Analysis of formal institutions and power relations along timber value chain in Liwale and Ruangwa districts, Tanzania

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Date

2024-05

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Journal ISSN

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Publisher

Sokoine University of Agriculture

Abstract

Timber is among rising highly value product worldwide. The utilization of timber can help in promoting jobs to as many people as possible through its value chain. In Tanzania, most past studies conducted on timber value chain concentrated on market analysis and illegal activities that are undertaken along the chain, fewer studies assessed the institutions and power relations along the chain. This study therefore analysed formal institutions and power relations guiding timber value chain in Liwale and Ruangwa districts. The study followed an institutional framework from which a sub framework of legal and regulatory framework was formed. Therefore, a definition provided by Douglass North on institutions was adopted. The study defines institutions as the rules of the game. The study also follows an Actors’ interface framework which was developed by Norman Long an English socialist who studied the behaviours of actors in agriculture value chain context. In the theory, actors in the interface are characterized by discontinuities in interest, values and power. There are however power struggles that cannot be avoided in the actor’s interface but they can be solved through negotiations and accommodations of all stakeholders thinking or ideas. This study was conducted in Liwale and Ruangwa districts located in the southern part of Tanzania. The study adopted an exploratory cross sectional study design, in which qualitative data were collected through in- depth key informant interviews, formal and informal talks with people who are working along the timber value chain, focus group discussion (FGDs), researchers own observations and document reviews. Purposive and simple random sampling were used to select participants for this study. 20 timber dealers, 5 forest officers, 4 TFS agents, 15 members from the VNRCs, 3 representatives from MJUMITA, MCDI and TFCG and 2 representatives from FORVAC were involved in the study. Qualitative data were analysed following six steps of thematic analysis including transcribing interviews into text, going through the text, coding the text, grouping the codes to form themes, reviewing the themes, describing the themes and assessing their relationships. Dedoose platform was used for qualitative data analysis. Findings show that institutions which are the rule and regulations created to guide value chain activities, largely affect the development of timber value chain in Liwale and Ruangwa districts. The government remains to be the sole regulator of the value chain through established rules and regulations. It was also discovered that all actors along the timber value chain in Liwale and Ruangwa districts operate under the same regulatory framework. Furthermore, the study finds that there are power relations that exist among the timber value chain actors in Liwale and Ruangwa districts respectively. These are institutional, strategic and supportive power relations. In addition to that there are power struggles that exists among some of the timber value chain actors. For instance, the forest officers and the Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) agents experience power struggles among themselves this is mainly caused by the desire that these two sides have on getting the revenues collected from the timber dealers when sanctioned. Based on these findings, it is concluded that formal institutions and power relations have a great influence on the development of timber value chain in Liwale and Ruangwa districts. Therefore, the policy makers should include all actors in the timber value chain so as to avoid complaints and power imbalance that comes with the established rules and regulations.

Description

MSc Dissertation

Keywords

Timber, Timber value chain, Actors of the timber value chain, Institutions, Power relations

Citation