The influence of women groups on income obtained from small-scale dairy cattle production: A case of Arumeru district, Tanzania

E G Kimaro, J E D Mlangwa*, J Lyimo-Macha** and J G Kimaro***

Tropical Pesticides Research Institute P.O.Box 3024, Arusha, Tanzania
esthergwae@yahoo.com
* Sokoine University of Agriculture, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, P.O Box 3000, Morogoro Tanzania
** Sokoine University of Agriculture, Institute for Continuing Education (ICE) P.OBox 3014, Morogoro, Tanzania
*** Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute P. O Box 661, Arusha Tanzania

Abstract

This study focused on income obtained from dairy farming and other income generating sources, and also assesses whether the formation of women’s groups has an influence on income. The study was conducted in six villages namely; Bangata, Sasi, Inshupu, Enaboishu, Sokoni II and Nkoaranga. Structured questionnaires were used both with women in dairy groups and those not in groups, and in depth interviews with key informants were conducted. Chi-square and t-test were used to test the statistical significance of categorical and continuous data respectively. In addition, regression modeling was used to investigate the effect of group membership in determining income from dairy farming.

Results showed that revenues from dairy products such as fresh milk, sour milk and butter brought more income than other activities such as sales of horticultural products, local chickens, sale of used clothes and tailoring.  Surprisingly, group membership was not a significant determinant for income from dairy farming. However, being in groups provided several benefits relating to dairy enterprise, such as access to loans, training workshops, acquisition of dairy cattle and participation in local and national agricultural shows.  In order to improve income from dairy farming, women dairy farmers should get more training in animal health management, entrepreneurship and networking. Also women groups should be financially supported by local government, NGO’s and other development partners so as to further their development and sustainability. 

Keywords: dairy farming income; household income; smallholder rural women

Background information

Livestock production is one of the major agricultural activities in Tanzania which have a big potential in terms of income generation, food supply and adding value to land resources (FAO 1995). This agricultural sub-sector contributes approximately 8% of the total GDP and 30% of the agricultural revenues in Tanzania (Tanzania National Website 2003). Within it, the dairy industry plays a significant role in higher altitude of northern and southern parts of the country. In the north, Arumeru District is among the areas where smallholder dairy production is the major source of household income (URT, 2003).  

The performance of smallholder dairy production has been, since the late 1980’s directly responding, to economic influxes following the low export of coffee in the world market. This greatly affected household income of many smallholder farmers including those in Arumeru (Oxfarm 2001).  In response, local community and other stakeholders started to realize the importance of dairy production (Urassa et al 2002; Lwelamira et al 2011). In addition, non-government and religious organizations strongly started supporting local dairy farmers through encouraging formation of women groups in order to take advantage of accessing more opportunities smoothly such as gifted dairy cattle, training on animal health management, loans, etc which are more easily provided to group members (Kurwijila et al 2002). As previous studies have shown, women groups perform well in dairy production and provide several benefits to farmers. One of the benefits of dairy farming is income generated. However, information on the influence of group membership on dairy farming income is lacking. Therefore, a study was needed to assess the influence of these dairy farming groups in determining income.  

This investigation showed that, income from dairy farming contributes significantly to household income and women in groups earned more income than women not in groups per annum. Unexpectedly, group membership did not show a statistical significance as a determinant factor for dairy farming income obtained. However, being in groups provide several benefits relating to dairy enterprise, such as access to loans, training, provision of gifted dairy cattle and participation in local agricultural shows. The findings are essential information to policy makers, government and non-government for making more informed decisions with regard to dairy farming production and women groups.

Methodology

Description of the study area 

The study was conducted in Arumeru District located in southeast of Arusha region. The district has an area of 2996 km² and human population reaching 515,814 according to 2002 census (URT 2003). The district has a bimodal rainfall, the long rains start in March to May and short rains in November to December. Average annual rainfall varies from 1000 to 4500 mm with significant daily, monthly and annual fluctuations. The average temperature ranges from 20 to 35⁰C. This weather is favorable for dairy production. Main activities in Arumeru district are livestock keeping and crop farming. The major system for livestock keeping is zero grazing. The crops grown are banana, coffee, maize, beans and vegetables (Arumeru District Profile 2000). 

Research design 

A cross sectional study design was used. To obtain the representative sample for the study, purposive sampling technique was used to obtain four wards from East and West Arumeru. These are Bangata, Nkoaranga, Moivo, and Sokoni II. Four villages were selected from each ward which makes a total of sixteen villages out of the four wards and finally six villages were selected by simple random selection method which represents women who practice dairy production in groups and those not in groups. The villages selected namely Bangata, Sasi, Inshupu, Enaboishu, Sokoni II and Nkoaranga. From each village simple random selection was further used to select 25 women. Finally, 150 women were interviewed of which 79 were group members and 71 were non-group members.  

Data collection  

To understand the role of group membership in determining income from dairy farming among women dairy farmers, and its importance, a household survey was conducted. Data collected covered aspects of dairy production, non-dairy income generating activities and the role of women farmers’ groups. Tools used in collecting data were: Structured questionnaires, Key informants discussion and Reconnaissance. The structured questionnaire was used to collect individuals’ information at household level for women in groups and those not in groups. Questions designed for women group members focused essentially on information about dairy production, the role of women farmers groups and household income, consumption and expenditure. In addition, the non-group members’ questions requested information about dairy production, views on the women dairy farmers groups.

A checklist was used to guide an in depth interview discussion with key informants whereby village chairpersons, village secretary, leaders of all women dairy farmers groups, project leaders representative and Arumeru District Veterinary Officer (DVO) were interviewed. The information collected were relating to policies and dairy farming management issues in general. In addition, observation of some facts was carried out throughout the study period without the need of asking people. This was important for obtaining information such as: size of their farm plots, types of crops grown, number of animals kept, other animals kept, type of feed given to livestock, animal keeping system etc. Secondary data were also collected from published reports/ journal articles from libraries and internet browsing. 

Data analysis 

Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics (i.e. means, percentages, frequencies) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 11). The SPSS package was further used for performing Chi-square test for ascertaining associations between categorical variables; T-test analysis was used to compare income from women in groups and those not in groups. Regression analysis was also used to determine the influence of group membership on the income obtained from dairy farming.

The regression model used was Y = a+b₁X₁+b₂X₂+……b_ox +e_i 

Where: Y = is income from dairy farming

 a = Constant, the b's are the regression coefficients,

X₁ = Education level

X₂ = Household size

X₃ = Number of dairy cattle

X₄ = Price per litter

X₅ = Market availability

X₆ = Amount of milk sold per day

X₇ = Advise on good husbandry

X₈ = Group membership 

Results and Discussion

Sample characteristics

General characteristics of the interviewed respondents are indicated in Table 1. The differences in terms of distribution of age group, marital status, education level and household size between women in groups and those not in groups were not significant (P> 0.05). The majority of respondents in both groups was in their middle age, married and had primary education. These observations imply that there was no significant association between involvement women dairy farming groups and respondents characteristics. However, the respondents were within the economically productive age range for Tanzania of between 15 and 64 year (Mandara 1998). 

The majority (90%) of women in Arumeru district keep two dairy cattle. This is also supported by (Kalavo 2002; Njarui et al 2012). The management system used was zero grazing and the average milk production was 8.6 litres per day. The milk produced is sold at an average of TShs. 300 per litre.  The women dairy farmers have relatively good market for their milk. About 95.8% of women sell their milk as raw milk to milk vendors in the village and nearby towns and some few to processing plants. This has also been reported by (Kurwijila and Henriksen 1995) that the bulk milk available in towns is either produced within the urban areas or brought in by milk vendors, who operate within a 40 km radius.  

Results in Table 2 present the proportions of individuals by annual income obtained from dairy farming. The results indicate that the majority of farmers (74%) in Arumeru district receive dairy income which ranges form TShs 150,000 to above 450,000 from dairy farming. The findings also show that 73.6% of women in groups receive from TShs 300,000 to over 450,000. But for the case of women not in group, the majority (71.9%) obtained income between TShs 150,000 and 449,999. Information derived from this study show a statistical significant (P=0.01) difference in the distribution of income from dairy farming between women who belong to groups and those who do not belong to groups. This could be because women in groups have more opportunities to market links and networking. 

Other sources of income generating activities in Arumeru district 

Apart from dairy production, women in Arumeru district were also involved in other economic generating activities to supplement household incomes. Table 3 shows different economic activities apart from dairy farming, which are carried out by women in Arumeru district. The results in Table 3 show that, generally, women were involved in selling bananas, vegetables, fruits and local chicken. These activities are integrated well within the agricultural production system, which dominate in this area. Meru home gardens are similar to the well known Chagga home gardens and agro-forestry practices, whereby a farmer is able to produce crops and raise livestock in the same plot at the same time.  

Results in Table 4 indicate that income generated from other income generating activities did not differ significantly between women belonging to groups and those not in groups. An explanation for this observation could be because both categories of women practiced similar farm management practices and they had similar market opportunities.  

Importance of income from dairy farming for women farmers in Arumeru district 

Table 5 presents distribution of importance of several income sources among respondents. These results show that dairy farming is given higher priority by the majority of the people, followed by crop farming, while employment and non-farm activities are of less importance. It is likely that dairy products bring more revenues to such households in Arumeru and hence it has more contribution in meeting various household demands. This is also supported by (Urassa and Raphael 2002; Kurwijila 2002; Lwelamira et al 2010) who find out small scale dairy farming contributes significantly to the household income. 

Association between total household income and income from dairy farming 

Correlation between dairy farming income and total household income was computed to see the association between the two. Results show that dairy income has strong correlation with total household income at (P=0.63) (Table 6). There is a strong relation between total household income and dairy farming income. This is in agreement with (Boi 2004) who found that the correlation between livestock income and total household income is higher compared to the correlation between household income and crop farming and household income and non-farm activities. 

Effect of group membership on dairy farming income  

Regarding the second specific objective of this study, data were collected on the income obtained from dairy farming per annum between women dairy farmers who were in groups and those who were not in groups. Results are presented in Table 7 for the independent t-test carried out to compare the average income between women in groups and those not in groups. Results in Table 7 reveal that there was a difference in the annual average income obtained by women in groups and those not in groups. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.06). Despite this observation, it does not imply that groups formation do not have any importance in the society. There are other benefits which can be obtained when women are in groups.  Group formation can contribute to building social capital, and this, in turn, can have positive effects on human welfare, especially as a result of income generation among the poor (Grootaert 2001). 

A regression model was used to test whether there is a significant covariation between group membership and dairy income. Potential confounding factors were controlled by including them in the model. The studied predictors were education level, household size, amount of milk sold, the price of milk per litre, market availability, advice/consultation, and group membership.From the regression model, it was observed that the above-mentioned factors had influence on the income from dairy farming because none of the standard coefficients were exactly equal to zero. Also, the regression model explained 72.9% of the variations in the factors affecting the dairy income, as the R² signify (Table 8).After controlling for the potential confounding factors the results showed that group membership had no effect (p=0.92) on the average annual income from dairy farming (Table 8), this agrees with the results obtained in Table 7. The reason for this could be because many of these groups were still in their infancy stage and most of the women in groups were poor. Likewise, the groups were facing some financial problems for their operations which potentially hindered speedy improvement.

The results also show that four out of the seven predictors included in the analysis, i.e. the household size, amount of milk sold (litres), the price per litre (TShs), consultation (advice in dairy management), significantly influenced income from dairy farming, as shown in Table 8 and at (p<0.05). This implies that these four predictors had an impact on the income from dairy farming in the study area, rather than group membership. Therefore, improvement in these predictors will bring an increase in the income from dairy farming, at magnitudes indicated by their respective coefficients and hence demonstrate their importance in determining income from dairy farming. The amount of milk (litres) sold was the most important predictor of the income from dairy farming (value of beta= 0.73, with an un-standardized regression coefficient (B) of 0.15), whilst the price of milk sold per litre was the second important predictor (beta = 0.33 with B=.00534). Household size (beta=0.16 with B=0.12) was the third important predicator and consultation/advice in dairy farming practices came fourth with negative coefficients (beta=-0.16 with B=-0.11). The remaining predictors were not statistically significant confounding factors for the relationship between group membership and income from dairy farming (p>0.05). 

Interestingly the coefficient sign on consultation was negative, perhaps consultation could have unexplained reason(s) related to dairy farming management in this particular study, more study is suggested on this variable. The household size in this study had an effect on the dairy income; this may possibly be a reflection of labour availability in management practices which in turn improves the level of production. This is also supported by (Mapiye et al 2006) and (Hanyani-Mlambo et al 2002) that family size is the most important determinant of labour investment and a source of labour for family farms.  

The findings from interviews with the respondents who were in groups, showed that, there are several benefits which are obtained by being a member of dairy farmers groups. The main ones are indicated in Table 9. The majority (48.1%) of the respondents reported to benefit by obtaining loans, whilst 21.5% of the respondents benefited from training on good husbandry practices. In addition to this, 20.3% of the respondents benefited by receiving a cow from donors, and the remaining 8.8% reported that group membership offers opportunity for women to get involved into development projects. This was also supported by (FAO 1995; 2011 and Beth 2001). 

Conclusions

• The majority of women in Arumeru district consider dairy farming as their major source of income, followed by production of crops such as vegetables, bananas, maize and beans. However, some women are engaged in non agricultural activities though at a small scale, these include; tailoring, owning small shops and selling second hand clothes etc.

  
  

• Income obtained from dairy farming is the major contributor to the total household income compared to the other income generating activities. The income from dairy farming is mainly used to meet daily needs such as food, education and health service.

  
  

• It has been noted that some women have formed groups known as women dairy farmers groups while some are yet to join these groups. Women in groups enjoy several benefits in the dairy enterprise, these include; easy access to small loans, dairy management training, and study tours, acquiring dairy cows from donors, and other opportunities.

  
  

• The average annual dairy income obtained by women in groups is slightly higher than of those not in groups, but the difference is not statistically significant

Recommendations

• Since dairy farming is the main contributor to the household income in Arumeru district, there is a need to improve milk production as the demand is still high within the district and nearby cities. Women should aim high on increasing milk production by acquiring the needed skills and knowledge on animal health management and obtain more improved breeds. In addition, it is important to ensure good milk quality which can be achieved through hygienic milking, storage and transportation
  
  
• Given the benefits of dairy groups, women who are not yet in groups are encouraged to join or form women dairy groups. Similarly, to realize the optimal performance of these groups, several efforts are needed, such as: active participation in group activities among members, more financial and technical support from development partners, NGO’s and government agencies.

Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by Tanzania President’s Office - Public Service Management (Gender Section). The authors are greatly indebted to Arumeru district staff who supported the data collection exercise.

References

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Received 15 November 2012; Accepted 6 March 2013; Published 2 April 2013

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