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.
