Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

415 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9389

These briefs report on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region.

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Reform Experience with the Tanzanian Cotton Sector

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-06) Baffes, John

Cotton, Tanzania's second largest crop after coffee, was introduced at the turn of the century by German settlers as a plantation crop but later efforts focused on smallholder production. Output rose considerably with the releases of new varieties, along with better organization of the sector following establishment of the Tanganyika Lint and Seed Marketing Board in 1956. By 1966, production reached 80,000 tons, or 0.75 percent of world production of 10.7 million tons.
Tanzania’s Tea Sector : Constraints and Challenges’

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-12) Baffes, John

In 1968, the government initiated a smallholder tea development program in which all aspects of smallholder tea marketing and trade were turned over to the Tanzania Tea Authority which assumed a wide array of responsibilities. The Authority promoted smallholder tea production. Most of the smallholder tea leaf went to the eight Tea Authority-owned factories for processing, and the rest to factories owned by the estates. Despite its apparent success, there were numerous signs of distress in the smallholder sector. This note describes the constraints and challenges faced by the production of tea in Tanzania.
Tanzania’s Coffee Sector : Constraints and Challenges in a Global Environment

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-04) Baffes, John

Coffee, Tanzania's largest export crop, contributes about 115 dollars to the country 's export earnings. About 95 percent of coffee is produced by some 400,000 smallholders on average plots of 1-2 hectares. Most do not use purchased inputs such as chemicals and fertilizers. Before 1990 all coffee marketing (including input provision, transportation, and processing) was handled by the state coffee board and the cooperative unions. Modest reforms were implemented in 1990 affecting inputs, price announcements, and retention of dollar export earnings. More comprehensive reforms were introduced beginning in 1994/95, allowing private traders to purchase coffee directly from growers and process it in their own factories for the first time in more than 30 years. While producers ' share of export prices increased, official statistics show no supply response. Coffee processing capacity, marketing efficiency, and investment in new plantings increased. Several issues remain to be addressed. Taxes should be consolidated, lowered, and rationalized across all export crops and other exports and the tax code should be simplified. Licensing procedures need to be reexamined. Licenses should be suspended only in accordance with the Coffee Industry Act of 2001, and not in response to requests by the cooperative unions or the Ministry of Cooperatives. The coffee auction should be voluntary, substantially reducing the costs of vertically integrated exporters and enhancing cross-border trade. The Tanzanian Coffee Board should be responsible for disseminating price and other information and for monitoring the quality of auction coffee sales and other coffee statistics. The power of the board and the ministry ought to be substantially reduced and their respective roles clearly defined.
Tanzania : Managing Forest Resources

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01) Mohan, P.C.

During the 1970s and 1980s in Tanzania, there was a widespread perception, though a somewhat narrow, and inaccurate one, that high and accelerating rates of deforestation in some areas, was primarily being driven by demand for woodfuel, and construction timber. In order to take a more comprehensive, and strategic view of the sector, the government launched the Tanzania Forestry Action Plan, which covered the period 1990/91-2007/08. The Bank-assisted Tanzania Forest Resources Management Project (FRMP - 1992/99) was formulated to implement the Action Plan, and to generally improve forest management in Tanzania. The note looks at the FRMP - aimed at strengthening the institutions responsible for developing forest, and land policies, as well as regional, and district forestry services in selected areas - through its impact on the ground, and provides a number of lessons learned.
Gender and Law : Eastern Africa Speaks

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-01) Gopal, Gita ; Adu, Elizabeth

Gender issues, particularly with respect to women's status and rights, have for a considerable period, been in the forefront of donors' dialogue on social issues with Africa. While Africa countries have fully acknowledged the seriousness of the issues and the urgent need for action, the dialogue has been largely donor-driven and issues and priorities been donor-set. Recognizing the need for a new approach in this important area for Africa's progress, the Bank, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa, initiated a Gender and Law Program, in October 1997, at a Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Program shifts responsibility for identification and implementation of themes, issues, and priorities to in-country stakeholders rather than with donors. During the Conference, each country delegation voiced its priorities for change. The issues included land-related challenges, family law, violence against women, employment and labor, and decentralized governance frameworks. Land and the division of household property are prime areas where gender-based disparities marginalize and disenfranchise women of Eastern Africa. In an effort to improve women's social and economic life, two main themes emerged: the impact of customary laws and practices and the need for effective implementation. The delegates emphasized the need to initiate action for change at grassroots, institutional, and policy making levels.
Benefit Sharing in Protected Area Management : The Case of Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1997-06) Clark, Carrie ; Davenport, Lisa ; Mkanga, Paul

Conservation is often viewed as a tradeoff between the development of short-term benefits and protection for long-term benefits. However, with the appropriate mechanisms, it is possible to achieve both aims. The justification to protect parks in developing countries can be based on an economic rationale rather than a primarily social or environmental one. Enhancing the revenue earning potential of protected areas from tourism, and directly returning those benefits to the appropriate set of stakeholders can result in a balanced approach to long-term environmental conservation and short-term economic development. Currently, approximately 14 percent of Tanzanian territory is designated as protected areas. Though national parks, game preserves, and other protected areas have generated revenue for the government, not much of this revenue has been retained to enhance the conservation efforts in these areas or to compensate the local communities. Funding for the Tarangire National Park (TNP) as it is for the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), the national park authority, is limited and gate revenues are supplemented by external donors, both through TANAPA and directly to TNP. Within TNP, actual revenues have consistently been greater than expenditures since the 1991 financial year. TNP operates at a profit which has increased variably by approximately 23 percent to 140 percent per year. Surplus revenues are contributed to TANAPA.
Improving the Commercial Practices of an Electrical Utility : Electricity Dispenser System in Tanzania - A Component of the Tanzania Power VI Project

(Washington, DC, 1996-06) World Bank

The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) has experienced major problems with billing and collecting revenues. To improve customer services; and improve the collection of revenues, the utility company switched to an electricity prepayment system using Electricity Dispensers (ED). The ED which is an electric meter fitted with a circuit breaker, a computer logic chip and an input device, is installed in the customer's premises. The input devices are either magnetic card readers, similar to those on Automated Teller Machine (ATM), or numeric keypads similar to a telephone keypad. The input device allows the customer to control electricity-related consumption and expenditure.