Effects of population growth on land management practices in Mbinga district, Tanzania

This study is on the impact of population growth on land management practices in Mbinga District. Specifically the study assessed population growth and change of land management practices. The research problem is population is growing while land resources for production are limited. The research objectives were to examine the population change in Mbinga district from 2006 to 2016; to explore the changes in land management practices in Mbinga District from 2006 to 2016 and to evaluate the effects of population change on land management practices in Mbinga district within ten (10) year from 2006 to 2016. The study was conducted in three wards of Mbinga district namely Matiri, Kitanda and Ukata. From selected wards one village were taken for study such as Barabar, Litoho and Kitanda in Mbinga district. In each selected village, heads of households were taken as respondents for the study. This was obtained by simple random sampling technique. The study employed mixed research approach whereby documentary review, interviews, Households survey and focus group discussions were conducted to gather qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results from the study revealed that population in Mbinga district increased at rate of 5.64 percent per annum, which shows high growth rate from 2006 and 2016. Moreover, results showed that there is a change in some practices of land management within ten years. They included mulching, use of animals manure, use of crop residues and land fragmentation. These supports Thomas Malthus’ view that “population growth on land degradation”. Change in other methods of land management from the study support Boserupians hypotheses that “population increase enhances land intensification”. In addition, results revealed that there are changes in the some practices used in land management while the number of people is increasing. The practices include use matengo pits (ngoro), terracing, ridges, crop rotation and intercropping. The key conclusion of the study is population is increasing influenced by natural factors such as normal birth rate, while land resources for production are limited. The study has the following recommendations: the government and local communities should work together in land use planning and decision-making; population and land policies should be written in Swahili language to help local communities read as well as implement them, especially on controlling population increase and manage land resources for agricultural production; and there should be public awareness on a trend of population growth toward demand for land resources for production through provision of education and training programmes. Through provision of education, local communities should know the rate of production on land resource exceeds the rate of nutrient recovery/generation into good productivity.