An Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change Pattern on Food Security and the Coping Strategies of the Rural Communities in Monze District of Zambia

Abstract

This research is based on ‘assessing the effects of the changing climate pattern on food security in Monze district of Southern province of Zambia’. Its main purpose was to investigate compatibility issues related to improved crop varieties and how resilient the local community of Monze district in Southern province of Zambia respond to shocks as a result of changes in climate pattern. The study was guided by the following main research question ‘What are some of the compatibility issues related to improved crop varieties and how do indigenous people respond to the effects of climate change in Monze district of Southern part of Zambia?’ Both primary and secondary data were employed to collect the data used for analysis to birth this thesis. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, weight measurement of the U5s, and content analysis. Content analysis is a method of qualitative data analysis. Research participants included: key informants obtained from community leaders as well as officials from the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives, Ministry of Lands and Natural resources, Ministry of National Planning & Budgeting under the department of Climate Change, women and men drawn from the emerging and small-scale farmers. Relevant literature from books, academic papers, journals, newspapers and the internet were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret and further explain the facts on changing climate patterns and the security of food. The results show that the district of Monze has been experiencing severe climatic changes making the inhabitants to initiate other several coping mechanisms. On the other hand, the results show that the rural dwellers of Monze district continued for over 3 years experiencing fluid food security (not static) and that 83 percent of this rural district had their food nutrition compromised. This is because most of the rural communities rely more on rain fed agriculture for survival, and in times when food was insecure, they opted to charcoal burning for sale, sending their children to other relatives in big cities for school, men marry several wives as cheap labour and opt to heavy drinking habits. Based on these findings, the study concluded that mean annual temperature and rainfall were not the main determinants of the rural household food security situation in Monze district. To deal with this contribution of effects of climatic change on food security, the study recommends that rural households begin to adopt other crops other than maize that can perform well under the prevailing climatic conditions. It is further recommended that the rural dwellers of Monze district should embark on other alternative ways of livelihoods and also consider running their agriculture enterprises as a business venture (typically for profit).