ABSTRACT
In the context of the food security debate Rukwa Region is interesting in two respects. Firstly, its considerable untapped agricultural potential meant that it played an important role in Tanzania’s food security policy, a fundamental aim of which was to increase domestic maize production for the market. The promotion of maize-growing resulted in Rukwa Region producing a surplus. Secondly, infant mortality in Rukwa Region is well above the national average. 219 A high rate of infant mortality is usually an indication of malnutrition among children, at least at certain times of the year. A study carried out in 1991 comes to the conclusion that 50% of children under the age of five in Rukwa Region show signs of malnutrition, the nutritional status of 5% of the children in this age group being classed as extremely disturbing. 220
