Musoma Beston Musa, Nyanda Suzana Samson, Muhanga Mikidadi Idd, Massawe Fatihiya Ally
Department of Development Finance and Management Studies, Institute of Rural Development Planning, P. O. Box 138, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Department of Policy Planning and Management, College of Social Sciences & Humanities, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3035, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Heliyon. 2023 Jul 12;9(7):e17520. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17520. eCollection 2023 Jul.
The lives and livelihoods of farming and fishing communities in rural Tanzania are highly susceptible to extractive investment operations. Livelihood diversification in communities beyond agriculture and fishing can be an effective way to cope with the adverse impacts of extractive investment operations. Gas extraction operations (GEOs) are expected to change and diversify communities' livelihoods. Tanzania has new GEOs; thus, it is necessary to investigate how they have diversified livelihoods in Mtwara Rural District. This article addresses the associations between GEOs and diversifying livelihoods. The paper explores (i) livelihood diversification before and during GEOs, (ii) associations between GEOs and villagers' livelihoods diversification, and (iii) communities' perspectives on GEOs and livelihood diversification. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to obtain 260 respondents. A questionnaire-based survey, four (4) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and fifteen (15) Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were used to collect data. IBM-SPSS version 25 was used to analyse quantitative data. The Chi-square test was employed to analyse livelihood diversification concerning GEOs. Content analysis was used for qualitative data. Near and distant communities saw farming decline by 81.5% and 83.5%, respectively. Also, fishing declined by 85.2% and 83.7%. On the other hand, GEOs enhanced motorbike transport by 160.0% and 300.0%, food vending improved by 166.7% and 236.4%, and seashell collection increased by 816.0% and 462.5%, respectively. GEOs diversified farming (p = 0.001), fishing (p = 0.008), agricultural wage labour (p = 0.000), and crop business (p = 0.036) with moderate strength of association. GEOs have diversified livelihoods in the study area. The 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. It is recommended that long-term programmes such as the building of diverse agro-based enterprises for job creation, training on income-generating occupations, agribusiness and technical training are required to increase earnings and enhance living standards. Both public and private entities should conduct a targeted and context-specific initiative to increase livelihood diversification among nearby and distant households, which can improve livelihood resilience.
坦桑尼亚农村地区的农业和渔业社区的生活与生计极易受到采掘业投资活动的影响。农业和渔业以外社区的生计多样化可能是应对采掘业投资活动不利影响的有效途径。天然气开采作业（GEOs）预计会改变并使社区生计多样化。坦桑尼亚有新的天然气开采作业；因此，有必要调查它们如何使姆特瓦拉农村地区的生计多样化。本文探讨了天然气开采作业与生计多样化之间的关联。该论文探究了：（i）天然气开采作业之前和期间的生计多样化情况；（ii）天然气开采作业与村民生计多样化之间的关联；以及（iii）社区对天然气开采作业和生计多样化的看法。采用按比例分层抽样法获取了260名受访者。通过基于问卷的调查、四（4）次焦点小组讨论（FGD）和十五（15）次关键 informant访谈（KII）来收集数据。使用IBM-SPSS 25版软件分析定量数据。采用卡方检验来分析与天然气开采作业相关的生计多样化情况。对定性数据采用内容分析法。附近社区和较远社区的农业分别下降了81.5%和83.5%。此外，渔业分别下降了85.2%和83.7%。另一方面，天然气开采作业使摩托车运输分别增长了160.0%和300.0%，食品销售分别增长了166.7%和236.4%，贝壳采集分别增长了816.0%和462.5%。天然气开采作业使农业（p = 0.001）、渔业（p = 0.008）、农业工资劳动（p = 0.000）和农作物经营（p = 0.036）多样化，关联强度适中。天然气开采作业使研究区域的生计多样化。该研究表明，由于天然气开采作业导致农业和渔业产量下降，从而对其生计产生负面影响，天然气开采作业周边社区在社会经济方面高度脆弱。建议实施长期方案，如建设多样化的农业企业以创造就业机会、开展创收职业培训、农业综合企业培训和技术培训，以增加收入并提高生活水平。公共和私营实体都应开展有针对性的、因地制宜的举措，以增加附近和较远家庭的生计多样化，这可以提高生计恢复力。
