Abstract

Access to water by livestock is critical for their growth, reproduction and quality of products. However, despite its relevance, water access  for livestock has received comparatively little attention in developing countries Tanzania included. Therefore, the paper examines factors  influencing water access for livestock in the semi-arid areas of Monduli district, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was adopted  whereby primary data was collected using a pre-structured questionnaire discussions from 367 randomly selected pastoralist  households. In addition, focus group discussions were used to allow triangulation. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) whereby both descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics were determined. An  ordinal logistic regression model was used to determine the factors associated with livestock access to water. Qualitative data was  analysed using content analysis. The findings show that the majority (76.3%) of households experienced low levels of water access for  their livestock. Additionally, findings show that off-farm income, access to credit, access to subsidies and the use of donkey carts and or  tied jerry cans onto donkeys were significantly associated with water access by livestock. The study concludes that most pastoralists in  the Monduli district have a low level of water access for livestock. Therefore, it is recommended that all stakeholders in water and  livestock sectors should come up with strategies that ensure pastoral communities have access to sufficient amounts of water for their  livestock.