Browsing by Author "Isundwa, Victoria Joseph"

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    Vulnerability and adaptation strategies of vegetable growers to climate variability and change in the coastal zone: a case of Ilala municipality, Dar es Salaam
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2016) Isundwa, Victoria Joseph
    This study was conducted to examine vegetable growers in Ilala Municipality in two sub wards, namely Kivule and Kiyombo. The two were selected purposively with the assistance of the Hata Municipality Agricultural officer, in order to meet the aims of the study. Primary data were obtained through household surveys, focus group discussions and key informants interviews. Secondary data were collected from the Internet, books, and the library and from various scientific papers. The findings revealed that vegetables growers perceive climate variability and change through two key variables, which are temperature and precipitation. The research findings revealed that 64.7% of respondents from both sub wards perceived that there was an increase of temperature as compared to the past 10-20 years ago. Furthermore, about 58.8% of the respondents from household surveys in both sub wards perceived that there was decreasing of rainfall trend as compared to 10-20 years ago. Most of them claimed that nowadays rainfall was unreliable, onset of rainfall trends changed a lot and days of dry spell increased during the rainy seasons. The study has further established that vegetable growers are vulnerable to climate variability and change and the impacts of it are now seen through the effects of floods, high temperatures scarcity of water for irrigation and pest/diseases erupting at a high rate as compared to the 10-20 years ago. The practice of growing vegetables in the river valley bottoms further increases vulnerability to floods, which normally wash away the vegetables. This situation leaves most farmers in difficult situation with little money to support their livelihoods. In response to the impacts of climate variability and change, vegetable growers undertake various measures as strategies to adapt. It is thus recommended that the government should recognize growers and support them during disaster events. The support could be in form of provision of agricultural inputs and special markets for selling vegetables. Vegetable growers could further be provided with alternative land to undertake