Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

pOVertY aND hUMaN DeVeLOpMeNt repOrt 2009
Mwanza, Mtwara, shinyanga, singida and tabora. in total, 20 districts were identified as having
food shortages in 2007/08, the lowest number since 2002/03. 14
Households Who Consume No More than One Meal a Day
data from the hbs 2007 indicate that only 1% of tanzanian households consume only one meal
a day. this percentage has not changed since 2000/01.
Goal 4 & 5
Reducing Income Poverty of Both Men and Women
in Rural and Urban Areas
Poverty in tanzania is anchored in the widespread reliance on small-scale agriculture.
approximately 75% of the population depends on under-developed smallholder primary
agricultural production, characterised by the use of hand tools and reliance upon traditional
rain-fed cropping methods and animal husbandry. the majority of indicators for MKUKUta’s
goals for reducing income poverty, therefore, relate to assessing progress in improving the
status of smallholder agriculture. the indicators are:
• Percentage of smallholders participating in contracting production and outgrower schemes
• total smallholder land under irrigation as a percentage of total cultivatable land
• Percentage of smallholders who accessed formal credit for agricultural purposes
• Percentage of smallholder households who have one or more off-farm income-generating
activities
• Percentage of households whose main income is derived from the harvesting, processing
and marketing of natural resource products
Smallholder Agriculture
new data on smallholder agriculture is expected to come out by the end of 2009 following
completion of the 2008/09 agricultural survey. for most indicators for this goal, no new data is
available.
however, data from the hbs 2007 show that in rural areas, the proportion of income derived
from agricultural sources has declined from 60% in 2000/01 to 50% in 2007. this suggests
that rural households are now equally dependent on off-farm sources of income as they are
on income derived from farm production. data also indicate that the terms of trade for farmers
deteriorated from 2000/01 to 2007, and households dependent on agriculture are the poorest.
there is a consistent trend among farming households to diversify into non-farm activities to
escape poverty (see chapter 2).
nonetheless, agriculture will remain a critical part of tanzania’s economy: (i) the sector produces
‘tradeables’ for domestic and foreign markets, and the majority of tanzanians spend a large
14 data provided by Mafsc, March 2009.
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