Climate Change Adaptation Practices for Sustainable Food Production in Rombo District, Tanzania

Abstract

Although various studies on climate change and food production have been
conducted, information on how households in Tanzania respond to climate
change for sustainable food production is scarce. This paper investigates
climate change adaptation practices in enhancing sustainable food
production in Rombo District, Tanzania. The study adopted a cross-
sectional research design. Quantitative data were analysed by using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, while the qualitative data
were analysed through factual and logical interpretation of the findings.
Results show that drought was the main effect of climate change as
reported by 65.7% of the respondents in the study area. Furthermore, the
findings show that 81.4% of the respondents applied artificial fertilizers to
their farms in efforts to adapt to climate change. Study results also show a
significant association between the education level of the respondents and
use of improved seeds (P = 0.08) and soil water conservation (P = 0.09) as
adaptation measures to climate change. In adapting to the changing
climate, respondents also experienced some challenges such as lack of
resources in terms of financial, material and human labour. Proper
knowledge on the adaptation measures is recommended to be given to
farmers through various methods.