Browsing by Author "Mujillah, Ellasy Lugano Johnson"

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    Assessment of the contribution of edible wild plants from Miombo woodlands to the rural livelihoods in Kilosa District, Morogoro, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2007) Mujillah, Ellasy Lugano Johnson
    ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Kilosa district, Tanzania. The aim of the study was to assess the contribution of Edible Wild Plants (EWPs) to the rural livelihoods in Kilosa district. Specifically the study aimed at identifying EWPs available in the miombo woodlands of the study area; assessing methods used in processing and preservation of EWPs and assessing socio-economic factors that influence the collection of EWPs. Data were collected from October to December 2005 using structured and semi-structured questionnaire survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Ethnobotanical survey, participants' observation and focused group discussions. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5 for Windows was used for analyzing quantitative data. Content and structural- functional analyses were employed to analyze qualitative data. Plant species were identified using checklists, taxonomic books and taxonomists. The study identified a total of 380 useful plant species which play an important role in the improvement of rural livelihoods. Logistic regression analysis indicated that, an increase in distance from homestead to the miombo woodlands tends to reduce tire chances of people to collect EWPs, while age was observed to have a direct relationship with collection of EWPs. The study concludes that, EWPs contributes to the improvement of rural livelihoods through household food security, health care, and generation of income. The study therefore, recommends that further studies be undertaken in the area to acquire more knowledge on how to improve harvesting, processing and preservation methods as a strategy for improvingquality and adding value to EWPs. More studies should also be undertaken with regard to improving and strengthening marketing channels so as to increase income generation for the rural people, also local communities should be encouraged to plant and retain useful EWPs in their home-gardens and farms so as to safeguard them from extinction.