Factors affecting resource utilization in Karagwe District, Tanzania

Abstract

The Government's overall national development goal in Tanzania is to improve the standards of living of the majority of the people in the rural areas. In order to achieve the desired development, emphasis is placed on optimum utilization of the major resources available within the country. The prevailing law level of resource utilization in Karagwe District, contrary to this national objective, is the central problem to which this study addresses itself. The study focuses attention on the importance of resources in accelerating rural development in Karagwe District. The study revealed that the district has a high resource potential which has not been utilized to its optimum capacity. The major resources which were identified as being utilized below their capacity include human resources , agricultural land, forestry, fishery, wildlife and mineral resources. The resources I contribution to the raising of standards of living in the district was found to be minimal. The study revealed that the low level of resource utilization in the district is a result of an interplay of several constraining factors importan15a-rrongwhich are: the poor transportation facilities and services; inadequate marketing facilities; low level of skills and technology; low level of industri91ization, and; the peripheral location of Karagwe District in relation to the rest of Tanzania. The study contends that the constraints set by these factors maybe removed effectively through a comprehensive approach. The study, therefore, proposes an integrated spatial framework aimed at removing those constraints, and thereby, facilitating optimum utilization of resources in the district. The recommended spatial framework Intergrates resources, transportation network and markets in the district . ..