Vulnerability to Climate Variability of Smallholder Farmers in Gutu District, Zimbabwe: A Pro-Poor Asset Adaptation Approach

Abstract

The African continent is vulnerable to climate variability and change due to the sensitivity of all the economic sectors to climate and its low adaptive capacity. Sporadic rainfall and increasing temperature are rapidly emerging as the most serious problems affecting agriculture and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Field-based research was conducted in the Gutu district of Masvingo Province using the participatory climate change adaptation appraisal to determine asset-based adaptation strategies employed by the smallholder farmers in building their adaptive capacity and resilience to climate variability. Questionnaire-based surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Vulnerability indices were calculated using the expert judgment approach. The research adopted a design science research paradigm to generate innovative and useful artifacts to solve real-world problems. Multistage sampling was used to sample the interviewees. Results reveal that Gutu smallholder farmers use household assets to cope and adapt to climate change and variability with financial assets being the dominant asset affecting smallholder farmers’ vulnerability.