Sources of vulnerability to a variable and changing climate among smallholder households in Zimbabwe: A participatory analysis

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cg.contributor.donorInternational Development Research Centreen
cg.contributor.donorDepartment for International Development, United Kingdomen
cg.coverage.countryZimbabwe
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ZW
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Africa
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierMark van Wijk: 0000-0003-0728-8839
cg.creator.identifierMariana Rufino: 0000-0003-4293-3290
cg.creator.identifierKen E Giller: 0000-0002-5998-4652
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2014.05.004en
cg.issn2212-0963en
cg.journalClimate Risk Managementen
cg.subject.ilriCLIMATE CHANGEen
cg.subject.ilriFARMING SYSTEMSen
cg.subject.ilriLIVESTOCKen
cg.volume3en
dc.contributor.authorRurinda, J.P.en
dc.contributor.authorMapfumo, Paulen
dc.contributor.authorWijk, Mark T. vanen
dc.contributor.authorMtambanengwe, F.en
dc.contributor.authorRufino, Mariana C.en
dc.contributor.authorChikowo, Regisen
dc.contributor.authorGiller, Kenneth E.en
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-06T11:55:22Zen
dc.date.available2014-08-06T11:55:22Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/41904
dc.titleSources of vulnerability to a variable and changing climate among smallholder households in Zimbabwe: A participatory analysisen
dcterms.abstractVulnerability analysis is essential for targeting adaptation options to impacts of climate variability and change, particularly in diverse systems with limited resources such as smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. To investigate the nature and sources of vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate variability and change, we analysed long term climate data and interviewed farmers individually and in groups in Makoni and Hwedza districts in eastern Zimbabwe. Farmers’ perceptions of changes in climate characteristics matched the recorded data. Total seasonal rainfall has not changed, but variability in the rainfall distribution within seasons has increased. The mean daily minimum temperature increased by 0.2°C per decade in Makoni and by 0.5°C per decade in Hwedza. The number of days with temperatures >30°C increased in Hwedza. Farmers indicated that livestock production was sensitive to drought due to lack of feed, affecting resource-endowed farmers, who own relatively large herds of cattle. Crop production was more sensitive to increased rainfall variability, largely affecting farmers with intermediate resource endowment. Availability of wild fruits and social safety nets were affected directly and indirectly by extreme temperatures and increased rainfall variability, impacting on the livelihoods of resource-constrained farmers. There was no evidence of a simple one-to-one relationship between vulnerability and farmer resource endowment, suggesting that vulnerability to climate variability and change is complex and not simply related to assets. Alongside climate variability and change, farmers were also faced with biophysical and socioeconomic challenges such as lack of fertilizers, and these problems had strong interactions with adaptation options to climate change. Diversifying crops and cultivars, staggering planting date and managing soil fertility were identified as the major adaptation options to stabilize yields against increased rainfall variability. There is need to evaluate the identified adaptation options on farm and with the participation of farmers to provide empirical evidence on the best options for different households.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationRurinda, J., Mapfumo, P., Wijk, M.T. van, Mtambanengwe, F., Rufino, M.C., Chikowo, R. and Giller, K.E. 2014. Sources of vulnerability to a variable and changing climate among smallholder households in Zimbabwe: A participatory analysis. Climate Risk Management 3: 65-78.en
dcterms.extentp. 65-78en
dcterms.issued2014
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND-3.0
dcterms.publisherElsevieren
dcterms.subjectclimate changeen
dcterms.subjectfarming systemsen
dcterms.subjectlivestocken
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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