Contribution of climate based adaptive practices to household food security in Utengule Usongwe, Mbeya rural district, Tanzania

Abstract

Mbeya District is vulnerable to climate change which affects food production and its security. Rain fed agricultural production has subjected the area to food shortage and its security in years with low rainfall. Although different development agenda have been planned by the government toward improving living standard of the people, climate change is among the major constraints against the realization of those agenda. The main objective of this study was to examine the contribution of subsistence farmers' adaptive practices in sustaining household food security under climate change stress. Specific objective included identifying local farmer's perception on climate change and food security; determining the nature of production under climate change; as well as examining adaptive practices applied by farmers to reduce food system vulnerability to climate change. A Cross Section Research Design was used. Data were collected from a sample of 120 respondents. Structured questionnaire and FGDs were employed in data collection. Five independent variables were modelled against dependent variables using linear regression model. The findings show that, copied and adopted practices by farmers include applying agricultural fertilizers, eating less preferred food, cultivating along wetland areas, as well as crop rotation. This study recommends that emphasis should be put on environmental protection through tree planting and provision of agricultural input during the adverse climate change.