Assessing the Status of Peasant Migration in Kigoma Rural District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study was undertaken in Kidea village of Kigoma Rural District, Tanzania. The study intended to assess the status of peasant migration to Kidea village. Household questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interviews were employed in data collection. The study shows that all the interviewed respondents emigrated from 30 villages in and outside the district. Of these villages, only 4 contributed more migrants to the study area than the 26 villages all together. Generally, migration to Kidea Village shows a declining trend. Land shortage, loss of soil productivity, high food prices and limited income opportunities in migrants’ places of origin were reported as drivers for peasant migration. To reduce the rate of migration the study recommends provision of farming inputs in migrants’ source areas to maximise food production; controlling fertility rate and establishment of income generating activities. Finally, the study calls for thorough study in the four villages that emerged as leading sources of migrants in order to uncover the severity of the drivers for out-migration.

Keywords: peasant migration, drivers for migration, livelihood security