This study
underscores the importance of community involvement in decision-making
processes regarding gas extraction operations and the equitable distribution of
benefits among stakeholders. Communities in rural Tanzania that depend on
farming and fishing for their livelihoods are particularly vulnerable to
extractive investment ventures. Diversifying a community's sources of income
beyond farming and fishing can help it effectively manage the negative effects
of extractive investment operations. The lives of communities are predicted to
alter and diversify because of gas extraction operations (GEOs). Tanzania has new GEOs; thus, it is necessary
to investigate how they have diversified their livelihoods in the Mtwara Rural
District. This study addresses the association between GEOs and diversifying
livelihoods. This study explores (i) livelihood diversification before and
during GEOs, (ii) the associations between GEOs and villagers’ livelihood
diversification, and (iii) communities’ perspectives on GEOs and livelihood
diversification. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to obtain 260
participants. A questionnaire-based survey, four (4) Focus Group Discussions
(FGDs), and fifteen (15) Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were used to collect
the data. IBM-SPSS version 25 was used to analyse quantitative data. The
Chi-square test was employed to analyse livelihood diversification in relation
to GEOs. Content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Near and distant
communities saw a farming decline of 81.5% and 83.5%, respectively.
Additionally, fishing declined by 85.2% and 83.7%, respectively. On the other
hand, GEOs enhanced motorbike transport by 160.0% and 300.0%, food vending by
166.7% and 236.4%, and seashell collection by 816.0% and 462.5%, respectively.
GEOs diversified farming (p = 0.001), fishing (p = 0.008), agricultural labour
wages (p = 0.000), and crop business (p = 0.036) with moderate strength of
association. In Mtwara Rural District of Tanzania, the study explored that the
availability of gas did not encourage the development of manufacturing and
processing firms in the research area, forcing neighbourhood households to
diversify their income sources. The GEOs have diversified livelihoods in the
study area. This study demonstrates that communities surrounding GEOs are
highly socioeconomically vulnerable due to GEOs, which caused declining
agricultural and fish catches, thus negatively affecting their livelihoods. To
raise wages and improve living conditions, long-term initiatives are advised,
including the establishment of varied agro-based businesses for the purpose of
creating jobs, training for jobs that generate revenue, and agribusiness and
technical training. In order to promote livelihood resilience, public and
private entities should jointly launch a focused, context-specific project to
diversify household incomes among close and far-flung households.
Author(s) Details
Beston Musa Musoma
Department
of Development Finance and Management Studies, Institute of Rural Development
Planning, P.O. Box 138, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Suzana Samson Nyanda
Department
of Policy Planning and Management, College of Social Sciences & Humanities,
Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3035, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Mikidadi Idd Muhanga
Department
of Development and Strategic Studies, College of Social Sciences &
Humanities, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3035, Morogoro,
Tanzania.
Fatihiya Ally Massawe
Institute
of Judicial Administration, Lushoto, P.O. Box 20, Lushoto, Tanzania.
Please see
the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/bmerp/v4/3765G
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