Barriers to Adapting to Climatic Stress in Tanzania's Semi-Arid Environments

Abstract

The adaptation barriers to climate variability and change in Tanzania's semi-arid areas are significant. Dodoma urban district is among  the areas in the country that have been particularly hard hit by climate change, with frequent reports of food insecurity and hunger as a  result of flooding or drought. Data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods, where quantitative data were  analyzed using SPSS version 16 and Microsoft Excel in the form of factor analysis and descriptive statistics. Major barriers to climate  change adaptation included inadequate financial and farm inputs (factor 1), low level of education and income (factor 2), arable land  constraints (factor 3), information barrier (factor 4), and lastly was financial barrier and lack of institution support (factor 5). To address  the plethora of such barriers at the individual farmer level, a comprehensive and dynamic policy strategy across a scales and governance  levels would be required. This implies that the adaptation process ought to take into account the locallevel realities for it to be successful  in responding to climatic stresses. Thus, concerted efforts from all stakeholders and institutions are required to come up with a  comprehensive approach across scales and levels to address barriers to adaptation.