“The study team found that cocoa was playing a major role in improving livelihoods and reducing poverty in the district, and was contributing more to household income than any other crop. Households in higher producing cocoa areas were demonstrably better off in comparison to households in lower producing areas as evidenced by better quality homes, increased food security, more possessions, and greater numbers of children in school. Cocoa was seen to have relieved farmers from dependency on rice, with the money from cocoa trickling in more regularly throughout the year, and thereby improving household food security. Cocoa was also having an effect on district income, and generated more than 2.1 billion Tanzanian shillings for Kyela’s Local Government Authority between 2001 and 2010.”
