Traditional Uses of Miombo Woodland Tree Species in Sikonge District, Tanzania
Fadhili Hamza Mgumia,
Juvenal Nkonoki,
John Safari
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, July 2017
Pages:
69-78
Received:
11 April 2017
Accepted:
28 April 2017
Published:
27 June 2017
Abstract: Traditional use of Miombo woodland plants was investigated in Ugunda Forest Reserve in Sikonge District, Tanzania. Collaborative Field Work and Focus Group Discussions were used to generate information on uses of Miombo woodlands. Findings showed that local communities derived various goods and services from Miombo woodlands. Out of 106 plants recorded, 74species were found to provide multiple uses to the local communities. These species provided 18 forest products/services. The major categories of uses were food plants (62.2%), handcraft plants (56.8%), domestic plants (47.3%). Further, results revealed that the Miombo woodlands provided 72.2% of Non- Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) compared with 27.8% of Timber Forest Products (TFPs). This study has demonstrated that impact of utilization decrease with increase of distance from the settlement suggesting high dependence of forest resources by local communities surrounding Ugunda Forest Reserve. However, conversion of Miombo woodlands to short-duration crop lands and harvesting woods for curing tobacco and charcoal making are the major threats to the woodland resources. Efforts are needed to promote best practices of forest management that will ensure sustainable supply of forest products and services. Promoting practices that enhance judicious use of NTFPs, which is known to be less destructive to forest ecosystem, would particularly result into long term benefits on both NTFPs and TFPs.
Abstract: Traditional use of Miombo woodland plants was investigated in Ugunda Forest Reserve in Sikonge District, Tanzania. Collaborative Field Work and Focus Group Discussions were used to generate information on uses of Miombo woodlands. Findings showed that local communities derived various goods and services from Miombo woodlands. Out of 106 plants reco...
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Examining the Significance of Gender, Marital Status, Landholding Size and Age of Members on Capacity of Local Level Fish Farmer Organisations
Dalo Njera,
Charity Chonde,
Daimon Kambewa,
Joseph Dzanja,
Dennis Kayambazinthu
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, July 2017
Pages:
79-84
Received:
9 May 2017
Accepted:
19 May 2017
Published:
6 July 2017
Abstract: This study ponders on the significance of gender, marital status, landholding size and age of members on capacity of farmer organisations in promoting fish farming at the local level. Purposive sampling method was employed to select five fish farmer organizations. One farmer organisation was selected in Dowa district while four farmer organisations were selected in Mchinji district. All members of the farmer organizations were selected for the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Data collection comprised focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and face to face interviews. Data were analysed using content analysis, critical discourse analysis and descriptive statistics. Results show that gender, marital status, landholding size and age of members have a significant (p < 0.05) influence on capacity of farmer organisations to promote fish farming. The study also showed that although institutional theory and social capital theory do not categorically or explicitly point to socioeconomic characteristics of the members as being central in enhancing capacity of the farmer organisations, this study has shown that gender, marital status, landholding size and age of members are critical for the successful performance of fish farmer organisations. It is therefore recommended that these socioeconomic factors be considered for successful establishment and development of vibrant and robust farmer organisations. It is further recommended that a follow-up study with a larger sample and replicated in more local communities should be carried out in order to provide more evidence on the influence of these socioeconomic factors on performance and capacity of fish farmer organisations.
Abstract: This study ponders on the significance of gender, marital status, landholding size and age of members on capacity of farmer organisations in promoting fish farming at the local level. Purposive sampling method was employed to select five fish farmer organizations. One farmer organisation was selected in Dowa district while four farmer organisations...
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