90 © 2017 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved. THE ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN AGRO-PASTORAL COMMUNITIES IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID LANDS IN TANZANIA Rematus Rusomyo 1+ He Junlin 2 Catherine Mangare 3 1,2 College of Economics, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R.China 3 Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 25 April 2017 Revised: 15 May 2017 Accepted: 7 June 2017 Published: 29 June 2017 Keywords Social capital Social networks Agro-pastoral communities Arid and Semi-arid Tanzania. Agro-pastoral communities in semi-arid areas of Tanzania are among the most food insecure groups in the country. In the absence of precisely stipulated mitigation measures from the government the agro-pastoralists have, all across their history relied on social networks for their survival. This paper seeks to examine in detail the role of social networks as survival strategies in coping up with food insecurity among agro- pastoral communities in Arid and semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Based on data and information that was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in three villages of Sejeli, Mtumba and Makoja it is reported that social networks have been significant in sustaining livelihoods of vulnerable households. These traditional social networks are based on mutual trust and organized on consanguine and kinship ties and through these networks wealth and riches are shared by the agro-pastoral communities. The findings further reveal that these traditional social networks do better than the externally induced initiatives. It has also been revealed that, despite facing a myriad of challenges such as competition for labor, lack of entrepreneurial skills and negative impacts of commercialization of livelihoods on food security the traditional social networks are surviving albeit with hitches. It is recommended that policy interventions that seek to construct resilience of the vulnerable households need to consider traditional systems of social networking. Contribution/ Originality: The study contributes in the existing literature of Economic sociology by unveiling that social networks have been significant in sustaining livelihoods of vulnerable households. And that, policy interventions that seek to construct sustainable resilience of the vulnerable households need to consider traditional systems of social networking. 1. INTRODUCTION Recent decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in social capital and its role in economic development (World Bank, 2000). Although social capital has its theoretical roots in early sociological works by Marx, Durkheim and Weber (Watson and Papamarcos, 2002) its emergence as an important concept in development practice and theory is relatively contemporary. This renewed verve has been accompanied by the rapid growing literature which emphasizes the significance of social ties and shared norms to societal wellbeing and economic efficiency (Putnam, Asian Development Policy Review ISSN(e): 2313-8343 ISSN(p): 2518-2544 DOI: 10.18488/journal.107.2017.52.90.99 Vol. 5, No. 2, 90-99 © 2017 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved. URL: www.aessweb.com