Social-economic impact of the decline of sisal production on sisal plantation labourers: a case of Korogwe district

The study assessed the socio-economic impact of the declining sisal production on its labour force in Tanzania represented by sisal plantations in Korogwe district. The study was conducted in four sisal plantations i.e. Kwamdulu, Mgombezi, Mwelya and Gomba. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were the major techniques used in data collection. The study established that the reason for the decline of production in sisal plantations was basically nationalization which was accompanied with poor management. It was observed that, the decline in production and its consequent redundancy had a negative impact on the workers’ income because they were observed to live below the poverty line after the redundancy. In addition, there was a serious job loss among sisal labours. The upshot of this was deprivation, reduced capacity to meet basic needs and low social statuses. At the end of it all departed workers received paltry pensions and the coping strategies adopted after the fall of sisal production showed that most of the workers were not able to survive comfortably. The study concludes that the decline of sisal production adversely impacted the welfare of sisal plantation labourers in various ways including social and economic spheres. The study recommends that, nationalization should be preceded by a focused strategy that aims at improving the production in the main activity. Where redundancy is preferred it is pertinent that those who become affected are included in the strategy to ensure that their lives are not negatively affected.