Comparison of Food Insecurity among Agro-Pastoralists and Pastoralists Communities in Pastoral-Livelihood Zone of Longido District, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper challenges the rationale for adopting agro-pastoralism as a means of improving food security in a fragile ecosystem such as that existent in Longido District, a semi-arid zone where food availability depends on interrelated factors such as environmental conditions, food production practices, and coping mechanisms. As such, it tested the hypothesis that: there is no significant difference in the degree of food insecurity among families that merely practice pastoralism and those combining pastoralism with cultivation in pastoral zones. To this end, the study administered a semi-structured questionnaire on 165 respondents so as to examine food sources, abundance, severity of food insecurity, and coping mechanisms. Respondents were randomly selected in three strata of the study area, i.e., Lowlands, which are dominated by pastoralists, Hills mainly occupied by agro-pastoralists, and the Mountains, where farming is predominant. The study reveals that while both pastoralists and agro-pastoralists do indeed face food shortages there is, however, no significant association (X2 = 8.8, p = 0.0653) between the magnitude of severity of food insecurity with any particular livelihood type thereby validating the hypothesis. The implication of this result is that as far as food insecurity is concerned in Longido, there is no added advantage in agro-pastoralism particularly where maize and beans are the main crops and cultivated under rain-fed situation. In view of this finding, the study suggests that it would be appropriate to promote pastoralism as a long-term food security in Longido District Council by protecting and establish permanent grazing area and preventing further cultivation. Further, it would be proper if strategies aimed at reduction of food insecurity in the area which considered food crops that are tolerant to climatic conditions as those in Longido such as sorghum, millet, sweet potatoes, cassava, etc.