The potential for improving smallholders' livelihoods in Zanzibar : a case study of a local value-chain of goat meat

M-DS

英语. It is widely agreed that increasing capacity in agriculture and its associated industriesis the most effective way to increase food security and lift people out poverty.Development organizations and researchers alike now argue that poverty alleviationdepends on smallholder farmers’ ability to transform from subsistence farming tomarket-oriented production. Two issues vital to this transformation have emerged;smallholders’ access to markets and women’s access to resources. I explore theseissues through a case study of a goat meat value chain in Zanzibar.The case study is a project headed by the Kizimbani Agricultural Training Institute(KATI) to enhance smallholders ability to access tourist markets in Zanzibar. Theoverall objective of my research is to understand, through the case study, how localfarmers can improve their livelihoods. To reach this objective I critically examinefarmers’ potential access to the tourist market and women’s position in goat farmingin Zanzibar. A value chain approach inspired by Kaplinsky and Morris is used toanalyze the opportunities and constraints in the value chain of goat meat. The analysisis supplemented by mainstreaming gender issues throughout the study, an approachdeveloped by the Netherland Development Organization. Both qualitative andquantitative methods were used to collect the necessary data. A survey of 117 farmerswas conducted in Zanzibar in August and September 2014 and further qualitative datawas collected during a field visit in March 2015.The findings show that women play important roles in dairy goat farming in Zanzibar.Women have ownership of the goats and receive income from goat products. They arealso active participants in knowledge sharing farmer groups. The study confirms,however, that women spend substantially more time on household chores than men.This has implications for women’s participation in upgrading strategies in the valuechain. I argue that upgrading efforts must take into account women’s multipleresponsibilities. My investigation of the value chain of goat meat reveals that thehotels in question are reluctant to source meat from local suppliers because ofinconsistent supply and poor overall quality. Findings from the study of the proposedvalue chain show that the lack of facilitators to oversee and ensure the transactionbetween local farmers and hotel and restaurant owners, is a major bottleneck. Toaddress this issue, I argue that the project leaders must consider an exit strategy inorder to avoid dependency on support from KATI. Based on findings, I suggeststrategies for how the value chain can operate independently. The potential forsmallholder farmers to improve their incomes through the development of a dairygoat value chain is uncertain in the immediate future. However, my research suggestsdairy goats have the potential to play a significant role in the islands long-termsustainable development.