Browsing by Author "Chingonikaya, Emmanuel E"

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Smallholder Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change Versus Meteorological Data in Semi-arid Areas of Iringa District, Tanzania
(2015) Kihupi, Mary L; Chingonikaya, Emmanuel E; Mahonge, Chritopher
The ongoing changes in global climate threaten the sources of livelihood, especially among smallholder farmers in poor parts of the world. Smallholder farmers need to recognize the changes in climate already taking place in their areas and undertake appropriate investments towards adaptation. The coping and adaptation strategies of the farmers are linked to a very large extent with their perception on climate change and its impacts. The main objective of this study is to examine smallholder farmers’ perception of climate change vis-á-vis meteorological data. Specifically this paper answers the following research questions: how smallholder farmers perceive climate change, what are the meteorological data of the study area, and how meteorological data link with smallholder farmers’ perception to climate change. The study was carried out in semi-arid areas of Iringa District. The research design was cross sectional. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to select divisions, wards, villages and households. Ismani and Pawaga Divisions of Iringa District were purposefully selected based on their climatic conditions. A total of 240 respondents were drawn randomly from eight villages. Data were collected through household survey, key informant interviews, observation and focus group discussions methods. Meteorological data were collected from Tanzania Meteorological Agency. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS and qualitative data through content analysis. Instant Statistical Packages for Agro-climatological data was used in analyzing the 54 years meteorological data of Nduli meteorological station in Iringa District. The findings revealed that smallholder farmers perceived climate change in terms of change in temperature, changes in rainfall, increase in drought condition and increase in malaria and crop pests and diseases. Change in rainfall pattern, temperature pattern and occurrence of pests and diseases had significant impact on smallholder farmers’ households whose livelihood depends on rain fed farming. Therefore smallholder farmers need to adapt to the changing climate. It is recommended that there is need for development of appropriate adaptation strategies to climate change of which smallholder farmers in semi-arid areas of Iringa District perceived. This can be achieved by helping smallholder farmers use their local knowledge in combination with introduced innovations to enhance adaptation to the impact of climate change
Socio-economic determinants of farmers’ adaptations to climate change variability in Meatu and Iramba districts, Tanzania
(International Journal of Applied Research, 2019) Nyangas, James A; Chingonikaya, Emmanuel E; Urassa, Justin K
The capacity of farmers to adapt to climate shocks and stresses is a critical part of sustainable development. Generally, farmers’ adaptation to climate change variability exploits beneficial opportunities to reduce its vulnerability and minimize the risk associated with the impacts of climate change variability. As such, the aim of this study was to determine the socio-economic determinants of farmers’ adaptation to climate change variability in Meatu and Iramba Districts, Tanzania. Specifically, the study was intended to determine farmers’ adaptation to climate change variability in the study area, to compare households’ adaptations for the two districts and to determine socio-economic factors influencing farmers’ adaptation to climate change variability. A cross sectional research design was used for the study, whereby data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to 183 farmers and focus group discussions. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of data. Results showed that majority of farmers’ households had very low adaptation to climate change variability. Moreover, it was found that there was a significant difference on levels of farmers’ adaptation between the districts (χ²=77.522, df = 3, p<0.0001), in which farmers from Meatu district had very low adaptation compared to those from Iramba district. It was also found that farmers’ adaptation was significantly determined by sex, type of farming practiced by household’s head, distance from home to the farm, distance from home to the market, distance to the sources of water and possession of entrepreneurial skills. The study concludes that farmers’ adaptation to climate change variability mainly depends on the sex of head of household, distance from home to the farm, distance from home to market, distance to the source of water and possession of entrepreneurial skills. The study recommends increasing households’ adaptation capacity to climate change variability through constructing sources of water and market near the villages; and empowering of farmers with knowledge and entrepreneurial skills which will enable them to create opportunities on non-farm activities.