Climate-proofing agriculture: economic feasibility of adaptation strategies for agro-pastoral farmers in Tanzania

The major objective of the study is to apply Conservation of Resource (COR) theory for examining the influence of farmers’ socio-demographic and economic correlates upon their adoption of agricultural, economic and emotion-focused coping and adaptation strategies of climate change. An interview schedule developed from the COR theory was utilized for data collection. Using multistage cluster sampling technique, a total of 384 farmers were chosen from Agailjhara Upazila of Barisal District and interviewed through a predesigned structured questionnaire. For triangulation of the quantitative findings, the study employed case study technique to collect qualitative data from the respondents. The findings of the study demonstrate that the most common emotion- focused, agricultural and economic coping and adaptation strategies of climate change were social support seeking (79.69%), planting trees (71.35%), homestead gardening (52.08%), hydroponic farming/floating garden (46.88%), duck rearing (30.73%), saving (20.83%), self-insurance (18.75%), etc. Bivariate results indicate that age, ownership of land, income and ownership of television or mobile phone were found significantly correlated with the three variables, including economic, agricultural and emotion-focused coping and adaptation strategies of COR theory. Again, access to microcredit has relationship with economic and agricultural adaptation strategies. Furthermore, education has significant relationship with agricultural adaptation strategies. The study suggests that continuous researches by policy makers, researchers, GOs and NGOs are very essential to exploring and enhancing farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies which may relegate the adverse impacts and vulnerabilities of climate change in the study area.

Climate change and variability threaten the sustainability of agricultural and food production, especially in agrarian communities. In Southern Africa, rainfall is expected to decline by almost 10% by the year 2050 and the largest increase in temperature can be experienced. Despite the potential risks of climate change on agricultural productivity, Botswana does not have a dedicated policy to respond to climate change. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research done in Botswana to provide an understanding of factors that shape farmers’ adaptation to climate change and institutional link to the adaptive capacity of farming households. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyse institutions that influence farmers’ adaptation strategies of farmers in Botswana, using Ngamiland East as a case study. The paper relies on empirical data collected from purposively selected key informants and 300 households. The results show that the majority of farmers who have climate variability adaptation strategies in place are largely influenced by indigenous knowledge. Women and low-income earners are less likely to employ climate change adaptation strategies in order to improve their agricultural productivity. This article gives a better perspective of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing institutions designed to enable agricultural productivity. It recommends that macro-level and local government institutions should acknowledge the indigenous knowledge, community-level institutions and farmers’ adaptive capacity in policy formulation processes.

Climate change has major impacts to the livelihoods of the rural communities. In order to counteract the situation communities have developed various means for coping and adapting to the impacts. This paper reviews the various adaptation strategies by which different local communities (fishermen, pastoralists and farmers) in Tanzania have developed and discusses the sustainability of some of the strategies. It has been documented that farmers in Tanzania use traditional practices such as terracing (matuta), ngolo, tree planting, and construction of locally based water reservoirs (nkunisa), mixed cropping and crop diversification. Pastoralists use strategies such as ngitiri, rain water harvesting in ditches (malambo), check dams and engagement in alternative economic activities; and fishermen use methods such as change in fishing time, deep water fishing, scheduling particular time for fishing and engagement in other alternative economic activities. Based on the ability of the strategy to improve the capacity of the communities to respond to climate change effects, ease of implementation, the affordability, the strategies have been categorized as sustainable or not. It has been noted that the use of the sustainable indigenous strategies can improve the management of climate change effects provided that the underlying limitations are overcome. The limitations to the effectiveness of some of the documented coping and adaptation strategies may arise for instance from failure to fit the local context. It is therefore concluded that the analysis of a number of scenarios need to be undertaken prior to replication of any strategy.

The study was conducted to determine the nature of adaptation strategies of the farmers in a drought-prone area of Rajshahi district. The locale of the study was drought-prone area of Tanore Upazila under Rajshahi district of Bangladesh. Data were collected from 200 households selected through a proportionate stratified random sampling technique from four villages namely Talopara and Jumerpara of Bhadair union and Kandopur and Dhebostoly of Kalma union under Tanore Upazila and analyzed with help of Microsoft Excel, SPPSS and Brasica program. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the adaptation strategies practiced by the farmers in drought period, to find out the relationship between some characteristics of the farmers and their adaptation strategies in drought prone area, to ascertain the contribution of selected characteristics of the farmers to their adaptation strategies in drought period, to explore factors that influences the farmer’s characteristics in applying adaptation strategies and to explore problems faced by farmers in a drought prone area. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used in the study. Questionnaire and checklists were used in conducting survey and Key Informants Interviews. The selected 19 characteristics of the farmers were considered as the independent variables and their adapted adaptation strategies constituted the dependent variable. Adaptation strategies of the farmers in drought prone area ranged from 20 to 50 against a possible range 16 to 64, with an average of 38.65 and standard deviation 4.391. The highest proportion of the respondents (74 percent) had adapted strategies moderately, 17 percent had adapted strategies strongly, 7 percent had adapted strategies slightly and only 2 percent had not adapted strategies. Education, farm size, drought affected area, household asset, annual family income, savings, water and sanitation, communication exposure, agricultural training received, cosmopoliteness, aspiration, planning orientation, environmental awareness were positive and significant relationship with their adaptation strategies in drought period. Path analysis indicates that the variation on farmers’ adaptation strategies was mainly due to the contributions of five predictors viz. that age, household asset, credit received, agricultural training received, and environmental awareness. Adaptation strategies of the farmers’ model indicate that 38.99 percent of total variation in farmers’ adaptation strategies status has been explained by these predictors. The five relevant characteristics having significant effects improvise their contribution to adaptation status and among those, household assets activities alone contribution explaining 25.1 percent of the variation in practice adaptation strategies during in drought period followed by environmental awareness 3.9 percent, agricultural training received 2.8 percent, credit received 3.7 percent and age 1.6 percent. The major root causes of low adaptation strategies of the farmers in drought prone area were lack of rainfall, rising temperature, lack of moisture, lack of awareness and lack of soil management. Hence, provision of necessary measures by the concerned authority and progressive change in socio-economic-environmental structure of the society are desirable for improvement of the farmers’ adaptation strategies in drought prone area.

The viability of food production by smallholder farmers in Tanzania's semi-arid regions is threatened by climate variability and change. This study's main goal was to comprehend the available options for farmers in Tanzania's Great Ruaha River Sub-Basin and the factors that influenced their decisions. We used both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Primary data were gathered through focus groups and household questionnaire surveys, while secondary data came from records collected by government organizations. A logistic regression analysis was undertaken so as to determine factors that influence smallholder farmers’ perceptions and choice of response measures during dry years. Smallholder farmers mostly relied on their prior knowledge and locally accessible resources when developing their response strategies. Findings indicate that climate awareness, gender, age, education level, village location, wealth rank, and farmer experience are factors that have a substantial impact on farmers' decisions regarding choice of adaptation strategies to climate change. Therefore, decision-makers at all levels of government, from local authorities to the national level, should play a crucial role in improving adaptation strategies appropriate for a given climatic shock on the research area. The study suggests that GRRB farmers increase their knowledge and understanding of climate change. In order to successfully adapt to climate change, farmers should also work to create associations that will operate as a forum for knowledge exchange about indigenous farming techniques.

Adaptation strategies to reduce smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability and seasonality are needed given the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase during the next decades in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West Africa. We explored the linkages between selected agricultural adaptation strategies (crop diversity, soil and water conservation, trees on farm, small ruminants, improved crop varieties, fertilizers), food security, farm household characteristics and farm productivity in three contrasting agro-ecological sites in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal). Differences in land area per capita and land productivity largely explained the variation in food security across sites. Based on land size and market orientation, four household types were distinguished (subsistence, diversified, extensive, intensified), with contrasting levels of food security and agricultural adaptation strategies. Income increased steadily with land size, and both income and land productivity increased with degree of market orientation. The adoption of agricultural adaptation strategies was widespread, although the intensity of practice varied across household types. Adaptation strategies improve the food security status of some households, but not all. Some strategies had a significant positive impact on land productivity, while others reduced vulnerability resulting in a more stable cash flow throughout the year. Our results show that for different household types, different adaptation strategies may be ‘climate-smart’. The typology developed in this study gives a good entry point to analyse which practices should be targeted to which type of smallholder farmers, and quantifies the effect of adaptation options on household food security. Subsequently, it will be crucial to empower farmers to access, test and modify these adaptation options, if they were to achieve higher levels of food security.

Purpose This study aims to assess barriers in accessing and uptaking climate change adaptation information among smallholder tomato farmers in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted in Iringa and Morogoro regions, Tanzania. It adopted cross-sectional research design. Multistage, purposive and random sampling techniques with a sample size of 183 smallholder tomato farmers were used. Questionnaires containing closed- and open-ended questions, interview guide and focus group discussions were used to collect data. To ensure validity and reliability of data collection instruments, pretesting of the questionnaires was conducted by administering them to a small group of smallholder tomato growers. Statistical Product and Service Solutions software was used to analyse quantitative data while NVivo was used for analysing qualitative data. Findings Lack of clear understanding of climate change information (132, 72.1%), scarcity of libraries and information centres (125, 68.3%), inadequate income (125, 68.3%), lack of trust of sources of information (114, 62.3%), lack of sufficient knowledge about climate change (111, 60%), illiteracy (110, 60.1%), poor distribution of electricity in rural areas (109, 59.6%) and use of jargons (93, 50.8%) in explaining climate change adaptation issues are hindrances for smallholder tomato farmers to access and uptake climate change adaptation information. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted in only two districts in Tanzania; thus, the findings cannot be generalized. Practical implications The government and relevant agencies are recommended to use appropriate strategies for breaking the barriers that impede easy access and uptake of climate change adaptation information by smallholder tomato farmers as one of the interventions to combat the impacts posed by climate change. Social implications This study has contributed to the ongoing discourses on climate change issues. Such discourses have influenced attention and understanding of the role of access and uptake of climate change adaptation information by smallholder farmers for planning and implementation of adaptation strategies through awareness creation. Originality/value This study is in line with goal number 13.3 of Sustainable Development Goals, which vows on taking necessary actions in combating climate change and its impacts. Thus, smallholder tomato farmers’ awareness about climate change through access and uptake of climate change adaptation information is one of the interventions to combat climate change and its impacts.

The study evaluated the various adaptation strategies of farmers at the Mt. Isarog Watershed Area to the impacts of extreme weather conditions. Spe-cifically, it looked into the Identification of the various climatic events that have significant impacts on three dimension of farming like crops, income and soil quality. It also identified the adaptation strategies used by farmers to the impacts of various climatic events and how such adaptation strategies affected the various farming sectors in the upland and lowland areas of the Mt. Isarog watershed. The data were gathered using focused group dis-cussion, direct observation and interview. Results showed that climatic changes have significant and negative impacts on the three dimension of farming and vary in the upland and lowland portion of the Mt. Isarog water-shed area. Crop damages resulting in loss of income are the most common effect of climate change. Adaptation strategies of farmers are mostly focused on the preservation of their crops and the use of modern and local farming technologies. Having an alternative source of income, livelihood trainings, and crop insurance are possible win-win solution to help farmers cope in moments of extreme weather condition.

The intensification of global climate change leads to frequent mountain torrents, landslides, debris flows and other disasters, which seriously threaten the safety of residents’ lives and property. However, few studies have compared and analyzed the livelihood vulnerability and adaptation strategies of farmers in different disaster-threatened areas under the background of climate change. Based on survey data of 327 households in the areas threatened by mountain floods, landslides and debris flow in Sichuan Province, this study analyzed the characteristics of livelihood vulnerability and adaptation strategies of households in the areas threatened by different disaster types and constructed multinomial logistic regression models to explore their correlations. The findings show that: (1) The livelihood vulnerability indices of farmers in different hazard types showed different characteristics. Among them, the livelihood vulnerability index of farmers in landslide-threatened zones is the highest, followed by the livelihood vulnerability index of farmers in debris-flow-threatened zones, and finally the livelihood vulnerability index of farmers in flash flood threat zones. At the same time, all three natural hazards show a trend of higher vulnerability in the sensitivity dimension than in the exposure and livelihood resilience dimensions. (2) The nonfarming livelihood strategy is the main livelihood strategy for farmers in different disaster-type-threatened areas. At the same time, the vulnerability of farmers choosing the nonfarming livelihood strategy is much higher than that of farmers choosing the part-time livelihood strategy and pure farming livelihood strategy, and the vulnerability of sensitivity dimension is higher than that of the exposure dimension and livelihood resilience dimension. (3) For farmers in landslide- and debris-flow-threatened areas, livelihood resilience is an important factor affecting their livelihood strategy. There was a positive correlation between livelihood resilience and farmers’ choice of pure agricultural livelihood strategies in these two natural-disaster-threatened areas. This study deepens our understanding of the characteristics and relationships of farmers’ livelihood vulnerability and adaptation strategies under different disaster types in the context of climate change, and then provides the reference basis for the formulation of livelihood-adaptive capacity promotion-related policy.

Programmed Instruction (PI) is a self-instructional technique in which learners are presented with new subject matter in a graded sequence of controlled steps. The learners work through the PI at their own pace, and after each step, they test their knowledge by answering a question, and they can identify the right answer immediately. To compare the effectiveness of Programmed Instruction (PI) and Lecture methods in bringing desirable changes in the cognitive domain of extension functionaries on the subject, ‘Climate change, its impact, mitigation and adaptation strategies in agriculture’, an experimental study was conducted using Solomon four group design: before-after with three controls considering 240 respondents. The mean cognitive domain scores of PI and lecture method of instruction was worked out. The results of t test revealed that there was a significant difference between effectiveness of PI and lecture methods with respect to acquisition of learning on cognitive domain. The overall cognitive domain effectiveness in PI method (45.17) was significantly higher than the lecture method (32.83). In the areas of sub-domains of the cognitive domain too, the effectiveness scores of PI method of instruction was significantly higher than the lecture method. The study's conclusions suggest that the PI materials can be used most effectively to educate extension functionaries on the new agricultural technologies emerging from time to time. Furthermore, PI can be used to educate literate farmers on new agricultural technologies such as protected cultivation, secondary agriculture, and so on, which will eventually drive them to adopt these technologies.

Climate change adaptation strategies of cocoa farmers in the Wassa East District: Implications for climate services in Ghana

Background: The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to increase as a result of climate change, which will contribute to changes in precipitation and temperature, and therefore will affect food security. Research issues related to increasing the sustainability of the agricultural sector, eliminating climate risks in agriculture are coming to the fore. This is especially relevant in arid regions. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers to climate change in Abela Abaya, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Finding optimal practices adapted to random extreme events is fundamental for sustainable food production. In particular, the study attempted to understand the preferences of smallholder farmers in adaptation strategies to climate change in the study area; the main influencing factors determining the choice of adaptation strategies to climate change by smallholder farmers in the study area. Methods: To investigate this issue, qualitative and quantitative data were used within a descriptive research approach to assess potential adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers to climate change. Data on demographic, socio-economic, institutional, physical and psychological factors for adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers were collected through specially designed and pre-tested questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). Rural counties for the study were selected using simple random sampling due to the same agroecology. The multivariate probit (MVP) model was used as it is a type of correlated binary response regression model that allows for the simultaneous identification and assessment of the impact of a set of independent factors on each of the possible approaches. Five adaptation methods are identified as dependent variables for the Multi-Variate Probit. These include Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) practices, use of drought-tolerant varieties, adjustment of planting dates, use of agroforestry, and implementation of water harvesting. The following were selected as independent variables for the current study. Results: Most farmers (96.7%) acknowledge the ongoing climate change and are concerned that their agriculture will not suffer under the new conditions. This is justified by the fact that farmers confirm their observations regarding the increase in air temperature, the increase in the frequency of plant diseases and the decrease in precipitation. At the same time, only 36.2% of the surveyed farmers reported that society is aware of the possible risks associated with global warming and is trying to adapt agricultural activities to new climatic conditions. In particular, the current study revealed for the first time that smallholder farmers in Abela Abaya primarily prefer approaches such as soil and water conservation (71.6%), adjustment of planting dates (59.4%), and agroforestry (44.5%). Conclusion: The study identified the most influential factors on the adoption of adapted agricultural practices in a specific region of Abala Abaya (Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia), namely, household heads’ access to education, frequency of extension visits, access to climate information and land slope. Thus, decision makers can design and adopt appropriate programs based on the current results to preserve smallholder farming and maintain food security at the national level.

The study examined the viability of climate adaptation strategies of cassava-based farmers in Southern Nigeria. A total of 300 cassava-based farmers were randomly selected. Primary data were obtained through administration of questionnaire, interview schedule and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics which involved the use of percentages, mean and frequency distributions as well as OLS multiple regression model. The specific objectives include: to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identify the climate change adaptation practices employed, ascertain the viability of the climate change adaptation practices and to determine the factors influencing the use of climate change adaptation strategies by the cassava-based farmers in the study area. Results show that majority of the cassava-based farmers were females, married, had a mean age of 46 years, 19 years farming experience, household size of 8 persons, and mean farm size of 1.23 hectares. Results further showed that the cassava farmers adopted various of adaptation strategies such as mixed cropping 24.3%, crop rotation 16.3%, change in planting date 36.6%, use of improved varieties 63.2%, minimum tillage 37%, early and late planting 35.3% and 13.5% respectively. These practices facilitated the adaptation to climate change by the farmers. However, farming experience, farm size, education, access to extension services, credits and farm income influenced the viability of the climatic adaptation strategies of the cassava-based farmers in the area. Farmers are advised to take good advantage of seminars, workshops, symposiums, and conferences on climate change and its implications on agricultural production.
 Keywords: Assessment; Viability; Adaptation, Climate Change, Strategies, Cassava-based Farmers

Labor shortages are a growing challenge for U.S. agricultural producers, but little is known about farmers' adaptation strategies. We estimate the statistical relationship between farm labor shortages and adaptation strategies among California farmers. We find that increasing wages is the most common response, followed by changes in cultivation practices, adoption of labor‐saving technologies, and use of farm labor contractors. Labor shortages are associated with an increase in the probability of raising wages by 21 percentage points and changing cultivation practices by 9 percentage points. These effects are more pronounced for labor‐intensive crop farmers, highlighting the need for targeted support strategies.

Tanzania is not an exception to the situation where climate change and variability (CC&V) are emerging threats to development, with adverse impacts on environment, human health, natural resources and physical infrastructure. CC&V has been one of the major limiting factors in agriculture production, resulting in food insecurity and low household incomes possibly due to over-dependence on rain-fed agriculture by the majority of people living in rural areas of Tanzania. Thus, understanding adaptation to CC&V impacts among rural communities is of paramount importance for effective interventions on adaptation strategies. Checklist questions were used to collect information on various adaptation strategies to CC&V impacts carried out by farmer groups in two villages of the Matengo. Spectacular adaptation strategies found in both villages were working in farmer groups for activities such as agroforestry, dairy cattle keeping, running of hydro-mills, beekeeping, and fish farming. Most of these activities ensured both livelihood diversification and landscape conservation under a changing environment. Unique to these farmer groups were their spontaneous expansions, largely owing to farmers’ own inventiveness. This study, however, was only preliminary, hence calls for in-depth and longitudinal studies that could allow panel data collection and enable strategic intervention to the problems of CC&V.