Arrivals Gate

There is a moment when you are standing in line at immigration. You have been on one, maybe two or three planes. You have been in one, maybe two or three airports. And then you are at the front of the line and the uniformed hand of the immigration officer waves you forward. It is your turn. Cursory hellos and 'what were you doings' take a minute or two as the officer finds a fresh passport page to stamp. And suddenly two words make the exhaustion and waiting and stale airport air worth it: "Welcome home."

It never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Home.

Home. The air of familiarity, of family, of friends. I have always loved the arrivals gate in airports. So I was particularly excited to read Alain de Boton's slight book on my flight from Dulles to San Francisco, A Week at the Airport. I will provide his account of the arrivals gate here as my writing could hardly do it justice.

"At arrivals, there were forms of welcome in which princes would have been jealous, and which would have rendered inadequate the celebrations laid at Venice's quaysides for the explorers of the Eastern silk routes. Individuals without official status or distinguishing traits, passengers who had sat unobstrusively for twenty-two hours near the emergency exits, now set aside their bashfulness and revealed themselves as the intended targets of flags, banners, streamers and irregularly formed home-baked chocolate biscuits...

The prevalence of divorce in modern society guaranteed the unceasing supply of airport reunions between parents and children. In this context, there was no longer any point in pretending to be sober or stoic: it was time to squeeze a pair of frail and yet plump shoulders very tightly and founder into tears. We may spend the better part of our professional lives projecting strength and toughness, but we are all in the end creatures of appalling fragility and vulnerability. Out of the millions of people we live among, most of whom we habitually ignore and are ignored by in turn, there are always a few who hold hostage our capacity for happiness, whom we could recognize by their smell alone and whom we would rather die than be without. There are men pacing impatiently and blankly who had looked forward to this moment for half a year and could not restrain themselves any further at the sight of a small boy endowed with their own grey-green eyes and their mother's cheeks, emerging from behind the stainless-steel gate, holding the hand of an airport operative.

At such moments, it felt almost as if death itself had been averted - and yet there was also a sense, lending the occasion more poignancy still, that it could not go on being cheated for ever. Perhaps this was a way of practicing for mortality. Some day, many years from now, the adult child would say goodbye to his father before going on a routine business trip and the reprieve would abruptly run out. There would be a telephone call in the middle of the night to a room on the twentieth floor of a Melbourne hotel, bringing the news that the parent had suffered a catastrophic seizure on the other side of the world and that there was nothing more the doctors could do for him - and from that day forward, for the now-grown-up boy, the line in arrivals would always be missing one face in particular."

Beautiful.

It's good to be home.

Taking it all in...

As the summer winds to a close (23 hours before take off!), some reflection is in order.

When I started my internship search, John kept repeating the same two phrases over and over:

"Fortune favors the bold" and

"If you are not running towards something then you must be running away from something."

At times, I found this repetition of idiomatic expressions slash quasi-proverbial avuncular quotes annoying and asked him to stop pestering me. But behind my visible annoyance I did reflect on his words. Boldness and direction had felt strangely outside my reach the first year of graduate school. Working part time and a full class load left little time to think about career trajectories and passions. I had to be very honest with myself about what I wanted out of the summer. And I realized that it was about time to invest some professional time in a personal interest.

So I reached out to Earth Institute after reading about their innovative use of information and communication technology (ICT) for health (ChildCount) in the Millennium Villages. And that little bit of boldness worked.

The summer was spent learning and re-learning.

Professional learning about survey design, agricultural input-output relationships, GIS and spatial randomization, field testing, enumerator training, open data kit, Android phones and Tablets, agronomic efficiencies, and how to ask farmers in the middle of a drought about their past season harvests. Personal learning about living alone again, discovering a new city, riding precarious public transportation, embracing the boredom, and also embracing the hecticness.

Professional and personal re-learning what I knew about working in international development, adjusting to a new work environment and team setting, living alone again, tweeting, learning from new friends and colleagues, relishing the joy of pleasure reading, soaking in free weekends, appreciating long, winding conversations with old friends, and reinforcing how truly important family and friends are (and how poopy distance can be).

It's also been a reflection on how lucky John and I are - traveling through Europe and East Africa , spending time with family and friends who are so far from us, and putting in some quality time together after a ridiculously hectic first year of marriage. The trick now is not to take any of it for granted and make sure we focus on these times when we are happiest and most engaged and replicate them as often as possible.

Kanga kanga kanga!

My friend Vidya suggested including comparisons between India and Tanzania, mostly the daily observations and experiences - the sights, smells, sounds, reactions etc. One of my favorite comparisons between the two countries is the colorful fabrics worn by women. Similar to the vibrant Indian saris and salwaar kameez across the subcontinent, the Tanzanian kangas and kitenges abound on the streets of Arusha. Ranging from three to six meters, women have them tailored into two or three piece garments or use them as sarongs or baby carriers/straps.

I loved heading to the fabric stores in Delhi and watching the women adeptly put together outfits - colors and patterns and fabrics that I would never conceive of combining seemed to fit together naturally. Reams of linen, cotton, and silk would be sprawled across the counter as women searched for just the right combination. While the mix of kangas and kitenges seems a bit more random, the tailored pieces are lovely and the fun patterns make for interesting outfits.

These are some of the fabrics that I have bought so far. I love the patterns and am still trying to conceptualize a fun project for when I return stateside. Right now I am considering framing the cloth and creating a 3x3 installation as a headboard or over the fireplace. Any other ideas?

Husband in Arusha!

Last weekend John made the journey down from Nairobi to Arusha on the Impala Shuttle. Similar to the time he spent in Delhi, it meant a lot to me for him to see and be a part of my life here. Our weekend together was very simple - riding the daladala, walking to the Shoprite, watching Harry Potter 5 with my roommates and colleagues, buying vegetables from my favorite veggie stand, spending time at the office and meeting everyone - but I enjoyed introducing John to my Arusha life.

Only one week left!

Photos (from top to bottom): (1) view during my daily walk to and from work, (2) maize fields on my daily walk (you can see the drought conditions), (3) John on the walk, (4) gas station, (5) clocktower circle, (6) Kase bookstore with a decent collection of English-language novels, (7) tinga tinga store where we bought a painting, (8) Ramadan sign in the town circle, (9) some of the bodaboda (motorcycle cab) drivers sitting on a corner in Arusha, (10) outdoor shoe store, (11) on the main Sokoine Road, and (12) on the main Sokoine Road with a daladala coming towards us.

Field testing

Last week, we began the field testing for our ict4ag tool. For the past 4 weeks, we have been finalizing the survey, translating it into Swahili, and transferring the excel files to xform for the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform. We selected Kisongo, a small town a few kilometers from our office, as the pilot site.

I'll get into the details of the survey at another time, but I wanted to mention this field testing because it represented - to me - how much I have learned over these past few weeks. Our group of ten (including agricultural extension agents, government officials, and our staff) divided into three groups and interviewed one farmer each to test the usability and utility of the survey on Tablets and mobile phones.

A few things really struck me:

(1) Drought: More than anything, we have to be sensitive to the conditions of the local community, who are dealing with severe drought. The numbers that indicate that this year was the lowest rainfall in the past 85 years. Many families have no harvest - aerial photos of much of Northern Tanzania would show swaths of beige landscapes - maize stalks that have yielded little to no harvest.

(2) Surveys, surveys, schmurveys: We have spent the past month developing this survey with the guideline that it should be 20-30 minutes. Tops. Survey fatigue, annoyance, opportunity costs, and the recognition that many of these "development" surveys benefit researchers and their treasure trove of data sets more than the communities they intend to serve weighed heavily on our team as we developed this tool. And speaking with my colleagues here, they want to see the results and learning from the survey get back to farmers. I sure hope it does.

(3) Appropriate technology: This summer I wanted an internship that exposed me to the opportunities and limits of ICT4D (information and communication technology for development). I feel like I have learned a great deal about mobile applications, Android phones, ODK, open source technology, crowdsourcing, GPS, etc. Don't worry, I have yet to drink the ICT4D Kool Aid ...

Here are some photos from our field testing....

Kisongo government office

Sonya and Wilbert checking the phone

Our team reviewing the survey before the field testing

Isaac conducting our survey (the mama also ran this small shop near a local school so he had to conduct the survey while she was taking customers!)

Isaac going to the household to take GPS coordinates

Agricultural policy in Tanzania (1986-present), Part III

1986-1995: Economic Liberalization and Partial Reforms

From 1986 to 1995, Tanzania pursued economic liberalization policies and partial reforms in accordance with structural adjustment programs mandated by international financial institutions. Policy reforms included liberalization of the exchange rate, trade regimes and agricultural marketing system.[1] The exchange rate was liberalized in 1993 as part of a nation-wide removal of “structural impediments” to growth.[2] Financial system reform and restructuring of parastatals also characterized this period; approximately 75 percent of parastatals were privatized.[3] The crop export marketing board monopolies were removed and replaced with cooperatives.

The industrial sector, however, was unable to recover while the agricultural sector was able to begin a slow path to recovery. Full recovery was not possible because of the “weak marketing and poor distribution chain [which] hindered an increase in food supplies to urban areas and a sharp increase in cash crop exports between 1987 and 1989.” Rent-seeking, corruption and inefficiencies hindered industrial productivity and that sector was unable to recover.

Tanzania’s partial and incomplete reforms were unable to stimulate the type of growth that the country required for complete economic recovery from failed policies of the previous decades. As a result, large monopolies still dominated the economy. Inherent flaws in institutional structures were not accounted for as budgetary management, fiscal policy and macroeconomic stability remained out of reach.[4] At this time, Tanzania also lost favor with the international donor community and aid flows began to dry up.[5]

1996 to the present: Macroeconomic stabilization and incomplete reforms

Since 1996, Tanzania has pursued complete macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms. Policies include privatization of parastatals and the disintegration of monopolies. The financial sector has been liberalized. Some of the institutional impediments to growth have been targeted, including a market-oriented regulatory framework, fiscal consolidation, and trade reform. Donor agencies have provided large amounts of assistance for debt relief, grants and concessional loans.[6]

As a result, GDP growth has increased to an average 5.85 percent from 1995 to 2009.[7] The country has increased foreign reserves, maintained low rates of inflation, and created a competitive banking system. The agricultural sector has also shifted away from traditional exports to non-traditional exports.[8] Mwase and Ndulu note that financial liberalization was one of the keys to Tanzania’s economic recovery, specifically “deepening the financial system, independent monetary policy, and increasing competition in the financial system.”[9] The IMF contends that the economy has also become increasingly diversified, shifting from traditional exports such as cotton, coffee, tea and tobacco to mining and marine exports, for example. Tanzania currently has one of the most liberal investment regimes in Africa and is one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment.

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[1] Nord. 4.

[2] Mwase and Ndulu. 447.

[3] Danielson. 99.

[4] Nord. 4.

[5] Mwase and Ndulu. 155.

[6] Nord. 4.

[7] World Bank Data. <http://data.worldbank.org/>

[8] Nord. 4.

[9] Mwase and Ndulu. 452.

[10] Nord. 2.

Agricultural policy in Tanzania (Intro and 1967-85), Part II

Tanzania’s History of Agricultural Reforms

The agricultural reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa provide a critical context to understand Tanzania’s agricultural policies from 1967 to the present. Radelet identified Tanzania as one of the emerging countries in Africa; it is endowed with a “rich natural resource base, easy geographical access to the international market, peaceful and politically stable environment, and… a cohesive national identity around a common language.”[1] Described as one of Africa’s “sleeping giants”[2], Tanzania remains heavily reliant on agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 28 percent of GDP[3], provides 85 percent of merchandise exports, both raw and processed, and employs between 60 to 80 percent of the country’s workforce.[4] Seventy percent of Tanzanians live in rural areas.[5] Tanzania has a comparative advantage in agriculture; the size of the labor force already dedicated to the sector and rich factor endowments will allow Tanzania to capitalize on agricultural investment.

Despite this comparative advantage, Tanzania has been unable to capture the gains from its agriculture-based economy. The following section will examine Tanzania’s agricultural reform in three phases from 1967 to 1985, 1986 to 1995 and 1996 to the present.

1967-1985: Strong control, socialism, and economic decline

The period from 1967 to 1985 was marked by economic decline and President Nyerere’s Ujamaa socialist policies. President Nyerere’s socialist vision for a united Tanzania included extensive state control which laid the foundation for the country’s growth to date. In 1967, the Arusha Declaration outlined the principles of Ujamaa villages that were based on Mao Zedong’s collectivization scheme in China.[6] It is important to note that Nyerere’s objective was national unity and equity; initiatives such as promoting Swahili as the national language fared better than the Ujamaa villages. Investments in creating this united Tanzania helped the country overcome inter-ethnic problems that have led to civil instability in other countries in the region. Armed with this unification scheme, then, Nyerere shifted major industry ownership to the public sector and discouraged foreign direct investment; this “Africanization” of the public sector was intended to promote the local economic base. The “villagization program” eventually shifted the population to rural villages, to a total of 60 percent by 1975.[7]

Economic reforms emphasized state control and the rural economy. The state took ownership of all major enterprises, especially heavy industry.[8] Public investment from 1970 to 1985 was high at 9.6 percent. Although industrial growth was high in the years following the Arusha Declaration, with the sector growing from 40 to 450 entities from 1966 to the mid-1980s, most of the industries were loss-making and had low productivity. Furthermore, the government pursued policies to shift the geographic economic base to rural areas, penalizing industry close to urban centers and creating dual consumer and producer prices that provided incentives to farmers in particular regions.[9]

The balance of payments crisis*, high inflation, and decreasing coffee prices at the beginning of the 1980s forced the country to slacken its control. In 1978 the coffee boom ended; in 1979 Tanzania was engaged in a war with Uganda and the oil price shocks brought to light the structural and institutional weaknesses of the Tanzanian economic policy. It is important to note that although the market reforms were implemented beginning in 1985 and fully taking force in 1995, the “institutional and legal remnants of hard control regimes remained" and may explain why scholars today do not consider Tanzania’s reform a success story.[10]

* I removed a lot of information about the balance of payments crisis.

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[1] The World Bank (2002). Tanzania at the turn of the century: Background papers and statistics. (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2002).
[2] Andrew Coulson, “Kilimo Kwanza: A New Start for Agriculture in Tanzania?” Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, England (2010). 3.
[3] This figure is down from 50 percent estimated by the World Bank in 2002 (WB2002,7)
[4] Economist Intelligence Unit. “Tanzania: Country Profile 2008.” United Kingdom, 2008. 20.
[5] The World Bank (2002). xvi.
[6] Mwase and Ndulu. 427.
[7] Ibid. 444.
[8] Roger Nord, Yuri Sobolev, David Dunn, Alejandro Hajdenberg, Niko Hobdari, Samar Maziad, and Stephanie Roudet, Tanzania: The Story of an African Transition. (Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 2009).
[9] Mwase and Ndulu. 445.
[10] Mwase and Ndulu. 144.