Assessment of the contribution of edible wild plants from Miombo woodlands to the rural livelihoods in Kilosa District, Morogoro, Tanzania
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Date
2007
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
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.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Edible Wild Plants, Miombo woodlands, Social sciences