Abstract:
This study was conducted to examine determinants of adaptive capacity to climate change among men, women and other vulnerable groups of smallholder farmers in Meatu and Iramba districts, Tanzania. Purposively the study intended to analyze community perception to climate change; analyze adaptation practices developed and used by farmers for livelihood; examine elements of adaptive capacity including institutions and knowledge; and determine factors responsible for adaptive capacity. Data were collected from randomly selected 63 men and 57 women to make a total of 120 respondents in three purposively selected villages from Meatu and Iramba District using a structured and non structured questionnaire. Descriptive and regression analyses using Statistical Package for Social Sciences were employed to determine the factors for adaptive capacity. Adaptive capacity of men and women in the study area was measured using two proxies: household
factor and farm factor. Determinants of adaptive capacity were measured by adaptive
capacity index of access and control over assets. Results of descriptive analysis suggest
that adaptive capacity of men and women in Meatu and Iramba was influenced by sex of
respondents, age of household head, education, household size, household labour, farm
size, land ownership, household asset and household income. Although income did not
show influence on adaptive capacity, asset ownership within the household indicated high
influence. A multinomial Logit model (MLM) revealed that adaptive capacity of men and
women in Meatu and Iramba was attributed to factors of age, sex, household size,
household labour, land ownership, household asset and household income which were
statistically significant at p<0.1, p<0.05 and p<0.01 regression coefficients. The study
revealed respondents were either positively or negatively adapting using three levels of
adaptive capacity such as highly, moderately or low. For individual to cope either
highly/moderately and/or low it depended on access and control over household assets.
Therefore individual with low access and control over assets were more experiencing
climate change effects than others. The study recommends among other things, that
adaptive capacity is gendered and multiplicity, meaning that adaptive capacity of men and
women varies depending on access and control over resources.
