A Socio-Economic Profile of the Rufiji Floodplain and Delta.

Socio-economic profile of Rufiji flood plain and Delta - Vol. 1
The overall results have two implications. Firstly, that fuelwood in the survey area is not traded and
therefore contributes very little to household cash income. The incentive to grow trees for the purpose
of obtaining fuelwood is not well facilitated by the market. The second implication is that fuelwood is
mainly collected for household use.
Table 46 shows the mean prices of fuelwood, time spent in collecting firewood, frequency of
collection and quantity of fuel used by AEZ. There are variations in the mean values obtained from
table 46 as indicated by the standard deviations. The highest mean price of fuelwood was in Delta
south. Generally, the prices of fuelwood differed significantly among the AEZ. However, very few
respondents indicated that they buy fuelwood.
Time spent in collecting fuelwood ranged from 92.7 minutes in south flood plain to 223.5 minutes in
the North flood plain with an overall figure of 126.9 There is a significant difference among the AEZ
with respect to time spent in collecting firewood (Table 46). Although firewood collection is most
often done on multipurpose trips (e.g. travelling to distant farm plots for farming as well as collecting
fuelwood), time taken to collect fuelwood affects time allocated for other production activities. On
average, the frequency of fuelwood collection is twice per week. When compared with studies done
elsewhere in Tanzania, the overall figure of time taken to collect fuelwood is lower than that reported
from Babati district of 192 minutes (Senkondo, 2000).
The mean quantity of fuel wood used per week is about four head loads. However, Delta south AEZ
has a higher value of 10.8 head loads per week. Probably there are high energy demanding activities
such as salt making.
Table 46: Means of price of firewood, time spent in collecting firewood, frequency of collection
and quantity of fuel used by AEZ
AEZ
Price per bundle/head
loads of fuel wood
Time spent in
collecting fuel wood
(minutes)
Frequency of
fetching fuel
wood per week
Quantity of fuel used
per week (head load)
Inner Delta North Mean 300.0 107.1 2.3 2.4
N 2 40 43 41
Std. Dev. 0.0 85.0 1.3 1.1
Inner Delta South Mean 200.0 111.0 2.0 2.9
N
2 15 14 14
Std. Dev. 0.0 117.3 0.9 1.9
Delta North Mean 166.7 102.7
2.0 3.5
N 6 26 26 23
Std. Dev. 81.7 92.8 1.4
2.0
Delta South Mean 275.0
146.7 2.3 10.8
N 6 29 29 30
Std. Dev. 117.3 140.6 1.6
37.68
North Flood Plain Mean 122.5 223.5 2.0 2.7
n 12 20 20 23
Std. Dev. 91.4 119.0 .60 3.42
South Flood Plain Mean 92.7 2.4 2.8
n 11 12 12
Std. Dev. 84.0 1.4 2.7
West Valley Mean 233.3 109.8 1.7 2.2
n 3 28 29 29
Std. Dev.
57.7 72.2 0.7 1.2
Overall Mean 187.7
126.9 2.1 4.1
N 31 169 173 172
Std. Dev. 105.2 108.5 1.2 16.0
F-value and p F=2.61 p=0.04* F=3.98 p=0.00* F=1.24 p=0.28 F=1.09 p=0.37
Source: Survey data (2000)
*Means the item is significant at the specified level
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