenderonFertilizerAdoptioninUganda

JohnSchueller, Florida, Spatially-VariableControlofCropProduction

KarlaShelnutt, Florida TheRoleofFolatesinHealthPregnancyAmySimonne, Florida, IntegratedFoodSafetyandQualityResearchProgram:What

doesittaketomakeadifference?BrianSlater OhioState EnhancedLegacySoilMapsUsingDigitalSoilMapping

Technology

CathyRakowski OhioState EvaluatingAnalyticalGenderFrameworksinResearch,Planning

andDevelopmentPrograms

Prof. Clay Sneller Ohio State Genomic Selection in Plant Breeding

Thomas Lubbersteddt Iowa State Isolation and functional characterisation of Scmv1 and Scmv2: Two major genes controlling potyvirus resistance in maize


Bernard Chove - Prof. Chovemet withmembers of OSU’s Department of Food Science andTechnology, including Department Chair Dr. Sheryl Barringer. They discussed progress beingmade by iAGRI student Rita Mirondo in her Ph.D. program and possible future interactionsbetween the departments. Prof. Chove also met with members of the Ohio Food IndustriesCenter and reviewed the Ohio Food Industries Program, paying special attention to itsinteractions with the food processing sector in Ohio. This review focused on short-coursesbeing offered to companies in this sector and interactions related to product development,with a special focus on theOSUpilot plant. SUA is in the process of setting up its own pilotplant.Benedicto Kazuzuru - Dr. Kazuzuru initiated a six month visitation period at Virginia TechUniversity during the quarter. He is being hosted by Dr. Eric Vance and his Laboratory forInterdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA). Dr. Kazuzuru’s visit is part of efforts to establish asimilarlaboratoryatSUA,designedtoprovidestatisticalanalysisassistancetoresearchersfromall agriculturally relateddisciplines. Uponhis return to SUA,Dr. Kazuzuruwill be expected tocreate the laboratory and train others to do the same. This laboratorywill be the first of itskind in Tanzania. It will facilitate research design and data analysis, thereby increasing thequalityof researchoutputs in theagricultural sciences. Preliminary supporthasbeenpledgedbytheleadershipofSUAforthecreationofthislaboratory.Susan Nchimbi-Msola - Prof. Susan Nchimbi-Msola is Deputy Director for Research at SUA.WhileontheOSUcampus,she interactedwith leadersandstaffadministeringtheagriculturalresearch program. She also visited the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center,meeting its director and staff who administer its programs, such as the Ohio Seed GrantsprogramandUSDA-fundedHatchgrants. Shealso learnedabout theCenter’s interactionwithfederal funding sources, principally through USDA/NIFA, the state of Ohio, and the privatesector.While on the main campus, Nchimbi-Msola met with administrators of the Office ofSponsored Programs about how they administer externally funded research grants, andwiththe OSU Office of Research, which is responsible for campus wide research. In addition toproviding Prof. Nchimbi-Msola with an overview of how research priorities are defined andexternally-funded grants are obtained and administered, the visit also introduced her to howtheiAGRIprojectisadministeredatOSUandfieldreportingrequirementsassociatedwithit.

IR8–EnablingPolicyEnvironmentforAgricultureandNutritionIR8.1 AgriculturalPolicySeminarSeries

Support for agricultural policy research, initiated during the previous Fiscal Year, continuedthroughFY2013-2014. FundedresearchprojectswereledbyresearchersatSUAandMAFC.


1. Abubakar Malinza and Emmanuel Chingonikaya, “Institutional Analysis of AgriculturalInputServiceDelivery inTanzania:TheCaseof theNationalAgricultural InputVoucherSystem.”

2. JohnMsuya,PeterMamiroand,JoyceKinabo,“Isthe1000DaysFocusPolicyOptionfor

Improving Child Nutrition Sufficient for Preventing Low Birth Weights among PoorCommunities?”

3. Justin Urassa, Anna Sikira, Benedicto Kazuzuru and Ntengua Mdoe, “Smallholder

Commercialization of Maize Production and Food Security Following Liberalization oftheCropsMarket:ACaseStudyofRukwaRegion.”

4. AdamM.AkyooandZenaMpenda,“PolicyImperativesofMarketFailureintheCashew

NutIndustryValueChain.”

As part of a seminar series, they were invited to present their preliminary results to SUApersonnel and PMU staff. A concluding workshop was also held at which final results,conclusions, and recommendations were presented to representatives from SUA, MAFC,REPOA, ESRF, and other organizations. The PMU continued to follow up with these teams,encouraging them to develop their findings into policy briefs to be used by appropriategovernment personnel.Discussions were also held with SERA about the commissioning of asecondseriesofpolicyresearchprojects.

IR8.2PolicyBriefsShortCourseDavid Nyangi, MSU, and Anne Nyamu, Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge SupportSystem (ReSAKSS), delivered a three-day short course on how to communicate researchfindingstopolicymakerstoresearchersfromSUA.Participantsworkedingroupstocreateandpresentapolicybriefbasedontheirownresearchafter learningthebasicsofeffectivepolicy-briefwriting.

ProjectAdministrationProjectadministrativeactivitiessupporttheachievementofiAGRIobjectivesasreflectedbytheintermediateresultsfoundinthisreport. Theyarediscussedbelow.i. UpdateDataforM&EPlan–TheProjectManagementUnit(PMU)continuestoupdate

datafortheM&EPlan. ItsstaffworkedcloselywithTheMitchellGroup(TMG)toreviewthedatabeingcollectedtoensurethattheymeetthereportingneedsfortheproject


andfortheoverallFeedtheFutureUSAIDMissionportfolio.Staffwillcontinuetoworkcloselywith competentUSAID/Tanzaniapersonnel in the future. Dataon intermediateresultsachievedduringthepastyeararefoundintheAnnextothisreport.

ii. Collaboration with FtF Partners in Tanzania –iAGRI continues to work with SERA on

agricultural policy issues in support of theAgricultural Policy Seminar Series describedpreviously. SERA has expressed an interest in taking the lead in funding additionalpolicy researchduring the coming year. Additionally, iAGRIwill beonboard regardingthetechnicalimplementationoftheproject.Asecondcollaborationinvolvesplacementof several iAGRI degree trainees with partner institutions. This occurred after jointidentificationofresearchtopicsgermanetothesepartnersandiAGRIinFY2013.SeveraliAGRIstudentsbeganconductingtheirthesisordoctoralresearchwithresearchersfromAfricaRising, IITA,andAVRDC.ThisactivitywasstrengthenedbythereceiptofBorlaugfellowships by several iAGRI-funded scholars pursuing degrees at OSUC memberinstitutions. A third collaboration occurred as iAGRI workedwith TAHA to bring ahorticulturalextension specialist toTanzania in thenext fiscal year toworkwithTAHAand SUA to identifyways to strengthenpublic-private linkagesbetween theuniversityand the horticulture industry. It was strengthened by the development of an MOUinvolvingtheseinstitutions.

iii. ProjectUpdatesforTanzanianandU.S.FeedtheFuturePartners-Inanefforttokeep

stakeholders in Tanzania and the U.S. informed about the activities being undertakenunderiAGRI,thePMUandMEcontinuedtoprepareoccasionalprogramupdates.9

iv. FtF Partners Meeting in Tanzania - The PMU, in particular the Project Director andDeputyDirector,continuetointeractonaregularbasiswithFeedtheFuturepartnersinTanzania.Thesemeetingsrepresentopportunitiestochecksignalswithcounterpartsofthese partner programs, including the identification of opportunities for futurecollaboration. The focus of iAGRI on degree training and agricultural researchcomplements the focus of most of these other programs, thereby giving iAGRIopportunitiestoprovideuniqueinputstootherprojects.

v. Success Stories Highlights – In an effort to disseminate the results of iAGRI, a special

websitefeaturewasintroducedduringtheyear,namely,successstorieshighlights

9SeeAnnexforcopiesoftheseupdates.


featuring training and research impacts in Tanzania (http://stories.iagri.org/.) This sectionfeaturestheworkofstudentstrainedunderiAGRI.

vi.WeeklyJointVideoMeetingsofPMUandMEStaff–Inordertofacilitatecoordination

of project activities, the PMU andME staff held weekly video conferences to discussproject planning and implementation. These meetings have improved projectmanagementefficiency.

ActivitiesImplementedinZanzibar

iAGRIprojectactivitiesrelatedtostrengtheningagriculturalhumanandinstitutionalcapacityinZanzibarhavefocusedontrainingofexistingandfuturestafffortheMinistryofAgricultureandtheprivatesector.

PhDDegreeTrainingiAGRI placed a Ph.D. candidate from Zanzibar at SUA as part of Cohort II. He continued hisstudies at SUA during the past year. Omari Haji Ali worked on a draft proposal for hisdissertation which is currently being assessed by appropriate committees at SUA. Onceapproved,hewillbeformallyadmittedtothePh.D.program.

M.Sc.DegreeTrainingAttherequestofUSAID/Tanzania,iAGRIselectedastudentfromZanzibarfortrainingaspartofCohortI. AsmaGharibgraduatedfromtheUniversityofFloridainDecember,2013.

UndergraduateDegreeTrainingiAGRIconvertedtwograduatedegreetrainingslots into10undergraduatedegreeslotsatSUAforstudents fromZanzibar.Mostof themhavestruggledwiththeirstudiesdueto theirweakpre-university training. Threeof themcontinued their studiesduring thepast year. ThePMUcontinues tomonitor their progress and to support their programs. Graduates of this cohortmaybe considered for eventual additional graduatedegree trainingupon completionof theirSUAprograms.


iAGRIHighlights

CohortIViAGRIStudentsPlacedinGraduateDegreeTrainingProgramsOn Thursday, July 17 the United States Embassy hosted a farewell program for 46 iAGRI Cohort IVstudents.Theyinitiatedtheirstudiesatuniversities inTanzaniaandabroad. Inall,twenty-twostudentswere placed at OSUC member institutions, 11 were placed by RUFORUM at its member institutionsunderasub-agreementwithit;4wereplacedatthePunjabAgriculturalUniversity;and9wereplacedatSokoine University of Agriculture. . Representatives from Sokoine University of Agriculture and theMinistryofAgricultureattendedtheeventheldattheU.S.EmbassyinTanzania.

UnitedStatesAmbassadorMarkChildress(3rdfromrightfrontrowstandinginblacksuit)inagroupphotowith47studentswhowillpursueMaster'sandPhDdegreesinagriculturalsciences.


GloryMhalu (left) and Kadeghe Fue,who studied in theUnited States for theirMaster's degrees in agriculturalrelated sciences share their experienceswith the current cohort of training. In his remarks to the students andTanzanian officials, U.S. AmbassadorMark Childress stressed the importance of agriculture in Tanzania and theimpactthatthesestudentswillmakeinthesector.

ClimateChangeConferenceSeries

iAGRI partnered with SUA and with two Norwegian projects at SUA to hold a major climate changeconference in November. The Conference title was “Climate Change, Sustainable Intensification andFoodSecurity in Sub-SaharanAfrica.” It representedanopportunity for SUA researchers andgraduatestudents to present the results of their research on climate change at an international gathering andattracted scientists from numerous other Sub-Saharan nations as well as international agriculturalresearch centers, Norway and theUnited States. Several U.S. scientists fromOSU Consortium partnerinstitutions participated in the conference. Financial supportwas provided byUSAID andNORAD. Theconferencerepresentedthefirsttimethatthesedevelopmentassistanceagencieshavecollaborated inpromotingdevelopmentactivitiesinTanzania.Several importantpresentationsmadeattheconferencewere posted on the iAGRI website (http://www.iagri.org/events/climatechange2013). The majority ofthesepaperswill soonappear inapublicationbySpringer.Duringtheyear,aSteeringCommitteewasformed toplan fora followupconference in June,2015 todealwith climate smartagriculturewithaspecialemphasisonsustainabilityandresiliencetoeffectsofclimatechange.


ParticipantsattheClimateChangeConferenceheldinNovember,2013atSUA.

CreationofInnovationPortfolioiAGRI has created awebsitewhich features innovative ideas fromSUA researchers and iAGRIpartners in theUnitedStates (http://innovation.iagri.org/proposals).The InnovationPortfolioteamalsohelps companies andorganizations create customproposals to address issues theyhave identified tosupport theirgoals. This isan importantplatformthataimsto increase theresponsiveness of SUA to private and public sector needs through research conducted by itsfaculty,graduate studentsandpartners. Ithas thepotential togenerate significantadditionalsourcesofincomefortheuniversity.Fifteenpreliminarystatementsofworkhavebeenpostedonthiswebsite.SomeofthembuildonresearchbeingundertakenbySUAandMAFCresearchstaff and graduate studentswithin the iAGRI program,while other projects are developed inresponse to stated interests and concerns of external funders. The portfolio is designed tocommercialize the researchof iAGRI students and collaborative researchers and is nowbeingmarketed to private firms andNGOs in Tanzania and abroad. The portfolio has been vettedwithSAGCOTinanefforttostrengthenSUA’sparticipation intheSAGCOTinitiative. iAGRIhashiredafull-timestaffpersontobuildtheportfolioandmarketittoappropriateaudiences.

LeadershipWebinarforiAGRIFellowsAniAGRILeadershipFellowsSeminarSerieswasofferedtostudentsfromCohortIandIIwhoarelocatedin theU.S. andin Africa. The course was developed by the Department of


Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership at Ohio State University. Twenty-fourstudentsenrolledand19ofthemreceivedacertificateattheendofthewebinarseries,havingallofitsrequirements.

iAGRI students invarious locations in theU.S., Tanzania, andSouthAfricajoineda liveleadership webinar heldbi-weekly over an 8-weekperiod.

It focused on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by author Stephen Covey. Thewebinar was delivered online by four OSU faculty members. The course represented anopportunity for members of these Cohorts to develop stronger interpersonal ties that willpersistintotheirfuturecareers.Severalparticipantssubsequentlyofferedasimilarprograminleadership training for high school students in theMorogoro region. Plans are underway forthe course to be offered again next year to students of more recent Cohorts. AdditionalwebinarcoursesrelatedtoleadershiparealsobeingconsideredforiAGRIstudents.

CandidateCompletionofStudiesAllstudentsfromCohortIcompletedtheirtrainingandreceivedtheirdegreesasoftheendofthis year. Several M.Sc. students from Cohort II also graduated and remaining students willcompletetheirdegreesbyDecember,2014.SeveralPhDstudentsfromCohortIIinitiatedtheirdissertation field research inTanzania.M.Sc. students fromCohort III returned toTanzania towork on their thesis field research. All of the students performedwell in taking the requiredcourseworkrelatedtotheirrespectivedegrees.Whiledoingcoursework intheU.S.orAfrica,they worked with their program advisors at their host universities and co-supervisors inTanzania on the identification of thesis topics and preparation of research proposals. It isanticipated that theadvisors fromthehostuniversities in theU.S. andAfricawill continue toholdvisitswiththeiradviseeswhiledoingtheirfieldresearchoverthecomingyear,byworkingwiththelocalco-advisorandthestudentontheconductoftheirresearch.


CollaborationwithSUAAgribusinessInnovationProgramiAGRI has been collaborating with Sokoine University of Agriculture Graduate EntrepreneursCooperative Organization (SUGECO) which has over 200 members. PMU staff worked withSUGECO leaders to develop a strategic framework for SUGECO activities and to clarify theinterface of SUGECO with SUA. iAGRI is providing one year of support for the Director ofSUGECOandtwoadministrativestaffpositions.SUGECOhastremendouspotentialto linkSUAwith the private sector. Indeed, the PrimeMinister and other government officials in Dar esSalaamhaverecentlyrecognizedthepotentialforSUGECOtoassisttheminstimulatingprivatesectordevelopment,particularlyinruralareas.

M.S c.StudentPlacementsinIndiaFourM.Sc.studentswereadmittedandinitiatedtheirstudiesatPunjabAgriculturalUniversityin India. They are studying soil science, nutrition and food technology. They initiated theirprogramsinJuly.ThisbringsthetotalnumberofstudentsplacedatPAUto6. It isanticipatedthat this effort will result in increased collaboration between SUA and PAU, and morespecifically, between staff from the two institutions. The students will serve as a bridgebetween them. PAU is an Indian state agricultural university, similar to the U.S. land-grantuniversity.IthasstrongprogramsofresearchandoutreachtotheagriculturalsectorofPunjabStateandwasoriginallycreatedwithmajorassistancefromOSU.

SUALeadershipChangeManagementInitiativeAprogramofleadershipdevelopmentfortopadministration,deans,directors,anddepartmentheads at SUA continuedduring thepast year. This programhasbeen linked to a decisionbySUA administration to implement its strategic plan to restructure the university. Recentchanges inmid-levelmanagementat SUAprovideanentrypoint toworkwith leadersat thislevel topromotechangeandto takemoreadvantageof innovations thathaveemergedfromthe informalsectorof the institution. These innovationshavebecome integral to thecapacitybuilding dimension of iAGRI as highlighted in this report. These efforts are designed tofacilitateSUAleadershipinpositioningtheinstitutionasa21stcenturyAfricanuniversity.

Problems/Challenges

Over the past year iAGRI has continued to face several major implementation challenges. Some areinherent to Tanzania and cannot be solved by the project, though in some cases their effects can bemitigated through careful planning and implementation. Indeed the severity of theseproblems/challenges has beenmitigated in part over the last year by iAGRI interventions designed toamelioratethem.


AccessofSUAStaffforiAGRICollaborativeActivities-Topadministratorsandmembersoftheacademic staff at SUA are extremely busy people. They juggle multiple roles andresponsibilities apart from their research and teaching responsibilities. This presents hugechallenges inplanningand implementingcollaborativeactivities.ToalleviatetimepressuresofSUA personnel, iAGRI promotes wise usage of time by keeping meetings with topadministratorsshort(e.g.,onehour)andbykeepingtrainingworkshopsshorterthanthenormatSUA.ImplementationChallengesatSUA-iAGRIiscommittedtobuildingsustainablecapacityatSUAandworkstoensurethatSUAisprovidedsupportforon-goingandnewareas.Specialeffortismade to ensure that activities are SUA-owned, led and driven. This commitment bringschallenges. Frequently, implementation of agreed-upon activities is poor in large part due tothestructureandperformanceofthevariouslayersofadministrationandmanagementatSUAand a lack of monitoring of performance of those assigned to carry out tasks. SUA’smanagement structure is hierarchical with control and authority vested at the apex. Middle-managementauthorityisweak.Mostcapacitybuildingactivitiesroutinelyrequirethegivingofordersorthesigningoffofdocumentsbytopleveladministratorsorseniorprofessorswhoareextremely busy. If these individuals are tied up in meetings or are traveling, delays andinefficienciestrickledowntothelowestlevelofactivity. iAGRIwillcontinuetoaddresssomeoftheseissuesthroughitscapacitybuildingactivitiesatSUA.Congestion and Traffic Hazards on the Morogoro-Dar es Salaam Road - This highway hasbecomeincreasinglycongestedandhazardousoverthepasttwoyears.Roadconstructionhastendedtoslowtrafficinbothdirections.Thus,tripstoandfromDarcantakeuptofivehoursinone direction. Problems such as deep corrugation of the road surface in many places,irresponsibledriving,andpoormaintenanceofmanyvehiclesontheroad,maketheMorogoro-Dar and Dar-Morogoro journies a serious health hazard. iAGRI now has a great deal ofexperiencewithvideo conferencingand isworkingwithothers toadopt it inorder to reducetravel time wastage and roadway travel risks. It has also availed itself of a private airline inTanzaniathatprovidestransportationforthegeneralpublicbetweenDarandMororogo.iAGRIishopefulthatthisairlinewillcontinuetoprovidetheservicebetweenMorogoroandDar.M&E Reporting - The online Feed the Future Monitoring System (FTFMS) continues to becomplicated and requires a considerable amount of staff time. iAGRI worked well with theMitchell Group until its departure. It hopes to develop strong systematic linkages withUSAID/Tanzaniaas it takesgreater responsibility for this system. Directives abouthow tousethe systemareoften cryptic andhard tounderstand. PMU staffmembershavebeenable toworkthroughmostoftheseproblemsthroughcommunicationwithappropriatestaffpersonsinDaresSalaam.FemaleStudentRetention-Althoughwehadinitiallytargeteda50:50female-to-maleratioforiAGRIgraduatestudenttraining,wehavenotbeenabletoreachthistarget. Femalecandidatescontinuetodropoutduringtheadvancedstagesoftherecruitmentprocess.Severalwrotetousindicatingthattheywereunabletocontinuewiththeprogramforsocialreasons.Wehave


attempted to address these problems by agreeing to delay the start of their training, byextendingspecialprivilegessuchasextraplaneticketsforwomenstudyingintheU.S.toreturnto Tanzania to visit their children, and by providing them with opportunities to study inTanzania should that be their preference. Selection of students for Cohort IV gave specialemphasistorecruitmentofwomenandhashelpedtobringthetotalbalanceof iAGRIfellowsclose to the 50:50 ratio. iAGRI is considering giving attention to selective recruitment ofwomenforM.Sc.programstobeinitiatedin2015inordertoreachgenderparity.StudentGREandTOEFLExamPerformanceandPlacementatOSUCInstitutions -Lowscoresobtained by candidates on these exams continued to be amajor hurdle for Cohort IV. Thesescoresoccurreddespitethetrainingprovidedtocandidatespriortotheirtakingthetests.Thegreatest GRE and TOEFL testing barrier for Tanzanians is their poor English languagecompetency.SomeOSUCuniversitieshaverigidGREandTOEFLrequirements.Lowtestscoresare seenby graduateprogramadministrators as a risk factor, and gaining admission for riskycandidates requiresextraworkon thepartof iAGRIand thehostuniversities.Ourexperiencehas been that all students have performed well once they have been placed at OSUCinstitutions. Thus, lackof familiaritywithhowtotaketimedcomputerbasedtestsalsoseemstobeamajorimpedimentforthem.Internet Outages - iAGRI uses videoconferencing to connect traineeswith their U.S. advisorswhile the trainees are back in Tanzania conducting their field research, for final oralexaminations (thesisdefenses) so that studentsdonotneed to return to theU.S., forweeklyplanning meetings of the PMU in Tanzania and the ME at OSU, for bringing Tanzanian andAmericanmembers of the collaborative research teams together for planning, and for virtualworkshops joined by persons in both Tanzania and the U.S. The PMU has found internetservices provided by a single provider to be inadequate. For this reason, three independentinternetconnectionsat thePMUhavebeen installed.Thisensuresareliablebackup isalwaysavailableshouldaparticularservicefail. Inaddition,thegreateramountofbandwidthavailablethroughmultipleprovidersallowsloadbalancingforincreasedspeeddeliveredtoendusers.WorkingSpaceforVisitingScholarsandGraduateStudents - iAGRIwasfortunatetosecureabuilding on the SUA campus during the first year of the project. The space provided by thisbuilding was initially sufficient. However, as the dimensions and volume of activity of iAGRIhave increased,more space has been required. The building of a second floor for the iAGRIcomplexwasinitiatedinsummer,2014andwillbecompletedinfall,2014.

SpecialIssues

SERA Collaboration iAGRIwill continue toworkwith SERA to nurture excellent agricultural, nutrition and relatedenvironmental policy research over the coming year.We anticipate that iAGRI will take theleadonidentifyingappropriatetopicsandinvestigatorswhileSERAwillfundthestudiesasper


agreementatthebeginning.OverthecomingyeariAGRIwillworkonbuildingcapacityforthisresearchinSUA’sDepartmentofAgriculturalEconomicsandAgribusiness.

Borlaug Fellows Program Several iAGRI studentsplacedatOSUCmember institutionshavewonBorlaug fellowships fortheirthesisanddissertationresearch.Thishasaddedmeasurablytothequalityoftheresearchbeingundertakenby linkingtheresearchtothatofmembersof theCGIARsysteminvolved inEastAfrica. However,ithasalsocreatedadditionalmanagementcomplicationssincetheuseofthesefunds isessentially independentoftheuseof iAGRIfunds.TheMEandPMUhavebeenworkingwithstudentsandtheiradvisorstoensurethatBorlaug-fundedactivitiesareconsistentwiththeiAGRIprogrammeddegreetrainingandtheyareeffectivelyadministeredbythePMUinTanzania.

Lethargy in Gender Policy Implementation Committee (GPIC) at SUA iAGRIcommitteditselfearlyintheprojecttoaddressgenderissuesontheSUAcampusandatMAFC research institutes. On the SUA campus, it decided to work with the GPIC which wasalready established. iAGRI’s Gender Specialist met numerous times with GPIC members andtogether they developed a proposal consisting of five distinct gender-related activities. iAGRIreleased funds in support of it, but GPIC has been very slow in implementing activities,preparing reports, and accounting for cash advances. iAGRI staff have met numerous timeswith GPIC but the delays continue. To address this problem, special attention is now beinggiven to working with informal committees under the GPIC. They consist of individualsinterestedinaddressingspecialon-campusgenderissues.Forexample,iAGRIhascollaboratedwiththeInternationalLivestockResearchInstitute(ILRI)genderunitincreatingagender-basedcommunityofpracticegroupatSUA.

PlannedActivitiesThe PMU and OSU/ME will continue to focus on implementation of objectives of the iAGRIprogramoverthecomingyear. DetailsarefoundintheAnnualWorkPlanforFY2014-2015.Long-TermGraduateDegree Training -Theamendment toour iAGRICooperativeAgreementincreased the number of students to be trained to 135.As of fall, 2014, 128 students havebeenplacedindegreeprograms.Wewillendeavortoplaceatleast7additionalstudentsoverthe coming year in order to meet this target. Some will be students who deferred theiradmissions for personal reasons. We will also attempt to be selective of female students inordertomeetthe50%femaletarget.WewillalsomonitortheprogressofstudentswhohavebeenplacedindegreeprogramsandanticipatethatallM.Sc.studentsinCohortsIIandIIIwillcompletetheirdegreeprogramsandgraduate.WealsoanticipatethatseveraloftheCohortII


PhDstudentswillgraduatebytheendoftheyear.Specialattentionwillbegiventomonitoringinputs by OSUC advisors forM.Sc. and Ph.D. students and appropriate interactions with Co-Supervisors at SUA. By the end of the year, we anticipate that all students placed in thedifferentcohortswillhaveatleastinitiatedtheirdegree-relatedfieldresearch.Research -Weanticipate thatmostof the research teams fundedunderPhase Iof the iAGRICollaborativeResearchProgramwillhavecompletedtheirfieldresearchandinitiatedreportsoftheirfindings.WeareplanningasecondworkshopforJanuary,2015atwhichtheywillreporton their activities and their plans for the following six months. This workshop will involvescientists associated with the project from SUA, MAFC and OSUC member institutions. Incollaborationwith SERA, iAGRIwill define and provide support for additional agricultural andnutrition policy research projects. We also anticipate supporting additional research projectsfocused on identified Feed the Future-related problems. These will include the maize valuechainprojectfocusedonStriga,DroughtToleranceandMaizeLethalNecrosisDiseasebeingledby the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute and Iowa State University. We anticipatedevelopment of additional targeted research projects dealing with agricultural riskmanagement, rice demand study marketing and horticultural crop production with a specialemphasisonappropriateirrigationsupportsystems.SUA Capacity-Building - During the coming year we will continue to provide support forinfrastructure improvements at SUA.Wewill also provide short-term capacity-building inputsforSUAandMAFCstaffandstudentsintheformofshort-courses,workshopsandseminars,aswellasshort-termtrainingforthematOSUCmember institutions.WewillalsoworkwiththeSUAleadershiponaprogramofchangemanagement,whichisdesignedtofacilitateadaptationofSUAtochallengesitfaces,includingincreasedcompetitionfromotherinstitutions,demandstoprovidetrainingtogreaternumbersofstudents, increasedneedsto identifynon-traditionalrevenuestreams,and infrastructure improvements.Muchof thiscapacitybuildingactivitywillbeorganizedaroundorganizationalexperimentsthathavebeendescribedinaprevioussectionofthisreport.

Cross-CuttingIssuesImprovedEnablingPolicyEnvironmentforbothAgricultureandNutrition

ClimateChangeConferences -Theconferenceonagricultural intensificationandfoodsecurityheld in November, 2013 and the conference on climate change and agricultural, economic,socialand institutionalsustainabilityprogrammedfor June,2015weredesigned tostrengthenclimatechangeprogramsatSUA.ThesehavebeencollaborativeeffortsfocusedonSUA,OSUCandNorwegianparticipation. FundinghasbeenprovidedbybothUSAIDandNORAD. Scientistsfrom theU.S., Norway and Tanzania and numerous nations of Sub-Saharan Africa have beeninvited to make presentations at the conferences. The conferences have proven to be anexcellent opportunity for SUA and MAFC scientists engaged in climate change research topresent their findings, andmany SUA scientists have conducted researchwith support from


NORADandUSAID. Majorpaperspresentedatthe2013Conferencewillsoonbepublishedinabook published by Springer. This has been an excellent outlet for them to present theirresearchfindings. Asimilarpublicationisbeingplannedforthe2015Conference.IncreasedCapacityofWomentoParticipateinAgricultureandNutrition

Gender Policy -One of iAGRI’s latent objectives is to change the long-term human resourceprofile of agricultural and nutrition sciences in Tanzania by engaging more women in them.Thus,itfocusesongenderissuesineveryactivity.Overthepastyear,wepaidspecialattentionto theneedsofwomen trainees. Severalof themrequested that theiradmission tograduatedegreeprogramsatOSUCmemberinstitutionsbedeferredforayearduetopersonalreasons.Wehavesupportedtheserequests.TheyareprogrammedtoinitiatetheirprogramsinAugust,2015. In recruiting for Cohort IV, preferencewas given to recruitment of women candidatesandapproximatelytwowomenwereplacedintheU.S.foreverymalecandidate.Manyofthewomen students sent for graduate degree training have focused on human nutrition. Theirprograms and related outreach activities have been highlighted on the Stories section of theiAGRIwebsite.Thesestudentshaveusedtheirfieldresearchasanopportunitytoreachouttorural familieswith informationabouthowto improvedietsandnutritionregimes,particularlyforchildren.

FINANCIALSUMMARY

As per the Cooperative Agreement between USAID and The Ohio State University, projectfinances are reported on a quarterly basis using Federal Financial Form (SF-425). Theaccumulated expenditure from project inception to the end of the current reporting period(September 30, 2014) is $11,952,039. The total expenditure for Fiscal Year 10/1/2013 –9/30/2014is$4,101,879.TheplannedannualexpendituresforthenextFiscalYear(10/1/2014–9/30/2015)is$7,002,072.


ANNEXES


AnnexI:PMPINDICATORS

indicator Data / Disaggregation

Baseline

Value

2014

Target

Achieved

to date

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

LOP - Life Of

Project

Units

A: FTF INDICATORS

IR 1: Improved Agricultural Productivity / Sub IR 1.1: Enhanced human and institutional capacity development for increased sustainable agriculture sector productivity

4.5.2-6: Number of individuals who have received USG supported long- term agricultural sector productivity or food security training

0

31

53

53

129

Number

Male 0 16 16 16 Female 0 15 37 37

4.5.2-7: Number of individuals who have received USG supported short- term agricultural sector productivity or food security training

0

150

188

52

79

57

450

Number

Type of individual 0 150 0 0 0 Producers People in government People in private sector firms People in civil society 0 150 188 52 79 57

Sex 0 150 188 52 79 57 Male 0 75 119 28 51 40 Female 0 75 69 24 28 17

IR 1: Improved Agricultural Productivity / Sub IR 1.2: Enhanced Technology Development, Dissemination, Management and Innovation 4.5.2-39: Number of technologies or management practices in one of the following phases of development:

0

13

40

Number

Phase I: under research as a result of USG assistance 0 7 27 27 0 0 0 23

Phase II: under field testing as a result of USG assistance 0 6 4 0 0 3 1 17

Phase III: made available for transfer as a result of USG assistance

IR 3: Increased investment in agriculture and nutrition related activities/ Sub IR 3.1: Increased Participation of the Private Sector in the Delivery of Services

4.5.2.-12: Number of public-private partnerships formed as a result of FTF assistance

0

2

2

0

0

0

2

8

Number

Agricultural production 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Agricultural post harvest

transformation 0 1 2 0 0 0 2

Nutrition Other Multi-focus


B: iAGRI CUSTOM INDICATORS LOP -

indicator Data / Disaggregation Baseline 2014 Achieved Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Life Units Value Target to date Of

Project

IR 1: Improved Agricultural Productivity / Sub IR 1.1: Enhanced human and institutional capacity development for increased sustainable agriculture sector productivity OSU 1.1.1 Number of students assessed for Graduate level English competency

0

25

29

0

29

85

Number

Male 0 13 14 0 14 Female 0 12 15 0 15

OSU 1.1.2 Number of students making use of improved ICT in classroom instruction

0

1,565

0

0

6,250

Number

Male 0 1,045 0 0 Female 0 520 0 0

OSU 1.1.3 Number of researchers trained on Randomized Control Trials (RCTs)

0

25

0

0

85

Male 0 13 0 0 Female 0 12 0 0

OSU 1.1.4 Number of research projects conducted which specifically focus on gender

0

2

0

0

0

0

9

Number

IR 1: Improved Agricultural Productivity / Sub IR 1.2: Enhanced Technology Development, Dissemination, Management and Innovation

OSU 1.2.1 Number of research projects that address issues of climate change 0 5 6 6 0 14 Number

IR 3: Increased investment in agriculture and nutrition related activities / Sub IR 3.2: Increased Capacity of Women to Participate in Agriculture and Nutrition

OSU 3.2.1. Number of young female students provided with women-to- women mentorship program

0

123

23

23

1,250

Number

OSU 3.2.2. Number of high school girls provided with career guidance and counselling program

0

2,000

2,595

0

0

2,595

4,150

Number

IR 3: Increased investment in agriculture and nutrition related activities / Sub IR 3.2: Increased Capacity of Women to Participate in Agriculture and Nutrition OSU 3.2.3.Percentage change in the female secondary school students with intetion to applying for admission to agriculture and science degree programs at Sokoine university

0

5

% change

OSU 3.2.4. Number of actions supportive of gender mainstreaming at Sokoine University of Agriculture

0

4

3

0

1

2

20

Number


AnnexII:ENGLISHTOURCONCLUSIONS

SOKOINEUNIVERSITYOFAGRICULTURE

AREPORTONSTUDYVISITCOMPONENTOFTHEPROPOSALFORIMPROVINGTHETEACHING

OFENGLISHLANGUAGEANDCOMMUNICATIONSKILLSCOURSESTOSUPPORTTHEPROVISIONOFQUALITYEDUCATIONATSUA

Submittedto

iAGRIProject

AUGUST2014

Preparedby

SocialSciencesDepartment


CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONSFORSUA

• NoneoftheuniversitiesvisitedusedaplacementexaminationinthewaySUAdoes.Thosethatdidsointhepasthavediscardedtheseassessmentsasimpracticalandmixstudentsofvariedabilitiesinclasses.

• Insteadofattemptingtogroupstudentsbylearninglevels,thetrendobservedistogroupthembydisciplineandcustomizecoursematerialforrelevancetothegivendiscipline.Mostuniversitiesattempttohaveinstructorsspecializeinaparticulardiscipline,althoughofcourselabourturnover(staffshiftingjobs)hasbeenaproblem.

• Alltheuniversitiesvisited,andmostparticularlytheUniversityofPretoriaexpressedaninterestinimprovingcollaborationandsharingofbestpracticesamongAfricanuniversitiesintheareaofEnglishlanguageandcommunicationsskills. TheUniversityofGhanawasalsoveryinterestedincollaboration,particularlyinresearchandstaffexchanges.

• Althoughmanyuniversitiesprovidetheirstudentsaccesstoonline,self-drivenlearningtools,thetrendseemstobemovingawayfromthesesystems(likeEnglishWordPower).Thoughuseful,thecurrentemphasisisonreducingclasssizes,improvingteachingmethodology,customizingcontentbasedondiscipline,andprovidingmoreindividualizedsupport,suchasthatofferedbyWritingCentres.

• SUAcouldadoptthewritingcentremodel,butintegratewritingservicesinalargerlanguageresourcecentreinsteadofhavingastandalonewritingcentre.Thiswouldhelpminimiserunningcostsandadministrativeload.ThelanguageresourcecentrecouldalsoassumesomeoftherolesthatcentresofacademicexcellenceplayatULandTUT.

• AlluniversitiesvisitedrequirestudentstocompletetwosemestersofEnglishlanguagecurriculum.Thisrequirementistakenseriouslyandstudentsarenotallowedtocontinueregisteringforcoursesiftheydonotpasstheseclasses.SUAcouldworktowardsmakingCommunicationsSkills1amandatorycourse,whereallstudentsmusttakeandpass.

• Almostalltheuniversitiesvisitedstrugglewithlargeclasssizes.Obtainingthenecessarynumberofpermanentstaffpositionsisoftenproblematic,sotheuniversitiesrelyheavilyonpart-timestaff.Thisreliancemakesitdifficulttorecruitandretaininstructorsofthehighestquality.

• ThedepartmentsprovidingEnglishlanguageservicesatthevisiteduniversitiesreportedthatcentraladministrationgenerallyprovidednecessaryresourcesforthedepartment.InGhana,thedepartmentsareexpectedtogeneratetheirownrevenue,andareabletodosobyofferingcustomEnglishcoursestogroupsandindividuals.Additionalfundingsourcesforparticularprojectsincludealumnifundraisingandprivatesectorsponsorship.OfparticularrelevancetoSUAisthecustomEnglishcoursemodelbecausethereisahugemarketfortheseservicesinTanzania,particularlyMorogoro.PerhapsthestartingpointshouldbeaneedsanalysistoseewhatwouldthemarketrequireintermsEnglishProficiencyPrograms.


• Mostuniversitiesvisitedinternallydevelopcustomizedlearningmaterialsfortheirstudents,suchaslanguageguidesandworkbooks.Thisenablesthemtousematerialthatisdirectlyrelevanttotheirstudents,andtargetthematerialsbydiscipline.Smallstudentfeesarecommonlycollectedtofundbasiccoursematerials.ThisisanotherapproachwhichthedepartmentofSocialSciencesatSUAcouldadopt.

• Otheruniversities,ingeneral,providedmoreopportunitiesforstafftoimprovetheirknowledgeofteachingstrategiesandsharesolutionstocommonchallenges.Manyhaveworkshopsforallstaffbeforeeachsemestertoaddresstheseneeds.ThisisanotherusefulinputgainedandthatitcouldeasilybeintegratedintothemodelofoperationsattheDepartmentofSocialSciences.

• Thestaffatallthelanguagedepartmentsvisitedwereverycollaborative.Mostdepartmentsholdseminarsorworkshopsbeforeeachsemestertoprovidebothtraininginteachingskillsandmethodologiesandanopportunityforinstructorstosharechallengesandbestpractices.ThismodelwouldbeveryhelpfultoinstructorsatSUA.

• Outofalltheuniversitiesvisited,onlytheUniversityofCapeCoasthasbeenabletointegrateassessmentofEnglishlanguageintootheracademicdisciplines.Strategiesthathavehelpedthemachievethisgoalinclude:

o Academicstafffromalldisciplinestakeintoaccountlanguageproficiencyinthegradingofassignments.Thisrequiresbothinterestandproficiencyonthepartofinstructors,butresultsinstudentsbeingmoremotivatedtoimprovetheirEnglishlanguageandcommunicationsskills.

o Instructorsfromotherdisciplinesengageinstructorsfromthelanguageunittoassistingradingassignmentsforlanguagewhennecessary.

SUAcouldconsiderstaffdevelopmentinitiativesforEnglishlanguageproficiencythatwouldhelpcreateasimilarlearningenvironment.


AnnexIII:NEEDSASSESSMENTREPORT

iAGRI Annual Report - Year IV

equipment; • Innovative means for delivering of

quality services • Education awareness on facilities

utilization; • Staff capacity building in the delivery of

quality services across the board; • Management in leadership and

management training for Top management;

• Train top level managers and deans and heads of department in academic and support departs in management, team building and team working;

• Train teaching staff in project supervision;

• Public Procurement Act requirements; • Assets disposal procedures; • Train technical staff who deal with the

four areas identified in the Deloitte report;

• Lobby for additional funds for research; • Improve supply of Leaming materials • Improve Students/supervisors

relationships • Institutionalize training to provide for

HR capacity for the planned decentralized units;

• Improve Teaching and learning processes and make them performance oriented;

• Develop and implement an efficient results processing system to shorten completion time;

• Develop a policy on online thesis supervision;

• Improve communication between: • Students and supervisors; • Postgraduate and external supervisors; • Classrooms should be well equipped • Construction of lecture theatres for

postgraduate students • Tuition fees should be paid by

instalments; • Lecturers should follow time tables; • Assignments to be given on time; • The library should be well equipped

with the latest referencematerials; • The computer laboratory needs to be

supplied with enough computers; • Improvement of logistics management

in order to eliminate delays that perpetuate late graduation of students;

• Mainstream a culture of training at the university both on the job as well as off the job and hands on;

• Work towards coming up with sustainable income generating projects;

• Improve on teaching facilities; • Equip the finance department with the

necessary HR capacity; • The University should appropriately

stagger the approval levels


I• •

•

•

I I i•

Streamline the project approval process to allow for a more efficient implementation of projects in line with Government and Donor agencies expeetations; Improve communication and coordination Develop and implement an asset disposal policy; Develop and implement ICT based accounting and financial management systems; Provide support for accountants to obtain certification;

community eg. Auditing needs; • Renovate building facilities • Provision of reliable internet services; • Replacement of old computers in the !!br_ary; -


Table 2 (c) - Recommendations on Project Management Training related Non-training related

Need for Project Management Training for staff in the following areas:

• Project planning, implementation and monitoring;

• Project management training for PMU staff.

• Project Management and monitoring training for members of works inspection committees.

• Project management for donor funded projects .

• Project monitoring and evaluation; • Project Management training for

lecturers and other non-finance people. • Project Management training for

various subcommittees involved in project decision making process.

• Project financial management for finance staff;

• Build capacity in fundraising by training relevant staff in the relevant skills.

• Training on sellable proposals, report writing and record keeping;

• Senor administrative personnel need to be involved in project planning;

• Streamline procurement process and make it more efficient.

• Streamline funds flow process. • Development a monitoring framework. • Contracting of project management. • Seek financing for the planned projects. • Improve flow of funds for funded

projects. • University should prioritize areas for

funding research projects (outside development partners funding);

• Need of harmonization and formulation of umbrella policy/ systems;

-

Table 2(d) - Recommendations on Procurement Management

Training re]ated Non-training related

Staff require management training on procurement management in the following areas:

• Procurement processes, regulations and procedures;

• Procurement and Payment processes;

• Procurement Management training for Finance and planning staff.

• Procurement procedures for donor funded projects.

• Disbursement proceduresfor donor and government funded project;

• Training on procurement skills for planning and finance staff.

• PPA 2011Awareness training. • Financial management of donor

funded projects. • Eradicate bureaucracy through

appropriate training in customer care, interpersonal relations and negotiation skills.

• Streamline service delivery process to reduce bureaucracy;

• Service providers to act promptly in the provision of services;

• Address challenges in scheduling. • Develop capacity to network and

lobby at goverrunent level to speed release of funds for projects.

• Streamline the payment process and monitoring;

• Restructure procurement-maybe decentralize.

• Align financial regulations to PPA 2011.

• Establish separate procurement unit.

• Streamline payment process for suppliers to motivate them improve supply of goods and services.

• Revise the procurement policy to address the challenges;

• The procuremen t policy should be implemented effectively;

• Recruit/ assign trustworthy persons to this potifolio;

• There should be availability of current and relevant books in the Library;

• Internet services should beupgraded and made available constantly;

• There should be enough budget allocation;

iAGRIAnnual Report -Year IV

Table 2 (e) - Recommendations of Finance and Auditing

1 Training related Non-training related

Staff in the Finance and Auditing function need adequate short and long term training in the following areas;

• Budget preparation and prioritization • Customer Care and Interpersonal

relations • Cash Flow Management • Financial Management of Donor funds • Computerized Financial System • Auditing Computer based Financial

Management Systems • Audit Sof tware package (s) • Information System Audit • Wider scope of training for audit staff

to suit the diverse nature of SUA business;

• Training in modern construction technologies;

• Training in advanced Financial Management;

• Project management asa requirement for easy auditing exercise.

• Quality Services Delivery

• Re-engineer service delivery process to provide seamless services;

• Create and manage an effective decentralized system;

• There is need for a Client Service Charter;

• Improve on time management; • Using modern sof tware to improve

financial management services; • Decentralize the accounts

department; • Students should graduate on time; • Supervisors should be cooperative

and help students in what (topic) they choose to learn;


AnnexIV:iAGRINEWSUPDATE

iAGRI Annual Report -Year IV

iAGRI Collaborative Research Program - Pis for the 8 funded Phase ICollaborative Research Projects submitted annual reports to the PMU in July. They were reviewed by two noted Tanzanian scientists and recommendations were provided to them regarding how to improve their research over the coming six months. All of the projects continue to make satisfactory progress and we anticipate that OSUC Co-Pis will continue to collaborate closely with their counterparts in Tanzania.

Progress continues to be made with regard to the identification and organization of research teams for Phase II research projects. Topics which iAGRI has identified for additional research are (1) the maize value chain; (2) drip irrigation and horticultural production; (3) rice marketing; and (4) climate change and agricultural risk management. A team of researchers from Iowa State University visited Tanzania in August to work with a counterpart team consisting of MAFC and SUA researchers to develop a full proposal to address major maize production constraints initially identified by NAFAKA, another USAID project in Tanzania. Constraints include striga, stem borer, drought tolerance,and maize lethal necrosis disease. The full team has prepared a full research proposal which will be initiated during the coming quarter of activity. The rice demand activity has centered on an MS. thesis being pursued by aniAGRI fellow. It focuses on varietal consumer preferences and market differentiation. An OSU staff person was recently in Tanzania to discuss rice technical marketing and policy related issues with staff at SUA. This topic is of interest to USAID-funded SERA project. Continued funding for this research is anticipated based on this study and expansion of activity to include issues related to international markets. The drip irrigation activity expects to meetthe needs of horticultural producers currently being served by TAHA and TAPP, another USAID Feed the Future project in Tanzania. iAGRI has invited an agricultural engineer at SUA to prepare a related concept note focused on problems encountered by producers with this technology. Research on agricultural risk management willfocus on the economic feasibility of providing crop insurance to Tanzanian farmers. A concept note has been prepared by a team of OSU researchers in collaboration with SUA researchers.

Staff Changes - Maria Mullei has been contracted through Virginia Tech to work on development of the Innovation Portfolio. Maria has experience working as a former USAID staff person in Kenya and more recently as the field representative of Virginia Tech for a major institution building project in South Sudan. iAGRI is most pleased with this addition. Samantha Alvis, Leland Congressional Hunger Fellow, departed for the U.S. in late August,having completed her year with iAGRI. She will be joining APLU in Washington, D.C. for the second year of her Fellowship. We anticipate continued inputs from Samantha involving the Leadershipwebinar series as well as follow upon some ofthe programmatic activity in which she has been involved while stationed with theiAGRI Project Management Unit in Morogoro.

Short-Term Training for SUA Staff and Graduate Students - Priority areas for training are identified by a training committee of the PMU through consultation with SUA staff and students. Several OSUC staff provided short courses at SUA during the past two months. They included:

Gary Straquadine,Ohio State University -Qualitative Research Methods Margaret Beaver, Michigan State University - SPSS Utilization Graham Cochran, Ohio State University - Project Monitoring and Evaluation

South/South Linkages through RUFORUM -iAGRI field leaders attended the RUFORUM conference in Maputo. iAGRI also sponsored participation by three SUA staff members. Three conference presentations featured joint activities involving staff from SUA and OSUC member institutions. Eric Vance,Virginia Tech, presented his program of university statistical support laboratories for research staff. RUFORUM has 43 university members in sub-Saharan Africa and is an important contributor to higher agricultural education in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Public-Private Sector Linkages and SUA - Efforts to expand SUA linkages with the private sector continued in July and August. These involved further development and outreach related to the (1) innovation portfolio; (2) the commercial horticulture unit; (3) SUGECO; and (4) the SUA alumni association. Innovation portfolio activities focus on matching private sector input needs with research being conducted by SUA faculty and graduate students. iAGRI is brokering related dialogues between 6 companies and SUA researchers. The Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) trains young entrepreneurs, places interns in businesses, links entrepreneurs with credit providers, conducts entrepreneurship workshops, and advocates improved business policies in Tanzania. iAGRI continues to provide technical assistance to SUGECO related to developing a strategy for organizational sustainability. iAGRI is providing 6 months of

iAGRI Annual Report -Year IV

funding for a Coordinator and Farm Manager for the commercial horticultural unit that brings together SUA, TAPP and TAHA to serve the commercial horticulture industry. iAGRI is also working with SUA to develop a new communication strategy for SUA's alumni association. The Executive Director of OSU's University Alumni Association recently collaborated with counterparts at SUA in this regard.

English language Program at SUA - SUA has a program designed to strengthen the English Language capacity of its students. A staff person from Virginia Tech has provided important inputs to this program and recently accompanied staff from SUA on an iAGRl-financed study tour to South Africa and Ghana designed to review similar operations at major institutions in these nations. Based on this tour a report was prepared and presented to iAGRI. Recommendations found in this report will be used by the Director of this program at SUA and his counterparts to prepare a proposal to revamp the SUA program.

iAGRI Annual Review - Mark Erbaugh and David Hansen, OSU Management Entity, traveled to Tanzania to participate in the iAGRI third annual review with David Kraybill, Project Director, and Isaac Minde, Project Assistant Director. Project activities undertaken during the past year were discussed and plans developed for the coming fiscal year. David Charles, USAID/Tanzania Agreement Officer's Representative,and Asia Barnabas, USADl/Tanzania Assistant Agreement Officer's Representative, also participated in this exercise. The Annual Work Plan for FY 2014-2015 will be submitted to USAID in September. It will reflect continuity in the training,research and capacity building activities undertaken this past year.

Graduate Student Awards - Elias Balimponya, M.S. student at Ohio State, was recently awarded a Borlaug LEAP Fellowship. Congratulations to Elias and to his Advisor,Dr. Clay Sneller.

@ This Update includes data provided by various members of the iAGRI team. We look forward to receiving feedback from you, its readers.


AnnexV:iAGRIPROJECTUPDATE


AnnexVI:SUAWEBSITENEEDSANALYSISREPORT

SokoineUniversityofAgricultureAnalysisofWebsiteNeedsPreparedby:EmilyBuck,Ph.D.


ExecutiveSummaryThecurrentSokoineUniversityofAgriculture(SUA)websiteisalargerepositoryofinformationrelatedtoalldoingsoftheuniversity.Withcloseto1,000pages,thesiteisdesignedtobearesourceforfaculty,staffandstudents.However,aswithanygoodwebsite,therecomesatimewheninventoryneedstakenandchangesmadetocontinuetomeetaudienceneeds.Thus,thisprojectsetouttoanalyzethecurrentwebsiteandprovideinputintoitsfuture.Afterasurvey ofstudents,multipleusabilitytests,andfocusgroupsoncampus,itbecameevidentthatthereareafewlargethingstobeaddressedwithanewwebsite,aswellasafewissueswithfunctionalityofthecontentandmanagementofthesite.Fromtheneedformoremanpowertokeepthesitegoingtotheneedformoreupdatedanddynamiccontent,itwasevidentthatthesite,whilerecentlyimproved,stillhasawaytogo.Itwasfoundthatoneofthemainaudiences,students,isnotbeingservedthroughthesite.Manydonotuseit,astheyfindnoinformationforthemonthesite.Theydonotseethemselvesinit.Changesneedtobemadetomakesurethesiteisafacefortheuniversitythatnotonlyencouragesresearch,butacademicsandoutreachaswell.BeingtheonlyagriculturaluniversitycurrentlyinTanzaniapositionstheuniversitytoplayonthisfactandshowthroughimages,branding,andcontentthattheyarethebestsourceforinformation. Thereisgreatneedformoredepthofcontentandmorelivingcontentthatisupdatedregularly.Suchchangeswillincreaseusers’opinionsandusageofthesite.Otherrecommendationsaremadeintermsofcoursemanagementabilities,organization,andlayout.

Introduction10

ProjectBackgroundIntoday’stechnologyageauniversitycanbemadeorbrokenbytheirpresenceonline.Fromresearchfundingagenciestoprospectivestudents,thefaceoftheuniversityonlineisessentialinattractingaudiences.Internetusersareveryparticularandiftheydon’tfindwhattheyneedontheirvisitstheyareverylikelytonotreturn.Ifasiteisoutdatedorunattractiveausercanfindittobenotcredibleandthusportrayanegativeopinionoftheuniversity.

IthasbeennotedbycurrentstudentandstaffthattheexistingwebsiteforSUAisnotpresentingtheuniversityastheexceptionalinstitutionthatitis.ItcurrentlydoesnotmeetthetechnologicalandusabilityneedsofSUAstudentsandstaff. Thesiteiscurrentlyrankednumber90inthecurrentrankingofuniversitywebsitesat:http://www.webometrics.info/en/Ranking_africa. Asearchfor“Tanzania”and“agriculture”onthepopularsearchengineGoogleshowsthatSUAisnotlisteduntilpage4ofthesearch.Ifyouadd“research”tothesearchSUAisagainnotfounduntilpage4.Whensearching“TanzanianAgricultureDegrees”SUAdoesthenappearonpageoneinanideallocation.However,oncethesiteisfound,isitpresentingtherightinformation?

10 Introduction modified from original iAgri RFP


ThusaninitiativethroughapartnershipwithiAGRIwasdeployedtodeterminthewebsiteusabilityandfunctions.SUAandiAGRIunderstandtheimportanceoffirstconductingacomprehensivewebsiteneedsassessmenttodeterminethecontent,functionality,navigation,anddesignthattheadministration,academicstaffandstudentsdesireinafuturewebsitebeforelaunchingintoaredesign.

CurrentWebsiteInformationThecurrentnumberofpagesisapproximately1,000.Thenumberofvisitorswas1,217,095fromApril2013toMarch2014.

ThecurrentComputerCentrestaffhaveanumberofresponsibilitiesinadditiontotheSUAwebsite,resultinginonestaffmemberspendingapproximately60%ofhistimeonthewebsiteandanotherstaffmemberdedicatingaquarterofhistime. Studentsarenotcurrentlyutilizedasinternsorstudentworkers,buttheComputerCentreisinterestedinexploringtheseopportunities.

PopularareasofthewebsitePages HitsAdmissionInformation 37754InformationforStaff 33539ProgrammesOfferedatSUA 31259Teachingtimetable 29781EXAMINATIONTIMETABLE 28415UniversityContactAddresses 26065EntryRequirement 25106UniversityProfile 23991Announcementsandadvertisements 23455CurrentStudents 22803

Audiencestheyserveinclude,butarenotlimitedto:CurrentStudentsPotentialStudentsFormerStudents(Alumni)AcademicStaffAdministrativeStaffMinistryOfficialsFundersResearchandTeachingPartnersOtherAfricanUniversities

WebsiteTechnologyBackgroundThewebsiteishostedinternally,runningonUbuntu12.04LTSservers.


Itwasinitiallydevelopedusingnormaleditors(Dreamweaver-HTML,JavaScriptandPHP)ItwaslatermovedtoContentManagementSystemJOOMLAversion1.5in2009.ItiscurrentlyintheprocessofmigratingtoJOOMLA2.5.UtilizesanumberoffreeJoomlaplug-insforadditionalfunctionalityAdditionalThird-PartySolutionsCurrentlyinUseSUASIS,astudentportallinkedtotheSUAwebsite,usesPHPsourcecode.UseofSocialMediaSUAcurrentlymaintainsaFacebookpageat:https://www.facebook.com/SokoineUniversityOfAgricultureSUAcurrentlymaintainsaLinkedInpageat:http://www.linkedin.com/company/sokoine-university-of-agriculture

MethodologyThisstudywasconductedinthreephases:1)OnlineStudentSurvey,2)UsabilityTests,and3)FocusGroups.Theonlinesurveyconsistedof33questionsonaGoogleform.AlinktothesurveywassenttoallSUAstudentsbytheDeanofStudentsandwasalsoplacedonthehomepageoftheSUAsite.CollectionofsurveyresponsesoccurredfromMay30,2014toJuly1,2014,andyieldedatotalof116responses.ThesurveywasreviewedforvaliditybyapanelofexpertsatTheOhioStateUniversityaswellasstaffintheComputerCenteratSUAandwithiAGRIstaff.Inphase2,usabilitytestingwasconducted.Priortoarrivaloncampusatotalof36usabilitytestswereplannedwithaudiencesincludingstudents,administrativestaff,administrators,andacademicstaff.UsingMoraesoftware(http://www.techsmith.com/morae.html)asetofeighttaskswasdeveloped.Thetaskswereselectedtobegeneraltasksthatanyusermightdoonagivenday,andallwereapprovedbythecomputercenterstaffforclarity.Thetasksincluded:

• PleasefindthephonenumberfortheDean'sofficeinthefacultiesofVeterinaryMedicine

• PleasefindthecoursesneededtogetanMbAinAgribusiness• PleasefindanapplicationtoapplytobeastudentatSUA• FindtheteachingtimetableforasecondyearBScinWildlifeManagement• FindthespecificentryrequirementsforaBachelorsofVeterinaryMedicineatSUA• WhatdayistheresumptionofteachingafterChristmasbreak2014• Findthepolicyonintellectualpropertyrights.• FindthenewhealthpolicyforstaffofSUA

FollowingthemethodologyforusabilitytestingoutlinedbyKrug(2006),participantswerepairedwithoneoftworesearchersonalaptopandguidedthroughthesoftware,which


recordedtheireveryclickastheycompleted(orattemptedtocomplete)thetasks.Everyonewasencouragedtothinkoutloudsotheirthoughtprocesscouldbenotedinthefindings.Atthecompletionofthetasks,participantsanswered10questionsrelatedtothewebsiteandtheirexperienceworkingonthesitethatday.Atotalof17usabilitytestswerecompletedattheendofthetwodays.Students,academicstaff,andadministrativestaffwererepresented.Lastly,aseriesoffocusgroupswereplannedtogetfurtherunderstandingofneedsandopinionsofthesite’suserbase.Atotalof12focusgroupswereplannedwithstudents,faculties,centers’academicstaff,librarystaff,administrativestaff,andresearchprojectandprogramsstaff. AfocusgroupprotocolwassetupbasedonKruger’s(1998)focusgroupmethodology.Questionscoveredinthefocusgroupincluded:

• Whodoyouthinkauniversitywebsiteshouldserve?• WhatarethemainreasonsyoutypicallyvisittheSUAwebsite?• Doesitsuccessfullymeettheseneeds?Why?Whynot?• Onatypicalvisittothesitedoyoufindwhatyouarelookingfor?Why?Whynot?• Whatareasofthewebsitedoyoufindtobemostusefulinyoureverydaytasksrelated

totheuniversity?Why?• Thinkingofyourpastexperiencesonthesite,whatinstanceshaveyouhadwhereyou

werefrustratedusingthesite?Pleaseexplain?• Aretherefeaturesorcontentyouwouldliketohaveonthesitethatarecurrentlynot

there?Pleaseexplain• Arethereanycomponentsorinformationonthesitethatyoucanthinkofthatyoufeel

isnotneededoroutdated?PleaseExplain• Whatcouldbeincludedonthesitethatwouldmakeyourjob/roleattheuniversity

easier?PleaseExplainAtotaloffivefocusgroupswereheldwith28individualsrepresentingstudents,academicstaff,andadministrativestaff.Priortothebeginningofthefocusgroups,ashortdemographicsurveywashandedout. Allfocusgroupswereaudiorecordedforlatertranscriptionandanalysis.Twoindividuals,besidesthemoderator,satintheroomtotakefieldnotes.Thesestepsallowedfortriangulationofthedatatoensurevalidityandreliabilityofthestudy.Eachfocusgrouplastednomorethananhour.Focusgroup1included5administrativestafffromDSI;group2included6administrativestaff,group3included3stafffromconvocationandthelibrary;group4included2academicstaff;andgroup5included8students. AfinalimpromptufocusgroupwasheldwithstafffromiAGRI.Thesecommentsarealsointegratedintothefindingsbelow.FindingsPriortothestartofdatacollectionthefollowingitemswereidentifiedbytheComputerCenterStaffasconcernsofthecurrentwebsite.Inconsistentandconfusingnavigation• Unstablepowersupply• Outdatedcontent• Searchfunctionerrorsandinconsistencies• Notdesignedtoworkwithmobilebrowsersanddevices• Limiteduseofphotosandvideotopromotetheuniversity


• Doesnotadheretowebaccessibilityguidelines• TheexistingwebsitepresentsmanychallengestoSUAComputerCentrestaff,specifically• Time-consumingwebupdates• Difficultcontentmanagementsystem• Contentpreparationandcollection• Staffing-oneemployeededicated60%oftimetowebsite,oneemployee25%• Limitedin-housestaffdedicatedtothedevelopmentofnewwebsitecontent• Outdatedcontentgovernancepolicies(lastrevisedin2012)• LackoforganizationalandwebbrandingidentityConclusionsandRecommendationsAuniversity’swebsiteisnotonlyacomponentoftheirbrand,butitservesasthefaceofuniversitytotheworld.Thisrequirescarefulplanningonwhatisincluded,aswellashowitispresentedonthesite.Clearunderstandingoftheorganization’sgoals,audiencesandmessagesmustcomeoutthroughoutthesite.Basedonthesurvey,usabilitytestingandfocusgroupsconductedatSUAduringsummerof2014,itisclearthatsitehasmaderecentimprovements,butisreadytobetakenuptothenextlevel.Onthesurfacewelearnedfromourinterviewsthatpeoplewereokwiththesite,butasweprobeddeeper, manyissuescameout.Aworld-classinstitutionandresourceforTanzania,suchasSUA,mustbeputtingoutadynamicandengagingpieceofcommunication.Todothis,thefollowingthingsneedtobetakenintodeeperconsideration.AudiencesWhotrulyistheaudienceofthewebsite?Accordingtothefaculty,staffandstudents,potentialandcurrentstudentsshouldbethenumberoneaudience.Thewebsiteshouldfirstaddresstheneedsofpotentialandcurrentstudents,fromenrollingtoclassestosocialactivities.However,thereareotherimportantaudiencesthatcan’tbeignored.Thereneedstobespacefortheneedsoftheacademicstaff,administrativestaffandalumnioftheuniversityaswell.Itisalsohighlyrecommendedthattwonewaudiencesbefocusedonaswellasthenewsiteisdeveloped:consumers/farmersandthemedia.ItwasclearfromthefindingsthatafocusoftheuniversitywebsiteneedstobeontheoutsideworldandthefarmersandconsumerswhoneedtheinformationproducedatSUA.Itisalsoimportantthatinthismediadrivenworldthatresourcesbeprovidedtoactasapublicrelationstoolfortheuniversity.ContentTobesuccessfulawebsitemustbealiving,breathingentitythatiscontinuallybeingupdatedandadjusted.Itisclearfromtheinterviewedaudiencesthatthisisaplacewherethewebsiteisfallingshort.Effortsneedtobemadetoensurethatthecontentonthewebsiteiscontinuallyauditedandupdated.Whileanauditiscurrentlyunderway,thisissomethingthatwillneedtobedoneyearly,ifnotmoreregularly. Doingsuchanactivitywillalsoaddresstheissueswithrepetitionwithinthesite.


Itisimportanttoalsonotethatinmanycasesthereisinformationthatismorethanfiveyearsold,includingstudentacademiccalendarsandtuitioninformation.Thereneedstobeasystemsetinplacethatalsoallowsfacultyandstafftoupdatetheirprofileinformation,CVsandcurrentresearch.Thiswillnotonlyshowthequalityoftheuniversity,butitwillalsohelpinfindingresearchpartnersinandoutsideTanzania.Studentsshouldalsobeabletosubmittothesitetoadvertiseeventsgoingonon-campus.Somethingassimpleasacampuscalendarcanbeaddedthatallowsstudentsandstafftoseewhatisgoingon,andallowsthemtosharetheiractivities.Peoplearegoingtothesitetofindnewsabouttheuniversity.Theyaredisappointedwhenitisnotcurrent.Itisrecommendedthatthepublicrelationsstaffworkwiththewebsitestafftoofferfeedsonthehomepageofnews.PossiblyeventhroughsocialmediafeedssuchasTwitterorFacebook.Currentlythereisaculturewithinthesitethatthecomputercenterstafffocusonthebackendofthesiteandthecontentportiongetsignored.Depthofcontentislackingthroughoutthe site.ManypageswithintheFacultiesareblankoronlyhaveafewlinesoftext.Moreinformationoncourses,research,instructors,degrees,andcampusareneededtokeepaudiencescomingbacktothesiteasaresource.Imageswillalsobecomeextremelyimportantinthefuturesite.Itisrecommendedthatactionsbetakentousequalityimagesthathighlightnotonlyagriculture,butalsothestudentsandtheiractivities.Aconcernwasvoicedmanytimesthatthestudentscannotseethemselvesinthecurrentsite.Thiscanbefixedthroughimagery.Oncecontentisdelivereditisalsoimportantthatthereisalogicalflowtotheinformation.Thelinkingstructuremustbethoroughlythoughtout,andfuturetestingshouldbedoneforusability.AttachedinAppendixAarethreeexamplesofpeerinstitutionsthathavedevelopedlinkingstructuresthatcontainthemanyfeaturesweheardfromourstudythatareneededanddesired.Lastly,theremustbeasystemputinplacetocheckthequalityofthecontent.Manyfactualandgrammaticalerrorsarescatteredacrossthesite.Thisisunacceptableforatoptieruniversityofeducatorsandresearchers.StaffingItisveryclearthatthestaffofthecomputercenterisdoingthebesttheycanwiththetimeandequipmenttheyhave.However,theneedsoftheuniversityhaveoutgrownwhatafewstaffcandowhileworkingonteachingandotherITrelatedservices.Itishighlyrecommendedthatonepersonbedesignatedtoworkonthewebsitefulltimeandhavenootherresponsibilities.ThispersoncouldworkwiththepublicrelationsofficefortheuniversityandtheDeanofStudentstoensureaclear,brandedmessageisgettingoutalongwithupdatednewsandmaterials.Thispersoncouldalsoberesponsibleforworkingwithfacultiestodevelopandupdatewebsites.Toaidinthisprocess,atemplateforallprogramscouldbedevelopedinwhichfacultiesonlyhavetoposttheircontent.Thiswouldeasetheneedfortechnicalskillsofsuchindividualsandcouldmakeitastudentorclericalstaffjobforeachfaculty.Oneofthebiggestissuesweheardmultipletimeswasthelackofup-to-dateinformationandstudentpresenceonthesite.Suchasteptoidentifysomeonetosolelybeinchargeofthesitewouldgreatlyincreasethesuccessof

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thesite.Itisalsoencouragedtousetheknowledgeofthecomputersciencestudentsbyhaving aninternhelpthisappointedindividualwiththewebsite.ContentManagementSystemCurrentlythesiteisbeingmanagedthroughJoomla.ItwasdiscoveredthroughfocusgroupcommentsthatsomecenterslikethelibraryareusingdifferentversionsofJoomlaaddingmore issuestoitssuccessfuluse.Joomlaisaverycodeheavysoftwareapplicationinwhichonemust beveryversedinitslanguagetoaddcontentordevelopnewpagesorapplications.Itis suggestedthatinvestmentsbemadeintousingamorefriendlyCMSsystemforthenewsite.SystemslikeDrupalorWordpressallowuserstohavetemplatestheycanusethatrequireminimaltechnologyskills,butalsohavethefunctionalityonthebackendtobeadvanced.Itwasmadeclearaftertalkingwithstudentsandacademicstaffthatacoursemanagementsystemisdesiredtoallowinstructorstopostmaterialsaswellasgradesforstudents.WelearnedafterthefocusgroupsthattheSUASISsystemisintegratedwithMoodletocurrentlyoffersuchfeaturesforusers.However,itisobviousthattheusersareunawareofthecapabilitiesincoursemanagementthatthesoftwaretheyusecanofferthem.Itisimperativethattrainingbeheldwithacademicstaffandstudentstoensuretheyareawareofandfully utilizingthesetoolsintheacademicsetting.Whileseveralfindingssuchaslackofinternetinofficesandunstableconnectionscannotnecessarilybeaddressedeasily,mostofthefindingspresentedarethingsthatcaneasilybe accomplishedwithsomecreativethinkingandalittletime.

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