Small Farmers' Adaptive Efforts to Rainfall Variability and Soil Erosion Problem in Semiarid Tanzania

Abstract

Rural livelihood in semiarid Tanzania is centred on subsistence agricultural production under conditions of a stochastic rainfall pattern and highly erodible soils. This paper draws data from 499 smallholder farmers in Dodoma region-central Tanzania, to study their adaptive efforts and the influences on agricultural productivity in this agro-ecological zone. Results show a significant relationship (p = 0.05 and p = 0.01) between variables explaining adaptive efforts and soil erosion. ). The authors thank the 499 smallholder farmers in Dodoma region for their valuable information and the Village Extension Officers-Mrs. Ulomi (Mvumi makulu), Mrs. Lettayo (Hombolo bwawani), Ms. Mrawa (Farkwa) and Mr. Hando (Mondo)-for the facilitation data collection exercise. The authors are also thankful to two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions, which have improved the quality of this article tremendously.The authors gratefully acknowledge the Belgian government, through the SUA-VLIR programme, for funding this study.

Disparate coping strategies for gendered effects of drought

“…The three ways of survival in Africa had their presence highly felt in Central Tanzania; nevertheless, the mentioned historical or traditional coping strategies are no longer useful as drought and climatic changes have left only a few options at hand. In fact, current coping strategies are desperate ones as discovered in this study and supported by other case studies in the region (Hella et al , 2003; Hatibu et al , 2000; Eriksen et al , 2005; Slegers, 2008; Nelson and Stathers, 2009). On the whole, majority of coping strategies revolve around “climate change stricken” agricultural production which is the main source of income and food for over 80 per cent of poor Tanzanians living in rural areas.…”

“…A third way of life combines the above into agro‐pastoralism. Droughts and soil conditions dictate when and where people live by these options (Morris et al , 2000; Hella et al , 2003; Slegers, 2008).…”

“…During that time he also conducted gendered observations and interviews in Dodoma; 12 key informants (six females and six males), identified from his prior study, were interviewed. As the author started to prepare an article for publication, he reviewed data from other case studies (Allessandro, 1997; Hatibu et al , 1997, 2000; Tiluhongelwa, 2002; Hella et al , 2003; Kusiluka et al , 2004; Eriksen et al , 2005; Morris et al , 2000; Liwenga, 2008; Slegers, 2008; Nelson and Stathers, 2009) conducted in the region for comparison purpose only. This was juxtaposed with in‐depth literature review, using data bases offered by UB library such as gender watch, academic search complete and JSTOR.…”

Water Source Quality in Northern and Central Tanzania: Implications for Rural Communities

“…The contrasting arid/semi-arid Dodoma region ~438 km to the south is considered to be one of the driest parts of the country with a unimodal rainfall pattern. The short rainy season lasts from December-April with annual rainfall averaging 570 mm and evaporation potentially exceeding rainfall every month [17]. Within the Dodoma region, sampling sites were restricted exclusively to the Kondoa district.…”

Evaluation of Livelihood Sustainability in the Context of Natural Forest Land Degradation Vulnerability: A Case Study of Five Counties in China

“…The last agenda is about solutions to land degradation and revenue-generating options for local farmers. Approaches such as adaptive farming strategy, fire management practices, community involvement and control projects will be assessed or analyzed in specific contexts, with a further policy recommendation proposed as reference [25][26][27][28].…”