The recent genetic modification techniques for improve soil conservation, nutrient uptake and utilization.

Advances in genetic modification (GM) techniques have generated huge interest in improving nutrient utilization, maximizing nutrient uptake, and conserving soil in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. Unfortunately, little is still known about the recent advancements in the application of GM tactics to enhance each of these areas. This review explores the latest GM strategies intended to support soil conservation, maximize nutrient uptake, and improve nutrient utilization in farming, highlighting the critical roles that soil health and nutrient management play in sustainable farming. GM strategies such as improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake through enhanced root systems and increased nutrient transport mechanisms are well discussed. This study suggests that addressing potential obstacles, such as ethical and regulatory concerns, is a necessity for long-term sustainability applications of GM technologies to raise agricultural yields.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism, income of local communities and biodiversity conservation: Evidence from Burunge wildlife management area, Tanzania.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in various negative repercussions worldwide in terms of biological conservation, the tourism sector and socio-economic welfare. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on socio-economic activities, income from the tourism sector, alternative sources of income adapted by the local communities adjacent to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA) as a means of survival, and its implications for biodiversity conservation. To assess tourism status, socio-economic activities and alternative livelihoods, interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informants' consultations were conducted on 264 respondents, of whom 53 % (n = 140) were men and 47 % (n = 124) were women. Secondary data were obtained from soft and hard copy reports through an extensive literature search in order to comprehend the implications of COVID-19 and alternative livelihoods in biodiversity conservation. 90.5 % (239) of respondents reported being seriously affected by the emergence of COVID-19, while 9.5 % (n = 25) were not affected by it. Some of the impacts of the COVID-19 as pointed out by the respondents included deflation (91.7 %, n = 242), a decline in the number of customers (91.7 %, n = 242), whereas others lost jobs (5.7 %, n = 15). In the case of the Burunge WMA authority, revenue collection (mainly from the tourism sector) declined by 32.5 % and 76.4 % for the years 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively, as compared to the revenue obtained in the year 2018/19 before COVID-19. During the pandemic, local communities adapted to several alternative sources of income while others intensified their former ones mainly being agriculture, fishing and livestock keeping. It is important for local communities, especially those adjacent to protected areas, to have diversified means of income that are environmentally and socially sustainable, such as fish farming and beekeeping, to reduce the impacts of unanticipated crises such as COVID-19.

Land use land cover change and socio-economic activities in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area ecosystem during COVID-19.

Land use land cover change (LULCC) is among the major factors affecting the natural environment worldwide. Studying LULCC is essential as it contributes to natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and land use planning, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19. This study aimed at assessing the trend (1995-2021) and magnitude of LULCC in the Burunge WMA ecosystem before (2015-2018) and during COVID-19 (2018-2021). The data on LULCC were collected from the satellite imagery on the USGS website, whereas the data on perceptions of local communities on LULCC from Mwada, Kakoi and Maweni villages were collected through a household questionnaire survey (HQS) of 445 randomly sampled households, focused group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). Quantitative data were analyzed using MS Excel 2019, R software (2022.02.0 + 443) and ArcGIS (Version 10.8). Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The findings indicated a fluctuation in agriculture, forest, and water coverage. For instance, agriculture and settlements increased significantly by 23.91% in 2015-2021 and 5.71% in 1995-2005 respectively, whereas forested land showed a maximum increase of 7.33% in 1995-2005. However, there was a pronounced increase in agricultural lands (3.99%) during the COVID-19 phase as compared to the same time frame before the pandemic. Local communities pointed to agriculture and settlements as the major activities contributing to LULCC. The findings show significant LULCC in Burunge WMA which calls for special attention from responsible authorities and other stakeholders for the achievement of biodiversity conservation and the development of livelihoods in the area.

Communities' awareness of afforestation and its contribution to the conservation of lizards in Dodoma, Tanzania.

Afforestation is providing the remedy for deforestation, which is among the greatest challenges of biodiversity conservation in Tanzania. Efforts for afforestation are taking place in Dodoma, which are anticipated to have social and ecological positive effects. This study provides information on the perception of local communities towards afforestation and how afforestation can harbor other wildlife species like lizards. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from respondents who were chosen at random in the afforestation area. Pitfalls and direct observation under constrained time intervals were used to sample lizards in two categories of vegetation (afforested and non-afforested areas; n = 1040 samples). Awareness of afforestation was significantly affected by age group (P < 0.005) and nature of course taking. In this case, those who studied natural courses like biology, forest, and aquatic science were more aware of afforestation and they had a likelihood of being involved in afforestation programs (P < 0.05). Eight species of lizards were identified in the study area where seven species were found in afforested areas while three were found in non-afforested areas, where Agama lionotus was the dominant species. The diversity of lizards was higher in afforested areas (Shannon Weiner index H = 1.37) than in non-afforested areas (Shannon Weiner index H = 0.99). More afforestation program awareness and conservation education are required to ensure the sustainability of afforestation efforts in Dodoma. Afforestation showed a significant contribution to the conservation of lizards. Lizards can be used as good indicator species to understand and monitor the success of afforestation.

Effect of sex, age, diseases, and control intervention on chickens' mortality and its financial implications in Dodoma, Tanzania.

Chicken diseases significantly contribute to the financial losses of small-scale chicken keepers in Tanzania through mortality and control management. However, little is known about the relationship between chicken mortality and disease, sex, and control measures. In addition, the financial losses for farmers in Dodoma resulted from mortality due to diseases and poor productivity due to improper management. A cross-sectional, longitudinal questionnaire survey with multistage sampling was conducted in the Kongwa district and Dodoma municipality to gather data from 400 randomly selected households (200 from each district). Semistructured questionnaires were used for data collection over four quarters of the year. Low morbidity and high mortality due to diseases were observed in first and second quarters (Q1 and Q2), whereas high morbidity and low mortality were observed in third and fourth quarters (Q3 and Q4). The Kongwa district experienced significantly higher mortality than the Dodoma Municipal district (P < 0.001). Disease mortality was negatively affected by cocks, hens and chicks (P < 0.001). Control interventions such as treatment, prophylaxis use lowered the effect of chicken mortality due to diseases and pronounced effects when at least 2 approaches were applied by the farmers (P < 0.005). The total financial loss incurred by the 400 interviewees is approximately Tsh. 119.9 million (52,146.96 USD). This study outlines the financial losses associated with mortality, poor productivity, poor performance, and increased costs of disease management and control in chicken-keeper households in the Dodoma region. To avoid these losses, farmers and other stakeholders should design proper control strategies while considering the season of the year and disease categories affecting chickens.

Chicken production, flock size, management systems, and challenges in the Dodoma region in Tanzania.

Dodoma's population is growing rapidly creating a high demand for food security like chicken products. However, the distribution of chickens' management systems, breed of chicken kept, and challenges facing chicken production in Dodoma are less documented. This study focused on finding out the productivity of chicken in terms of flock size and how it is affected by the management system, types/breed of chicken keeping, and evaluating the challenges facing chicken production in Dodoma. A cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was used to generate data from the two randomly selected districts namely, Kongwa and Dodoma Municipal. The results showed that the average flock size was significantly (P < 0.0001) higher in Dodoma municipal (mean = 124.56 ± 35.08, n = 200) than in Kongwa district (mean = 42.55 ± 5.54, n = 200). Broiler and layers keeping under the intensive system were dominant in Dodoma municipal while local breed chicken under the free-range system was dominant in Kongwa district (P < 0.001). Diseases were the main challenge facing chicken production. It was eminent that, diseases and other challenges such as theft, predation, lack of experts, unavailable space and huts for keeping chicken, and insufficient feed staffs for chicken significantly lowered the chicken production in Dodoma (P < 0.05). It is conclusive that, the demand for chicken products in Dodoma is higher and will continue to increase. There is a need for chicken keepers to increase production to overcome the current deficit. The increases in production should go hand in hand with solving the challenges which face chicken production in Dodoma.

Social-economic impact of chicken production on resource-constrained communities in Dodoma, Tanzania.

Chickens, in many households, are kept by women and the youths, providing employment and means of increasing family economic gains. However, little information on the social-economic contribution of chickens' production in Dodoma is available. This study examined the potential of chickens' production in Kongwa district and Dodoma municipality in Tanzania. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey (with Likert scaling) was conducted, and in-depth interviews were used to gather information from the local livestock keepers. A total of 200 were interviewed, and of these, 33.93% were male and 66.07% were female. The entire family was responsible for chicken management in 66.07% of the households, whereby, in 25% of the households, only women were involved, and in 7.01% of the households, only men were involved in rearing chickens. Chicken production contributed socially and economically through meat, manure, offerings, source of income, aesthetic value (beauty), provision of school fees, and source of employment. The contribution of chicken production socially and economically among these categories varied significantly (Kruskal-Wallis statistical test = 33.36, P < 0.001). The potential customers for the chicken and their products were nearby shops (60.71%), individuals (retails) (85.71%), animal market place (Mnadani) (62.5%), travelers (55.35%), and restaurants (61.71%). The average selling price for the chicken was 12,500 Tanzanian Shilling (Tsh), whereas, for cocks, it was 13000 Tsh, and hens were sold at 10,000 Tsh. Chicken keeping is a very important sector in resource-constrained families as it provides for family proteins and income which support family health care, education, and other social needs. However, the productivity is not encouraging, so more education and support on chicken keeping is essential to enhance a positive economic impact on the local communities.