Contribution of Women Dairy Cattle Keeping to Household Food Security in Arumeru District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study investigated the contribution of women dairy cattle keeping to household food security in Arumeru District. The specific objectives for this study ware to (i) identify the amount of milk produced, sold and consumed per household, (ii) examine the expenditure of income obtained from milk sales in household food security and other social services (iii) identify problems associated with cattle keeping that affect dairy cattle production. The study sample was 50 women who were randomly selected in two villages (Ndatu and Nshupu). The target population was women from dairy cattle keeping households that received dairy cattle from development projects such as Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF). Data were collected by using structured questionnaires and checklists. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software was used to process and analyze data collected. The research proves that, women dairy keeping cattle have a significant contribution in household food security since more than 50% of respondents were able to milk, sale milk and milk products at reasonable prices.

Key words: Household Food Security, Women, Dairy Cattle Keeping