TITLE:
Change Process for Organisational Change of Networking Smallholder Organic Horticultural Farmer Organisations under Non-Governmental Organisations in Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Upendo Wilfred Mmari, Christopher Paul Mahonge, Emmanuel Timothy Malisa
KEYWORDS:
Change Process, Organisational Change, Smallholder Organic Horticultural Farmer Organisations, Organisational Change of SOHFOs, Non-Governmental Organisations, Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Technology and Investment,
Vol.14 No.4,
November
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: In the continuously
changing environment, Organisational Change (OC) is pivotal for various
Organizations including Smallholder Organic Horticultural Farmer Organisations
(SOHFOs) under Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for their survival. In
such circumstance, Change processes have been developed in the efforts of
bringing conducive environment for enhanced OC in 2000s for SOHFOs under NGOs
in Tanzania. Since the country has been experiencing lower potential in organic
horticultural production, it is imperative for this study to understand the
change process of SOHFOs under local umbrella NGOs. The areas for this study
were in Morogoro and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania. The study employed concurrently mixed design informed by
social network analysis. A total of three
hundred and sixty seven (367) respondents from one hundred and sixty seven
(167) SOHFOs and eighteen (18) respondents from ten (10) SOHFOs’ managing
organisations were included in the study. Qualitative data were collected using
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informants Interviews (KIIs). These data
were analysed using content analysis. On the other hand, quantitative data were
collected using a structured questionnaire and were analysed by Statistical
Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 whereby descriptive statistics
such as frequencies, means, percentages particularly index score were used to
understand the experience of OC process adopted by SOHFOs under local umbrella
NGOs in two regions of Tanzania. Overall, evidence from the index score
findings shows that, to some extent, SOHFOs under both Local umbrella NGOs in
Tanzania (X and Y
NGOs) have succeeded in applying the change process for their change in some
elements and faced challenges in others. Furthermore, the findings show that in
the change process adopted in SOHFOs under local
umbrella NGOs in Tanzania, both NGOs as intermediary
organisations plays a substantial role in facilitating change process in their
SOHFOs, particularly in demand articulation function. Nevertheless, the NGOs
have less efforts in network formation and innovation process
management,
whereby they are acting passively in scanning, scoping, filtering and
matchmaking of possible cooperation partners and scantly use relevant tools
that can enhance collaboration, communication and learning among partners. There have been numerous initiatives taken
by various Governmental and Non-governmental actors to support NGOs in Tanzania.
Based on prevailing situation, the study recommends for
collaborative efforts between government via responsible ministries, private
sector stakeholders, responsible NGOs, and SOHFOs in revising the policies and
systems so as to create more conducive environment and enable local umbrella
NGOs in Tanzania to serve well SOHFOs under them with effective intermediation.