Gender analysis of household adaptation strategies to food shortage in Magu district, Tanzania
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Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Food insecurity and shortage is a major development problem that is caused by countless factors in the global, regional, national and local spheres of human life. Several efforts have been put in place to alleviate food shortage globally, nationally and even locally. Despite these efforts, the situation continues to prevail and sometimes even increase in the contemporary human society. It is therefore imperative that food insecurity gets addressed appropriately. Small scale farmers, particularly rural women, play a vital role in food production especially through subsistence farming. However, their households are major casualties of food insecurity despite their efforts in food production. Through using a modified framework from sustainable livelihood climate variability and change exerts multiple stresses on biophysical and social economical aspects. The primary stresses include climate risks such as drought, high temperature and flood, which in turn trigger secondary stresses such low yield and low harvest production, which increase vulnerability to socio-economic on gender to access resources of household food security. Successful implementation of the gender household adaptation strategies to food shortage would have to reduce gender vulnerability and improve household food shortage. The study aimed at determining how climate variability impacts households’ food security and then to identify gender differentiation in vulnerability to food shortage and at the same time to establish gender adaptation strategies to household food shortage. The sampling techniques which were used are simple random sampling and purposive sampling. Two villages were sampled purposively with total of 650 households. The sample size was 65 households which formulate ten percent of the population. The Methods used to collect data were surveys, interviews and focus group discussions. The study findings revealed that in order to improve household food shortage there must be gender mainstreaming in adaptation measures to climate change and variability. Therefore policy makers should develop proper and fast drought information delivery systems; they should put emphasis on agricultural production by the use of improved livestock and crop varieties; they should formulate and implement of adaptation policies in the dry areas; and they should empower farmers especially women
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, (THS EAF S473.T34S54)
Keywords
Agricultural ecology, Climatic change, Agriculture, Environmental aspect, Kilimanjaro, Mount (Tanzania), Tanzania
Citation
Zacharia, C. (2015) Gender analysis of household adaptation strategies to food shortage in Magu district, Tanzania, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam