A case study of the Handeni District (Tanzania) examining drought coping strategies and risk management among pastoralists based on livestock

Abstract

Abstract. Mwakalonge HL, Chingonikaya EE. 2023. A case study of the Handeni District (Tanzania) examining drought coping strategies and risk management among pastoralists based on livestock. Intl J Trop Drylands 7: 1-11. A case study was done to learn more about how pastoralists in the Handeni District, Tanzania, cope with drought. Drought poses a serious threat to pastoralists' way of life globally. The purpose of this research was to analyze and record data on the efficacy of livestock-based risk management and coping mechanisms in mitigating the negative consequences of drought. Despite the common belief that pastoralists can't make a living without their animals, there is a lack of information on how to make pastoral communities more resistant to drought and other dangers, information that is essential for any system of sustainable management. Many efforts have been made to deal with the drought, but it continues to worsen. Therefore, a cross-sectional research strategy was adopted to learn more about cattle risk management and coping strategies. Questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews with key informants were used to gather socio-economic information from 160 herders. Frequencies and percentages were calculated using a statistical software package for social sciences. A regression model was used for inferential statistics to establish a connection between the socio-economic status of pastoral households and the independent variable of interest. A negative correlation with age was found (? = -0.451; p = 0.808), a positive correlation with education (? = 43.821; p = 0.497), a positive correlation with family size (? = 3.379; p= 0.50), a negative correlation with marital status (? = -53.979; p = 0.847), and a positive correlation with the land area (? = 58.898; p = 0.004). Herd mobility positively influenced the socio-economies of pastoral households (? =91.749; p = 0.01), as did the availability of an early warning system (? =; 316.537; p = 0.00) and the timely availability of a market (? = 11.516; p = 0.021). A total of 3.666 animals out of 57,785 were lost due to the effects of the drought. The death rate was 6.34%.