Drivers and barriers to climate‑smart aquaculture adoption: Insights from Mwanza and Mara Regions, Tanzania
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Climate-Smart Aquaculture (CSAq) optimizes resource use, minimizes environmental
impacts, and enhances resilience to climate stresses. However, adoption remains limited in
African countries, including Tanzania, due to socio-economic, institutional, and environmental
barriers. This study investigated drivers and enabling conditions for CSAq adoption
in the Lake Zone of Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey of 384 smallholder aquaculture
farmers in Mwanza and Mara regions was analyzed using a multinomial logit regression
model. The results show that socio-economic factors significantly influenced adoption,
particularly education level (higher education increased integrated farming adoption;
χ2 = 132.48, p < 0.001), gender (male farmers were more likely to adopt integrated farming;
χ2 = 5.239, p = 0.003), and household size (larger households favored integrated systems;
χ2 = 10.838, p = 0.021). Institutional factors, including access to finance (χ2 = 10.258,
p = 0.013), extension services (χ2 = 14.888, p = 0.008), and training (χ2 = 19.564,
p = 0.003), facilitated adoption. Environmental conditions, such as proximity to water
(χ2 = 6.351, p = 0.048) and lower climate variability (p = 0.011), also influenced uptake.
Integrated farming, which combines aquaculture with agriculture and livestock, emerged as
the dominant CSAq practice. Polyculture and monoculture were less commonly adopted.
The regression results confirmed that integrated CSAq adoption is significantly driven
by income diversity, household size, training, and climate risk perceptions. These findings
directly inform the study’s recommendations, which emphasize targeted financial and
technical support, including access to credit, extension services, and gender-responsive
policies. Strengthening institutional capacity and embedding CSAq into national climate
adaptation frameworks will be critical for scaling sustainable aquaculture in Tanzania and
similar contexts.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Climate-Smart Aquaculture (CSAq), Integrated farming systems, Contextual factors, Adoption drivers, Lake Zone Tanzania