Participatory appraisal approaches versus sample survey data collection: a case of smallholder farmers well-being ranking in Njombe District, Tanzania

Social scientists and rural development interventionists in Tanzania and in Sub-Saharan Africa depend mainly on conventional sample surveys; in part this is a legacy of their basic training. Participatory rural appraisal and intervention approaches offer a varied range of methods. We ask ourselves whether the results from participatory, rapid appraisals are conflicting and different to those from sample surveys? This paper compares results of a Rapid Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) with a conventional sample survey. These surveys were conducted at the end of 1995 and mid-1996 respectively, to establish socio-economic well-being ranks in Njombe district. A comparison of results shows that the well-being ranks established using PRA are valid and the approach is reliable. The three qualitatively established well-being ranks differed empirically in many socio-economic indicators. These include resource endowment, labour force size, agricultural land, livestock ownership, forest woodlot management, perception of food insecurity, technological advances in agricultural production and natural resource management systems. Results show that the low well-being group and female-headed households are disadvantaged. The goal of the Hifadhi Ya Mazingira-Njombe project is to develop environmentally sustainable crop and livestock husbandry practices in the district. The well-being ranking exercise has strong implications for the project's strategy. We discuss the adopted methodology and implications. The paper recommends that development programmes and workers in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa ought to extend their approaches. It is time to include more of the participatory, relatively rapid rural appraisal and intervention techniques. Benefits that they may accrue are time saving, lower costs, quality information and stakeholder involvement.