Rural Women Small-Scale Subsistence Farming And Food Security: Implications For Household Poverty Reduction In Mpwapwa District, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of women small-scale farmers on rural household‟s poverty reduction. Specifically, the study aimed to get a better understanding on the roles, contributions and constraints of women smallscale farming in rural areas and their implications on poverty reduction and food security at household level. The study was undertaken in Dodoma Region, Tanzania, whereby Mpwapwa District with the predominantly small-scale subsistence agriculture done by mostly the women was purposively chosen. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed to select the representative sample. Data collection methods comprised of household surveys, FGDs, key informants‟ interviews, and field observation influenced by the Rural Growth Linkages Theory. A total of 74 women small-scale farmers were directly administered with questionnaires. In addition, two FGDs and sixteen key informants‟ interviews were conducted. The data were analysed using SPSS 16 version and MS-Excel computer software to summarize the facts. Descriptive statistics were used in describing the roles, contributions and constraints of women small-scale farming. The country is faced with poverty and food insecurity and the main findings of this study support the view that women small-scale farmers play an active role in food production, however, their potential is limited by inadequate levels of literacy that affect the way they access and utilize resources for household poverty reduction and food security among other factors. This may be generalized to the situation of women small-scale farmers in Tanzania. Improved literacy competencies among the women small-scale farmers in Tanzania lend itself as one of the interventions that may assist in improving agricultural produce. This calls for decision-makers to boost literacy for women, develop available agricultural knowledge resources and harness effort towards making them accessible. While interventions may be multi-sectored, the role of government is stressed in this dissertation. vi TABLE OF