Rambutan: A Neglected Tropical Fruit with High Economic Value among Small-Holder Farmers in Unguja Island, Zanzibar

Venance E. Kalumanga¹ , Nuru M. Asanjeni²

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.9 , Issue.4 , pp.14-22, Apr-2023

Online published on Apr 30, 2023

Copyright © Venance E. Kalumanga, Nuru M. Asanjeni . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Tanzania is bequeathed with good weather, especially in the coastal belt of Zanzibar Island for the growth of temperate and tropical fruit with great potential values known as rambutan. However, very little information exists on rambutan farming in Zanzibar. Thus, this paper aimed precisely to investigate the status, socioeconomic benefits, and challenges facing rambutan farming in Unguja Island, Zanzibar. The study was descriptive in nature and implemented the use of simple random sampling techniques to select sixty (60) small-holder farmers for the study. An open-ended questionnaire was used to gather information from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using simple frequencies, percentages, mean statistics, Chi-square and ANOVA. The results show that rambutan farming is of great value among small-holder farmers as it enables them to earn income that greatly ranges from Tanzania Shillings (3-8 million) per year. Apart from that, farmers managed to own various assets including: - houses, land, and livestock which collectively support them to improve their livelihoods. However, results from the Chi-square test (?2) depict that there is a significant correction between income (p=0.02), assets owned (p=0.04), and the well-being of rambutan farmers. Some challenges reported to face rambutan farmers include: lack of government support, natural disasters (climate change), lack of proper technology, market and price, animal destruction and diseases. The study concludes that rambutan farming is of paramount importance to smallholder farmers in Zanzibar and other coastal areas in Tanzania. It was then acclaimed that special consideration especially the government and other stakeholders should put to initiate, and supporting small-holder farmers who deal with rambutan farming for their livelihood improvements and national economic development at large.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Rambutan farming, small-holder farmers, Unguja Island, Livelihoods, Zanzibar

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