Poverty in selected Tanzanian and Ugandan fish landing sites in Lake Victoria Basin: a multidimensional analysis using the fuzzy sets approach

Abstract

It is increasingly being realized that poverty is a very complex, multi-dimensional concept that has many determinants, and is about much more than just low incomes. Poverty in fishing communities, as in other sectors, is difficult to measure. The few studies that have been undertaken have often focused just on income rather than on a broader concept of poverty. This paper is based on a study conducted in eight fish landing sites in the Lake Victoria Basin, in Tanzania and Uganda, from January to September 2009. The major objective of the study was to find out the livelihood strategies pursued by households in these landings. Data related to different aspects of household poverty were also collected. The multidimensional poverty analysis using fuzzy sets was carried out to identify those non-monetary variables for which the households are deprived most. Forty four percent of the households in Ugandan landings and 38% in Tanzania are structurally poor. In Uganda the variables for which the households are deprived most are availability of credit, owning of a vehicle and doing business. In Tanzania, the variables are owning of household furniture, the quality of the dwelling units and having a clean source of drinking water. The study recommends that households and policy makers in the two countries exert extra effort to reduce deprivations in these variables.