Abstract:
Though knowledge on climate change has increased over time, previous studies showed that knowledge on farmers’ perception on resilience to climate change and its variability was lacking. This study examined farmers’ perceptions on resilience to climate change and its variability in Meatu and Iramba districts, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was used whereby, information was collected from 183 randomly selected households using a questionnaire. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. In addition qualitative data were analyzed by using content analysis. Over 73% of household heads perceived to be highly resilient. Among the socio-economic factors for perceived household resilience, household head’s income levels (χ²=30.16; df=6; p=0.000), marital status (χ²=27.78; df=2; p=0.000) and land ownership (p=0.000) were statistically significant. Based on the results it can be concluded that most important socio-economic factors of perceived household resilience were, income levels, marital status and land ownership of the household heads. This study therefore, recommended that there is need for provision of training which would enable household members to engage on various non-farm economic activities, provision of access to agricultural extension to the households.
