Assessment of effectiveness of responses to Climate change impacts on maize production in Iringa district, Tanzania.

This study sought to assess effectiveness of response strategies adopted by smallholder farmers in addressing climate change impacts on maize production in Iringa district. The study employed focus group discussion, household questionnaire survey, key informant interview and observations to collect data. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected covering a wide range of climate change (CC) effects, response strategies to address CC impacts and effectiveness of such strategies. Results revealed that maize production has decreased in past two decades from the average of 12 to 3 maize sacks per acre due to climatic shocks and stresses. Crop diversification, change in planting dates, drought tolerant crops, irrigation, changes from farming to non-farming activities, crop rotation, application of industrial fertilizers as well as manure, improved maize varieties and agricultural diversification (Livestock keeping) were found to be adopted strategies to CC and climate variability (CV). During extreme food crises, farmers receive food relief from the government. Smallholder farmers mentioned increased yield outputs, food security and increased incomes for purchasing food including other basic needs as key determinants or indicators of effectiveness of response strategies. Therefore, they recounted that some response strategies, such as crop diversification, change in planting dates, drought tolerant crops, crop rotation and improved maize varieties proved to be effective towards addressing CC impact on farming. Chi-square test of five effectiveness response strategies were significant to farmers in terms of production (P=0.000 (P0.05) for improved maize variety, drought tolerant crop (P=0.014 (P0.05), crop diversification (P=0.056 (P0.05), changes in planting dates (P=0.001 (P0.05) and crop rotation (P=0.000 (P0.05). Barriers to practice effective response strategies effectively were unpredictable, short and erratic rainfall, technological barriers, crop pest and diseases, drought and prolonged dry spells, yield failure due to maximum temperature, increasing soil aridity as well as soil infertility. Therefore, in order to ensure response strategies becomes effective, approaches to address challenges that affect smallholder agriculture practices should involve both integration of policies and institutional structures, strengthening institutions and farmers’ adaptive capacity into developing plans and programmes at all levels to respond to climate change risks as well as establishment of farmers’ weather station and integrates their knowledge into the forecasts. This should work hand-in-hand by building their capacity of interpreting and using weather forecasts in agricultural operations as well as integrating them with weather institutions.