Smallholder Farmers’ Practices and Understanding of Climate Change and Climate Smart Agriculture in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

Adverse effects of climate change and variability remain to be a major threat to smallholder farmers and rural livelihoods. It posed a challenge of developing innovative technologies to improve rural livelihoods, environmental conservation and ensuring adoption of such technologies. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is used as a mitigation and adaptation option to reduce the negative impacts of climate change and improve agricultural productivity. To achieve the desired objectives, CSA requires a complete package of practices that increase productivity and income, build resilience and reduce green gas emission.  However, adoption is largely dependent on farmers’ understanding, preferences and their capacity and willingness to practice. The study explores smallholder farmers’ understanding of climate change impacts and their proclivity on climate smart agricultural practices. In engaging with smallholder farmers, a range of methods was used, including focus group discussions (FGD), key informant interviews (KI), household questionnaire survey and field observations. Results indicate that less than half (26%) of smallholder farmers interviewed have low knowledge on climate change in the study area, however, they are adapting and coping with the impacts of climate change. The low knowledge, coupled with the low ability to effectively adapt to the impacts of climate change, might have contributed to reduced agricultural yields.  Developing appropriate and feasible climate smart and resilient agriculture practices, is a pre-requisite towards improving food security and income to smallholder farmers. The study suggests the need to consider appropriate and sustainable local-based technologies to increase production. The local-based knowledge and technologies are cost effective, easy to adopt and can be easily out-scaled to other communities within the region. We conclude that the availability of improved local-basedtechnologies alone is not a sufficient condition to bring about the change and transformation among smallholder farmers. Effective institutions and sustained policy support play a significant role in the adoption of CSA practices. There is an urgent need for scientists and users to co-produce the climate information and CSA practices so as to ensure action-oriented recommendations. Therefore, establishing an enabling local environment, including by supporting strong and innovative rural institutions, to increase the uptake of good practices are indispensable. Keywords: Climate change, climate smart agriculture, Southern Highland, smallholder farmers and perceptio

Assessment of land tenure and management challenges of reducing climate change impacts in the southern highlands of Tanzania

Producing more food for a growing population in the context of changing climate, while at the same time combating poverty and food insecurity, is among the enormous challenge facing Sub-Saharan African. Such factors affect land which forms the most important resource that forms the main part of the mode of production among farm households. The climate change risks, reduce arable land and pose environmental degradation that increases vulnerability to climate change and variability impacts. To reduce climate change impacts and growing land shortage, smallholder farmers in the southern highlands of Tanzania have been shifting to farming systems that are restoring exhausted soils and are increasing food crop yields, household food security, and incomes. However, some of these activities have implication on long-term adaptation and mitigation strategies. This paper reviews land tenure challenges of land use management and development of adaptation and mitigation strategies. The aim is to assess land tenure and management strategies for reducing climate change challenges and increasing food security and environmental resilience. To acquire accurate and detailed information, combinations of both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. The use of two approaches facilitated the triangulation and validation of information collected through various methods. The main focus was on the land tenure challenges in relation to climate variability and adaptation and mitigation measures. Quantitative data compiled and analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel software while qualitative data analyzed during and after data collection using content analysis. The results indicate land fragmentation and high land pressure in the area. This affected crop diversification and implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures, especially for that involve utilization of the large size of land. Also the small size of land resulted in the substance farming with less incentive for commercial farming. The results from Pearson Chi-Square signify the size of owned land value 65.816 with df 44 and Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) .018.And borrowed value 17. 355, with df of 14 and Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) .238. The frequency of the small size of land is higher than the large size forming leaner distribution as divergent to the normal distribution curve. It was further revealed that land acquisition through inherited, redistributed by household heads with few buying have implication on land management and changes on land uses and affects development of mitigation measures. The absence of policy incentives for good land management, high population density and land shortage places excessive pressure on land that increases challenges on management strategies. Also land ownership has an influence on land management for example rented land receive less management incentive, while the owned land can have a long term management measures. A measure that enhances land management and carbon storage both above ground and below ground and induce more effective conservation of above and below-ground biodiversity are essential.Available in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Reducing Climate Change Challenges through Forestry and Other Land Use PracticesClimate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation (CCIAM) Programme funded through the Norwegian embassy in Tanzani

A potential feedback between landuse and climate in the Rungwe tropical highland stresses a critical environmental research challenge

Characteristic trends in landuse and climate highlight critical challenges in future resource management along the tropical topoclimosequence (TCS) of the Rungwe Volcanic Province (RVP), a major headwater biodiversity and food reservoir of Tanzania. The RVP orography supports a coherent distribution of agroecosystems and livelihoods, from hot irrigated lowlands to endangered afromontane forests above 1500 m.a.s.l. Recent increases in deforestation, land fragmentation and soil denudation/compaction in the densely populated TCS were combined with a strengthened need and consumption of water in the lower, warmer and drier end-member. Consistent with a regional decline of the long rains, a considerable (up to 30%) decrease in annual rainfall and a pervasive decline of the Lake Masoko (LM) aquifer testifies to a strong aridification trend. We suggest here that current landuse and demographic trends likely amplified the hydrological response of the TCS to regional and global warming. Testing such a hypothesis, however, requires improved local monitoring, to allow scaling and quantification of local hydrological budgets associated with landuse impacts, and evaluation of the contribution of trees and agroforestry systems to mitigating the aridification trend

A control of seasonality on volcanic ash soil weathering and erosion

International audienc