Economic Value of Agricultural Land for Community Livelihoods within the Context of REDD+

Abstract

A study was carried out in two villages of Mughunga and Pohama in Singida Rural District, central Tanzania, to assess the economic value of agricultural land for community livelihoods within the context of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Market price valuation method was used to assess the economic value of agricultural land. Findings showed that a good number of people in both villages depend on agriculture (96.4%) and livestock keeping (90.1%) for their livelihoods. The economic value of agriculture land was revealed to be 35,871,750 and 49,259,382Tsh per acre for Mughunga and Pohama villages respectively, with high contribution from sunflower, followed by sorghum and maize crops. The study results revealed lower economic value, mainly of food crops such as maize and bulrush millet. This implicates changes in the agricultural land as these crops were valued high in the past. The major reasons for such changes include decline in agricultural production and increased pressure for land resources. For sustainability of agricultural land in the study area, efforts need to be scaled up towards conservation of agricultural land by all parties, that is, communities, government and private entities.