Land Use Change and Livelihood Diversification In Usangu Plains, Tanzania
Abstract
This paper presents the assessment of land use changes and its implication to household livelihood in the Usangu Plains, Mbarali District. Remote sensing, participatory and questionnaire survey methods were used in the study. Findings shows that the Usangu Plains have experienced changes in land use towards agricultural land use intensification due to high population growth, market demand for rice, and the impact of liberalization policy. This has consequently contributed to high demand for land and farm labour, as well as their commercialisation. Households adapt to these emerging conditions through livelihood diversification, depending on their access to livelihood assets. Well-off households have heavily been involved in commercial rice production and diversification to high capital investments. Intermediate households with few livelihood assets were restrained from commercial rice production, and thus diversified to less capital investments. Poor households pursued survival strategies due to very limited endowment of assets and livelihood options, and diversified to activities with non-cash investments (casual labour, sales of charcoal/ firewood). The well-off group is more successful in exploiting available opportunities, while the poor group is the most vulnerable to changes, and their strategies have had more negative impacts on the environment. Diversification to off-farm income-earning activities is increasing with changing market conditions (liberalisation). However, this does not imply farewell to farms at the expense of off-farm income-earning activities. The on-farm and off-farm income activities are interlinked and crucial to household livelihood in the Usangu Plains.
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