Land Access and Livelihood Strategies in Mvomero District Tanzania

Land is a key asset for rural livelihoods. The general objective of this paper is to determine the relationship between land access and livelihood strategies (LS) in the context of land scarcity. A good understanding of the above relationship is of great importance to policy makers and all those interested in improving the well-being of those living in such areas. Moreover, the above could offer guidance for focused poverty interventions aiming at promoting diversity of LS. The paper is based on a study that was carried out in Mvomero District, Tanzania. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a pre-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 267 respondents were involved in the household surveys that aimed to explore the portfolio of household's livelihood strategies, the availability of assets requisite for smooth diversification, challenges associated with LS and the effects of land access on LS. The quantitative data collected was analyzed using the SPSS software: descriptive and multinomial logistic regression were performed to identify dominant LS, determine assets portfolios and the influence of land access and selected household socio-economic characteristics on choices of LS. Qualitative data were analysed using the content analysis method and used to supplement the quantitative information. The results show that, farming is the dominant household LS. However, a significant proportion of households cope with land shortage by engaging in survival off-farm LS due to lack of labour skills, savings and capital necessary for undertaking high paying LS. A households location and its distance to the farm was positively related to its engagement in survival off-farm LS. Moreover, ownership of land without formal land titles negatively influenced a household's diversification of its LS (p < 0.05). It is therefore recommended that strategies for improvement of the well-being of households in the study areas and those with similar context should centre on promotion of diversification of LS. Nonetheless, investment in education and labour skills training is crucial for a meaningful diversification of LS. In addition, households should be encouraged to save, access to credit should be improved and formalization of land titles should be done.