Gender-based coping strategies against food insecurity in Dodoma rural District, Tanzania
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Date
2001
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Drought, dependence on rainfall, poor storage and poor agricultural practices have
been identified as the main contributing factors to food insecurity in the country. On
the other hand, the Tanzania Government has made several policy declarations
including carrying out a number of campaigns and mobilisation programs with the
objective of attaining food security for the country. Dodoma region has been a victim
of famine for many years. For example, at the end of 18th century the caravan trade
increased food requirements for the thousands of travellers. This made the area face
frequent famines which were mainly due to the successive lowering of the
production potential including acceleration of soil erosion caused by deforestation
and over mexploitation of agricultural land due to marginal land cultivated without
conservation measures. From the few studies that have assessed food security in
Tanzania, the proportion of households in rural areas that suffer from food
insufficiency, is very high being as high as 77%. However, less has been done in
studying the role of gender in developing coping strategies against food insecurity.
This study was conducted to assess the role played by men and women in developing
coping strategies against food insecurity. More specifically, the study intended first,
to identify the types of food insecurity in the area and their causes, second, to
identify the coping strategies developed by men and women and third, to identify and
assess the socio-economic factors that influence the choice of the key coping
strategies. The study has focused on selected villages in Dodoma Rural District. The
study was carried out in two phases. Phase one of the study involved reconnaissance
survey together with Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques. Other tools
used were participant observation and checklists. The second phase was mainly
based on questionnaire survey. Questionnaire survey was done in Mzula, Mvumi
Makulu and Ndebwe villages with a sample size of 120 households. Data collected
by using PRA techniques in phase one were analysed with the help of the
communities and the results were communicated back to them for verification. Data
collected in phase two were analysed by using both quantitative and qualitative
methods. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was the main tool used
for analysing quantitative data whereas descriptive statistics, cross tabulation and
logistic regression were done. Content and Structural-Functional Analyses were used
for qualitative data. The study revealed the presence of chronic food insecurity in
Dodoma Rural District, which was mainly caused by drought and pests. In order to
cope with food shortage, the study revealed a number of coping strategies employed
by men and women in Dodoma Rural District. These included: collection of wild
foods; doing casual labour, that is, selling labour in other peoples’ farms; doing off-
farm activities; food borrowing; crop diversification; migration to other areas and
receiving remittances from relatives who stay in urban areas. Women were using
most of the identified coping strategies. Three coping strategies were mostly used in
the study area. These included: collecting wild foods, which was reported by 57
percent of women and 41 percent of men; doing casual labour which was reported by
51 percent of women and 34 percent of men, and doing off-farm activities reported
by 39 percent of the women and 29 percent of the men. The study further revealed
that the choice of these key coping strategies have been influenced by some socio
economic factors namely farm size, education level, age, amount of food stored and
dependency ratio. Respondents who were having small farms of below 5ha tended to
look for casual labour, that is, selling their labour to other people’s farms. Heads of
during the period of the study. Others who have not been mentioned have been very
helpful. To ever)' one I say, thank you very much, you have been wonderful.
household who had formal education did not participate much on off-farm activities
compared to those without formal education. It was also revealed that the higher the
age of the head of household, the more was the tendency to participate in those key
coping strategies. Having stored less amount of food to fulfil the minimum
requirements of the household made the household members to participate more in
those coping strategies. Having lower dependency ratio was another factor which
influences people to participate in those coping strategies. The study concludes by
pointing out that participation of women in coping with food shortage and their role
in ensuring food security as discussed in this study provides the evidence that many
differences between women and men are socially constructed and can be changed.
Opportunities to training on food processing especially on how to preserve food to be
used in time of food shortages can be a powerful incentive for women to ensure food
security in their households. It is recommended that deliberate efforts to assist
households that depend on rain fed production to diversify their sources of livelihood
be taken. Diversification of sources of livelihood can be achieved through promotion
of other sources of income generation. Promotion of off-farm activities coupled with
policies designed to provide good rural markets for households that depend on food
purchases are crucial. The study further recommends that training schemes targeting
the rural poor households especially women on food processing be given due
consideration in policy formulation. It is emphasised that those training should focus
more on processing of wild foods
Description
The degree of master of science in management of natural resources for sustainable agriculture
Keywords
Gender-based coping strategies, Food insecurity, Coping strategies, Socio-economic factors, Dodoma rural District, Tanzania