Browsing by Author "Munyanziza, E"

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    The role of wild mushrooms in the livelihoods of rural people in Kiwele village, Iringa, Tanzania: implications for policy.
    (Academy Science Publishers, 2006) Ngaga, Y. M; Munyanziza, E; Masalu, H. E.
    A study on the relative position of mushrooms in the livelihoods of rural people living away from urban centres was conducted in Kiwele village, Tanzania. Data were gathered through a questionnaire administered to 130 respondents. About 76% of the households surveyed do not harvest 5 bags of maize (100 kg each) per acre, indicating a loss of land productivity. All the respondents suffer from hunger, the severest period being November to March, the cropping season. Almost all the respondents (97%) eat mushrooms during this period. Despite their wide use, mushrooms do not play any direct role in the rural economy due to the lack of market. The value of mushrooms is not measured in terms of revenues accrued from them but in terms of the large number of people who survive on them during the critical period. The major source of mushrooms is the miombo woodland where mycorrhizal mushrooms live in a symbiotic relationship with specific trees. However, all respondents were convinced that it is now more difficult to get wild mushrooms as compared to the past. The major causes identified by the respondents were deforestation and the erratic nature of rainfall. The steady drop in land productivity and poverty are behind the increasing pressure on woodlands. It is recommended that the government should introduce development projects that are geared towards energy and income generation and increased soil productivity or provide alternative means of living, thus arresting further deforestation and increasing mushroom production.