Influence of Water Access for Livestock on the Livelihood Strategies of Agro-Pastoralists in Monduli District, Tanzania

Abstract

During the dry season, pastoralists in Monduli District experienced water shortages for livestock, which in turn caused changes in the pastoral production system. This study investigated the influence of water access for livestock on pastoralist’s livelihood strategies in Monduli District, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was adopted to collect data at a single point in time. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect quantitative and qualitative data from the 367 randomly selected respondents in the two selected wards. Focus Group Discussions and Key Informants Interviews were utilized to collect qualitative data. Statistical Package for Social Science was used to analyse quantitative data. Descriptive statistics including frequency counts and percentages; and inferential statistics including chi-square and multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyse the influence of the level of water access for livestock by pastoralists on the choice of livelihood strategies Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings of the study show that low levels of water access for livestock compelled the households to diversify into farming and off-farming livelihood strategies. In that perspective, the medium water access compelled the pastoralist households to diversify into farming activities while maintaining high water access for the livestock reference category. In addition, the findings of the study show that household capital does not influence the diversification of Livelihood Strategies. Based on the findings, the level of water access for livestock appeared to be the most important factor that influenced the pastoralists’ livelihood strategies in semi-arid settings of the study area. The Tanzanian government should devise plans and implement specific water development projects for livestock to improve the level of water access for livestock and, as a result, improve their livelihood.