Introduction

This study aims to assess climate change and food security in a vulnerable community’s
livelihoods in Karoi Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is an agrarian society, Kuiper et al (2009) denotes
that nearly 85% of the population is directly dependent on agriculture and livestock and this
makes agriculture the mainstay of the socio-economic livelihood of the nation. Nevertheless,
the ancestral livelihood of Zimbabwe has been tempered with by climate change and social
fabrics are no longer feasible. Mark and Winniefridah in Mulinge and Getu (2013) observed
that the Southern Africa is experiencing noticeably less precipitation, and drought has
become a serious threat in the region. The reduction of rainfall is significant in the Zambezi
Basin in countries like Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Consequently the rural people’s livelihoods which relied
mostly on rain fed agriculture have since been hit the hardest by the prevailing climate
change, resulting in high levels of food insecurity and poverty. This first chapter will
however provide the background of the study, statement of the problem statement of purpose,
objectives and questions of the study,hypothesis, significance, assumptions, deliminations of
the study and will lastly define the key terms in the study.

Background of the study

Climate change has become a major threat to sustainable development due to its adverse
impact on environemnet and this had an impact on food security, human health and economic
activities. Climate change is the change of weather pattens which is strongly linked directly
of indereclty tp human activity which alters the makeup of the global atmosphere over a
considerable time period, The united Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).

The world is experiencing changes in weather patterns due to the effects of climate change.
Madzvamuse (2010) notes that, Africa in part is already under pressure from climate change
stresses and is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The impacts of climate
change in Africa are alreafdy being felt in Zimbabwe as the country has been the hardest hit.

Karoi is situated in the Hurungwe District in the north-eastern Zimbabwe. The town straddles
the main Harare to Chirundu road and is about 204km from the city of Harare. The
occupation of commercial farms in Karoi the area between the 1946 and 1952 led to the
establishment of Karoi Town Council ,initially as a service centre to act as a fixed focal for
distribution of farm inputs and as a collection centre for agricultural produce. Responding to
the demands for increasing agricultural activities in the surrounding, Karoi grew steadily and
was upgraded into a town council status in1991.

The main types of farming activities are crop production, livestock husbandry and mixed
farming. Mixed farming is the dominant type of farming system and includes both crop
production and animal husbandry (Mulinge and Getu, 2013). The main type of farm input is
labour and most of the farm labour comes from family members. Maize and tobacco are the
major crops within the region. In addition to tobacco profits providing much needed export
earnings for the exchequer, the ability to sell a profitable crop has transformed the lives and
livelihoods of many farmers in the tobacco growing areas. This made tobacco to become a
desired cash crop for most farmers as a way to alleviate themselves from poverty stricken
lives.

Most farmer have opted for tobacco farming instead of maize, while before maize used to be
the main crop and food has been secured. Currently, Most of this tobacco is flue-cured on
farm. Across the farm landscapes in the region and beyond. There are literally hundreds of
tobacco barns, all erected in the past few years. These are where tobacco is dried and cured
ready for market. The farmers have learned the process quickly and reports suggest that
quality is high and increasing. However the technologies used are basic and inefficient, and
rely primarily on wood fuel.

Statement of the problem

Proctor (2014) postulates that agricultural sustainability has become a cause of concern
globally over the past two decades. Perennial challenges relating to sustainable agricultural
practice have brought about contestation of the role and relevance of agricultural in poverty
alleviation and rural development in the third world countries. This has led to innovative
alternative forms of livelihoods relegating agriculture to the periphery of rural development.
Climate change has been of late linked with inter seasonal rainfall variability and that has
been affecting the production among the rural communities in Karoi, leading to food
insecurity. Most of these communities rely more on rain fed agriculture as their main source
of livelihood and this usually result in food insecurity when climate extremes strike. Climate
change has a negative impact on development and there is need for urgent climate action if
any considerable development is to take place in the region. The responded action will lessen
the burden on women and children as they walk long distance to fetch water, will reduce
livestock deaths and secure livelihoods. They are various adaptation strategies that have been
put in place from the vast of literature, therefore it will be the aim of the researcher to
vulnerability of household food security and their adaptions in Karoi rural communities.

Statement of purpose

The researcher is expected to provide an assessment in climate change food security and
vulnerability in a rural community household. The present study aims to assess the
vulnerabilities of communities to food security due to climate change. The research will
identify the causes and impacts of climate change which will unlock solutions to the
problems of income and food insecurity at global, national and at household level. The
research will also shed light on the adaptation strategies that societies adopt in response to
climate change effects. The coping mechanisms adopted by the community will equip,
sustain livelihoods and increase knowledge and skills in their adaptation methods. The
adaptation strategies will on the other hand reduce problems faced by the communities in
food insecurity and food shortage Hence this will improve service delivery to the general
public which may result in economic growth, productivity, profitability and efficiency. The
study also will be of paramount importance to the government and NGOs with alterations and
alternative solutions that will easy the climate change effects on the selected rural
communities.

Objectives of the study

Specific objectives of this study are as follows:

To examine the vulnerabilities of karoi rural communities to climate change;

To evaluate the experiences and adaptation mechanisms to climate change among rural
farmers;

To assess the communities response to food insecurity made by climate change in rural
communities in karoi
Research questions

Research of this study are as follows:

How vulnerable are karoi rural communities to climate change

Hoiw are rural communities families adapting to climate change

What are the impacts of climate change on household food security

Hypothesis

This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that climate change food security and
vulnerable rural communities. The research will identify the causes and impacts of climate
change which will unlock solutions to the problems of income and food insecurity at global,
national and at household level. The research will also shed light on the adaptation strategies
that societies adopt in response to climate change effects. The coping mechanisms adopted by
the community will equip, sustain livelihoods and increase knowledge and skills in their
adaptation methods. The adaptation strategies will on the other hand reduce problems faced
by the communities in food insecurity and food shortage Hence this will improve service
delivery to the general public which may result in economic growth, productivity,
profitability and efficiency.

Significance of the study

The study also will be of paramount importance to the government and NGOs with
alterations and alternative solutions that will easy the climate change effects on the selected
rural communities.

Assumption of the study

The researcher will be able to conduct the research without any disturbances

Delimination of the study

The research will conducted in Karoi rural communities in Hurungwe district. It will assess
the impacts which are tangible and are attributed to food insecurity in rural livelihoods; it will
therefore target both males and female who are able bodied, between 30-50 years old and
above. The study concentrated on these people because they are the very people who oversee
the households’ livelihoods according to Nagler and Naude (2014). Thus it is of great
significance to note that the research is time bound hence some of the findings may only be
applicable for a short season due to the radical changes which the climate is undergoing.

Definition of terms

Summary

Chapter two

Chapter Two

Review of related literature

Introduction

Climate change is now generally accepted to be a major global problem. With reference to
cases in research, questions that arise are, how vulnerable are Karoi rural communities to
climate change, how are the rural communities families adapting to climate change, what are
the impacts of climate change on household food security and what are the environmental
changes being brought by tobacco farming operations in Karoi rural communities?

To answer these questions this chapter reviews literature on climate change and food security
in a vulnerable community’s livelihoods. It will begin by theoretical and conceptual
framework spearheading the study and will also provide a conceptual discussion as
determined by the research questions.

Theoretical research

This research study aims to assess climate change and food security in a vulnerable
community’s livelihoods. The conceptual framework of the study will focus on these three
concepts, climate change, food security and livelihoods on community levels. Climate change
and food security are related because climate change can affect a community or a country’s
ability to feed its people. The study will focus on rural settlements around Karoi town. This
study will conceptualise on the crisis decision theory.

The Crisis Decision Theory will demonstrate how individuals, groups. Or communities
respond to situations after the disaster strikes. The theory provides a nexus between theories
of stress, coping and decision makin research in the fsce of crisis. According to Sweeny
(2008) the theory intergrates literatures on coping, health behavior and making, among other
into three (3) stages that describe the process of responding to negative events: (a) assessing
the severity of the negative events, (b) determining response options and (c) evaluating
response options. In this case the theory will provide a basis for understanding the impacts of
climate change in karoi rural communities, it will be a clear framework for analysing
adaptation strategies being adopted in response to the crisis.

Source:
Source: Sweeney (2008)

Stage one: assessing the severity of the negative event

The first stage in crisis decision theory is assessing the severity of the negative event. This is
the stage when people enquire more about the disasters they face. Sweeney (2008) states that
the perceived risk is also carried out concerning others who were in a similar situation,
severity of crisis plays a pivotal role in the response that communities choose. In other words
the information regarding other communities, individuals or groups in the same situation their
response related to their crisis will be also compared and taken into consideration.

The second stage: determine available response options

It is the second stage in crisis decision theory. In this stage people ask themselves how they
would respond to a disaster at hand. In support of this Sweeney (2008) claims that this stage
is when people device plans as to how they can solve the situation at hand. In other words
people assess their resources to determine their coping strategies. Therefore this stage is of
paramount importance in assessing the adaptation strategies in response to climate change in
Karoi rural communities.

The third stage: evaluating the response options available

As soon as people assess the severity of the event and generate response options, in this stage
the communities will weigh the pros and cons of each response option they have generated in
the previous stages. This makes this theory to provide a fundamental guideline to assess
climate change adaptation strategies in Karoi rural communities.

The conceptual framework

The sustainable livelihood framework

The main aim of this research will be to assess climate change adaptation strategies being
implemented in Karoi rural. Smith et al (1996) postulate that adaptation to climate change
includes all adjustments in behaviour or economic structure that reduce the vulnerability of
society to changes in the climate system. Adaptation is a response to potential environmental
changes that affect given entities and systems, (smit et al, 2000). Climate change adaptation
strategies are tools that will be implemented in responding to the impacts of changes in
climate. In order to measure the success of the adaptation strategies, sustainable livelihood
approach will be used. Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) to development will be used
in this research. The term SLA relates to a wide range of issues which will include most of
the broader debate about the relationship between poverty and environment, Scoones (1998).
The researcher will give much attention on the five (5) livelihood capitals. Chamber (1998)
notes that’s, the adoption of a livelihoods approach moving away from a top-down
engineering-focused approach towards a more holistic, household centred one is now widely
seen as critical to ensuring success in any future rural livelihoods that will be adopted in the
context of climate change . Krantz (2001) points outs that at the heart of the approach lies the
five different types of assets upon which people draw to build their livelihoods and these
elements go beyond the convectional definitions and approaches to poverty alleviation.

In the diagram below shows that the livelihood of a person, household or community is
consist of assets, transformed by activities or strategies into outcomes. Thennakoon (2004)
state that this internal relationship between assets, activities and outcomes is seem to be
circular. As a result of this circular, all of this taking place in the context of and influenced by
the external environment (vulnerability context and policies, institutions and processes).
Vulnerability measures the resilience against a shock or stress vulnerability is primarily a
function of household’s assets and insurance mechanism and of the characteristics (severity,
frequency) of shock. The diagram also shows that the actions of people, households and
communities themselves have on the external forces according to Ellis (2000).

The Sustainable Livelihood Approach Framework

Source: Ellis (2000)

Key:

P- Physical Capital (infrastructure)

H-Human Capital (skills and techniques)

F-Financial Capital (savings, loans)

N- Natural Capital (natural resources)

S- Social Capital (kinship, networking)

Understanding the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) Framework

There is no unified approach to applying the SLA concept. Chambers and Conway (1999) pin
pointed that depending on the agency; it can primarily be used as an analytical framework for
programming, planning and assessment or even as a programme in itself. There are three
basic features common to most approaches. The first one focuses on the livelihoods of the
poor while on the other hand the other focuses on the approach that rejects the standard
procedure of convectional approaches of taking an entry point a specific sector such as
agriculture, water and health. The SLA places great emphasis on involving people in both the
identification and the implementation of activities where appropriate ibid.

Physical Capital

Physical capital comprises the basic infrastructure and producer goods needed to support
livelihoods. Infrastructure consists of changes to the physical environment that help people to
meet their basic needs and to be more productive FAO (2010). Producer goods are the tools
and equipment that people use to function more productively. It should be noted that physical
capital can be expensive as it requires not only the initial capital investment but an ongoing
commitment of financial and human resources to meet the operation and maintenance costs
of the service of which the rural poor cannot afford to meet the standard. The emphasis is
therefore on providing a level of service that not only meets the immediate requirements of
users but is affordable in the long term.

Human Capital

Human capital is about knowledge and skills, thus it includes health, knowledge and skills,
labor capacity, and adaptability and is the basis of rural people’s livelihoods. The quantity
and quality of human capital directly determine the ability and scope of these rural
communities to control the other types of capital FAO (2010).

Financial Capital

FAO (2010) denotes that financial capital refer to the financial resources that people use to
achieve their livelihood objectives; the financial capital includes flows as well as stocks
obtained from both formal and informal channels and it can contribute to consumption as
well as production. Men and women who embark on off farm activities require financial
capital but they cannot access it due to the lack of collateral which is required by micro
finance institutions. The rural communities’ financial capital is further weakened by climate
change as agriculture was the backbone of these people’s economy ibid.

Natural Capital
Natural capital is about natural resources, mainly land and water. Many poor rural households
headed by women rely on the environment for key inputs in their production and
consumption activities. Water is perhaps the most important of these inputs FAO (2010). All
households require water for consumption and for the production of agricultural inputs which
sustain the households’ livelihood. Hence climate change has since caused the natural
resource (water) to be scarce leaving households vulnerable. On the other hand households
also depend on the quality of soils Farrington (2001). As people try to diversify to off farm
activities like mining, they destroy trees, in some areas they burn down forests leading to veld
fires which destroys flora and fauna which are very important for the natural ecosystem. Thus
this also affects the weather patterns and leads to climate change. Unsafe disposal of mining
chemical also play a role in the land degradation further impacting on the natural capital
Solesbury (2003).

Social Capital

Social capital is about solidarity and community action; in the context of the sustainable
livelihoods framework it is taken to mean the social resources upon which people draw in
pursuit of their livelihood objectives. These are developed through networks and
connectedness, relationships of trust, reciprocity and membership of more formalised group’s
exchange FAO (2010). The social capital of the rural communities is affected mostly by
migration. In most of the rural areas most able bodied and healthy young people are the ones
who decide to migrate after facing economic difficulties.

Rural community vulnerability to climate change

Climate change has major impacts on rural areas. It affects all components of human livelihood and
food security mainly through its impact on the ecosystem. Climate change was discussed at the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2007, the labelling of climate change as a security threat has
proliferated since then. Thus, a growing body of literature champions this perspective and there is
great evidence that in Zimbabwe livelihood diversification is at hand since agricultural activities are
no longer feasible, Kuiper (2014). Rural communities are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change because they depend much on agriculture and natural resources that are highly sensitive to
climate variability.

Agricultural dependency

Most of the world’s population lives in rural areas. Morton (2014) notes that approximately 3.3 billion
people lives in rural areas and 90% of those people live in developing countries. Rural areas in most
less developed countries depends on agriculture and natural resources. Poorer communities also have
limited means to cope with the losses and damage inflicted by natural disasters. Lack of insurance,
savings or credit make it almost impossible to replace or compensate for the numerous things lost or
destroyed, including houses, livestock, food reserves, household items and tools this in turn further
affects the rural development. Ncube C. (2010) states that drought has exacerbated an already
difficult situation and has made it harder for farmers in dry areas to raise their productivity. Food
insecurity continues to worsen rural populations. Zimbabwe has become a net importer of food
products and many millions of people are now dependent on food aid. Yet the strained relationship
between Zimbabwe and large parts of the international community has also restricted donor
engage.

High prevalence poverty

Poverty has been a concern in societies since before the beginning of recorded history. Poverty and
hunger has remained incompatible in Africa. Despite its abundant natural resources, Africa is the
poorest continent in the world, where every third African does not have enough food. The resources
were supposed to liberate the continent from the disasters it face which include climate change. Both
the 1995 Poverty Assessment Study Survey and the Central Statistical Office (CSO) Poverty in
Zimbabwe, 1998 study noted that 57 percent of farm workers are poor. However some researchers
argue that this is an under estimation of poverty in the commercial farming sector. A GTZ study of
poverty in 1999 notes that other factors need to be taken into account when interpreting poverty data
according to the type of land use.

HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS epidemic is having an immense impact on the economies of hard hit countries,
attacking not only individuals, families and firms but also significantly slowing economic growth and
worsening poverty. It has been assessed that HIV and AIDS is undermining the livelihoods and raises
vulnerability for the future collapse of livelihoods, yet little attention has been paid to the role of that
social relatives and livelihood strategies can play in bringing about risky social inter action that raises
the chance of contracting HIV(Masanjala; 2006). Whiteside (2002) argued that HIV and AIDS is a
major treat to development, economic growth and poverty alliviatio in much of Africa. Poverty
increases the spread of HIV and AIDS, HIV and AIDS increase poverty.

Neglected by policy makers

Chambers R. (1983) postulated that rural development is a strategy to enable a specific type of people
who are poor to gain for themselves more of their day to day wants and needs. The rural populace of
Zimbabwe is frequently undermined and subsequently not given adequate attention unlike those in the
urban areas. Efforts to make any rural developments is often hampered by poor administration and
other contributing forces like lack of political regard for the rural people, poor administration of
poverty administration strategies, project bias, project failure, poor infrastructure, poor health
facilities, lack of funding and resources, spatial bias, sustainable rural livelihoods, procedures of
bureaucratic nature, corruption and poor rural development policies.

Ellis and Biggs (2001) states that rural policies have not evolved in such a neat, linear and schematic
manner and that there are leads and lags in the transmission of new ideas across space and time. In
Zimbabwe for instance rural development has not been possible because of several factors mainly
because the poor are not usually involved in the development programmes, policies and projects
meant to alleviate poverty.

Poor rural administration

Child (1996) explains that 14/2007 in Zimbabwe does not specifically mention the empowerment of
disadvantaged communities; rather it talks of empowerment of individuals. Put differently, the Act is
more concerned about individual development rather than community development. There is a need
for a paradigm shift there; the empowerment policy must address community development issues.

Matunhu (2011) elaborates that it is this dual legal and political economic system that has
unfortunately informed most government policies concerning rural development, which has tended
to be more top down and undemocratic in approach. Matunhu (2011) postulates that from the
initial post-Independence policies of attempting to urbanise the rural areas by establishing growth
points, through to the setting up of largely ineffective Rural District Councils, there has been no
coherent intention to ensure frameworks that urgently deal with rural poverty and
disempowerment. This is also the attitude that has informed our mineral wealth and extraction
policies in areas such as Chiadzwa where diamonds have been more of a curse than a blessing for
the rural residents of that particular area. The nature of their displacement and inadequate
compensation is more reflective of colonial era policies where rural folk are treated more as subjects
than citizens.

The rural communities’ families adapting to climate change

Zimbabwe is one of the countries that has been experiencing changes in rainfall patterns.
Sometimes it has gone through drought and this has resulted food insecurity in especially in
communal farmers affecting the households. The government of Zimbabwe has taken part in
assisting the farmers through giving support to conservation farming, agroforestry and
livestock farming working together with Non-Governmental-Organisations (NGOs). The
Government have responded in with alleviating strategies that hold back household food
insecurity faced by the communal farmers. In this regard subsidization has been re-introduced
to boost the crop productivity nationwide in the name of command.

Migration

Migration is the movement of people from one region to another and over the past decades
there has been a significant increase of increase in rural outmigration to urban areas and to
other countries, with women joining the flow in ever-greater numbers. Brown (2008) defines
migration as the movement of people from one place to another either on temporary or
permanent bases within the country and or abroad. The basic form of migration
demographically is either in- or out-ward migration, thus this does not only change the
population size but the structure of in both the sending and receiving areas Schmid (2006).
Zimbabwe faces a number of considerable migration challenges in the Matebeland South
region and this is attributed to the changing climate. The vast majority of emigrates to
neighbouring countries and abroad; thus emigration patterns have been complex, marked by
an increase in informal cross border movement, migration of both the highly skilled
nationalist and survival migration of the poor and impoverished Tevera and Crush (2003).
Migration is associated with considerable opportunities that may benefits the Zimbabwean
society in general as well as migrants and their families. With regard to pull factors Brown
(2008) noted that Zimbabwe; specifically Matebeleland South has over the post-2000; she has
witnessed an increased number of day trippers mainly to South Africa and Bostwana. Thus
there is no doubt on what so ever grounds that the socio-economic situation is the major
factor that is perpetuating emigration of highly skilled and low-skilled city-dwellers in the
country. In the same vein it has been argued by Schmid (2006) that migration of both the
highly skilled and unskilled lobar force has been happening over the past decades in
Zimbabwe and this can be attributed to the drain brain factor.
Zimbabwe faces a considerable number of migration challenges, including a major brain
drain phenomenon and significant irregular emigration flows. In line with these challenges,
the migration of Zimbabwean nationalist also includes considerable opportunities that may
bring benefits to the Zimbabwean migrants and their families as well as society as a whole.
On the contrary, Brown (2008) postulates that the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) at the
moment does not have the capacity to manage the migration issues so as to mitigate their
negative aspects, and enhance their positive impact has been constrained by the lack of a
comprehensive and coherent legal, institutional and policy framework for implementing
migration practices in an integrated manner. Climate change is increasing fragility of local
surroundings; adding a burden on the available local resources acting as a push toward
migration. Further, the recurrence of environmental disasters wears down a households’
ability to cope and adapt to future environmental pressures. Migration in such cases has
become a last survival strategy Baruah and Cholewinski (2014).
Small Scale Mining
Hilson and McQuilken (2014), postulate that Africa has over 30 percent of the world’s global
mineral reserves. The continent produces over 60 different metals and minerals and has huge
potential for exploration and production. There is a considerable history of mining across
Africa and an estimated of nine (9) million people are directly engaged in Small Scale
Mining (SSM) activities as a livelihood across 45 countries of the continent ibid. Africa’s
enormous mining potential, along with improvements in political systems, and changes in
fiscal and regulatory environments has led to a rise in investments over the years. Small Scale
Mining has been viewed as a finite activity exploiting a non-renewable resource legally or
illegally according to Hinton and Hollestelle (2012). In Zimbabwe the rural community
people have since embarked on SSM as an alternative to the sustenance of their livelihood,
SSM is highly being practised in Mberengwa, Zvishavane, and Gwanda ibid. It has been
noted that mining can contribute to poverty reduction especially now that the climate has
undergone radical changes which are not in favour of agricultural activities popularly known
as the rural livelihood. SSM contributes in a variety of ways; most linkages work directly by
generating income and creating opportunities for growth for lateral or downstream
businesses. There are also indirect linkages through investments, which, in turn, enable better
social services and catalyze improvements in physical infrastructure although this can only be
visible if SSM is practised legally Hilson and McQuilken (2014).
Case study of Zimbabwe
Climate change was discussed at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2007, the
labelling of climate change as a security threat has proliferated since then. Thus, a growing
body of literature champions this perspective and there is great evidence that in Zimbabwe
livelihood diversification is at hand since agricultural activities are no longer feasible Kuiper
(2014). In Mbererngwa, a majority of rural residents have intensified activities such as
mining and migration as alternative means of livelihood in mitigating the impacts of climate
change. With reference to migration it is clear that out-migration is directly linked to the
negative impacts of climate change. Therefore, migration is not just a physical escape but
becomes a metaphor of escaping mentally, emotionally and spiritually out of the poverty trap
Jonathan Crush et al (2015). This is due to the fact that through migration the sending family
is therefore able to adjust and meet day to day means through remittances.
Mabhena (2010) revealed that SSM in Mberengwa has since become a means of living due to
climate change impacts. Small scale farmers have since shifted their focus of income
generation because of the concurrent droughts, lack of agricultural resources and alternative
sources of livelihood. From the given literature of off farm activities taking place in
Mberengwa there is great evidence that livelihood diversification is an active social process
of individual or household diversification, involving the maintenance and continuous
adaptation of a highly diverse portfolio of activities over time in order to secure survival and
improve standards of living Crush et al (2015) .
Food aid
Various intervention strategies have been adopted to cope with food insecurity. There are
some organisations that have been involved in assisting especially the Developing countries
with the aim to assist in food security. Some organisations have supplied food aid as well
farming inputs to assist in productive farming practices. CIDA (2008) aimed at supporting
national and regional strategies and their implementation at all levels as well as strengthening
of an enabling environment for sustainable rural development. CIDA also provides food aid
in case of emergency so as to help affected people. This food aid is a strategy to alleviate
food insecurity. In Zimbabwe CARE assisted in garden projects that has helped the rural
people to cope at house hold level….states that, “the introduction of community gardens in
Mberengwa by CARE was to reduce poverty. The garden projects were supposed to offer
food security among the households but the real poor are still in shocks and stress. The
goal of sustainable rural livelihoods remained elusive due to inherent factors challenging
community gardens as a rural livelihood strategy.” Most NGOs operate in rural areas to assist
in farming ADB (2012) postulates that, “The most effective approach in tackling both
poverty and food insecurity is through a rural-based growth strategy. In Asia, the Green
Revolution provided a dual-track route for successful poverty reduction and food security by
directly increasing farmer incomes and lowering food prices.”
The government plays a crucial role when it comes to food security coping strategies.
Policies should be favourable to food sustainability so that even in times of food crisis, food
will always be available. ADB (2012) states that, “Governments could consider establishing a
“hunger alleviation fund,” in which they set aside a reasonable amount—say, 1% of GDP—
as buffer in times of food crisis. Such a fund would provide a safety net for the poor and
those most vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition, and starvation.” Farmers can engage
themselves in groups that can assist them in sharing ideas on how to farm. ADB (2012) also
states that Safety nets help farmers to cope with weather hazards hence better farming
strategies are implemented quickly.

Agriculture has been allocated a share in budgets of some countries. ICARDA (2011) states
that, “The many benefits of agriculture for farmers, consumers, and the rural and national
economy are what have fuelled its adoption in middle and high-income countries.” In some
countries it has been reported that the government has cheeped in through financial allocation
in its budget. This has taken place in Iraq as ICARDA (2011) states that the Ministry Assisted
farmers who seek to modify their seeds to suit zero tillage by allocating a specific budget.
Focused on training and extension courses to develop the capacity of farmers and extension
agents and accelerates the adoption of other farming approaches.”

Extension farming programmes offered by workers from Agritex as well as AREX help
farmers to follow correct farming methods. They educate farmers and help them with
awareness programmes to cope in times of challenging weather conditions. International
Federation of Red Cross (2012) states that in Bindura the Agitex worked with ZRCS
(Zimbabwe Red Cross Society) in supporting the communal farmers with training in
improved farming. Improved farming has helped to bring about innovation and technology in
farming system.

Farmers unions have been involved through working together with extension workers to
practise conservation farming. Zambia also practices conservation farming and the
Commercial Farmers Union of Zambia have been greatly involved in conservation farming
practices. Haggblade and Tembo (2003) states that, “ Inspired by the notion of six to eight ten
maize yields under hand-hoe cultivation the ZNFU established a Conservation Farming Unit
(CFU) in late 1995 to adapt hand hoe basin system to Zambian conditions and to actively
promote it among small holders.” The establishment of CFU has led to provision of extension
programmes the assist the farmers in adapting to conservation farming.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems is also a strategy used to cope with food security. IKS has
played a crucial role as an intervention strategy to cope with food insecurity. Various farming
methods used long back were very and sustainable hence they are still practised today going
hand in hand with conventional farming methods….states that, “However, incorporating
indigenous knowledge into climate change concerns should not be done at the expense of
modern/western scientific knowledge. Indigenous knowledge should complement rather than
compete with global knowledge systems.”

Malawi also practises conservation farming that is done using a stick to create a hole so that
seeds are planted. This stick method is done on the ridges, Ngwira et al (2012) states that,
“Farmers in Malawi generally practice CA with the dibble stick, a pointed wooden stick,
which aims at disturbing the soil as little as possible by only creating a planting hole where
seeds are placed.” This method is reported to have been used a long time ago in Malawi so it
has been easily adopted to.
Conservation farming plays a crucial role when it comes to maintaining food security since it
enables crops to grow in unfavourable weather conditions. Conservation farming has
strategies that help to keep the yields and the soils in good condition. Conservation farming
has been introduced to solve farming problems that have been as a result of conventional
farming practices. Nhondo (2013) states that, “Conventional agricultural practices have
resulted in the degradation of land resources and inefficient resource uses that threaten the
long term sustainability of agricultural production systems…The techniques of conservation
agriculture (CA) are touted as a solution to this problem, for both smallholder farmers and
large-scale broad acre agriculture. Central to this approach are minimal soil disturbance,
ground cover retention and diverse crop rotation.” To some extent governments have come
up with some policies that help to curb food insecurity in their countries. Climate Change
Agriculture and Food Security (2014:1) states that,“ A successful example of this is in
Ethiopia where policies supporting better seed access, training and markets have led farmers
to dramatically increase chickpea cultivation alongside.” Most governments have made some
policies to avert food insecurity in their countries.
The impacts of climate change on household food security

Food insecurity has been caused as a result of several factors that are climatic related. Some
weather conditions are not conducive to crops hence these crops die as a result of
unfavourable conditions. Some causes insecurity are manmade and some are economical.
Climate change has caused some adjustments in farming yields. Various changes in weather
patterns lead to food insecurity change in nutritional value of food content due inadequate
rainfall or too much water. Burk and Lobell (2010) states that, “Climate change could directly
affect micronutrient consumption in three main ways: by changing the yields of important
crop sources of micronutrients, by altering the nutritional content of a specific crop, or by
influencing decisions to grow crops of different nutritional value.” Climate change also has
an effect on both people and livestock due to their food START (2012) postulates that,
“Climate change impacts the availability, stability, access, and utilization of human food
supplies, the four key dimensions of food security. Agricultural systems in the Eastern Cape
Province are an integral part of rural livelihoods and constitute the platform for food security
through crop and livestock production. These systems are severely impacted by variability in
climatic regime, such as prolonged drought and then flooding.” Variation in food production
is then witnessed by both human beings and animals.

Climate change also has an effect on crop yields. Crop yields tend to be reduced due to
unfavourable weather conditions such as little to too much water or drought which causes too
hit. FAO (2012) states that, “Considering that climate is an important factor for agricultural
productivity, any increasing temperatures and decrease in water availability will tend to
decrease potential yields for most crops.” Mali is said to have been affected mostly by
climate change to high uncertainty of climate projections. Climate change also affects the
environments hence causing shifts in land use. The shifts are observed in the demand for fire
wood as well as pastures for grazing land as a result causing deforestation. FAO (2008) states
that, “Major forms of land use are forestry, pasture and agricultural land. Drivers for these
land use changes are population growth that increases the demand of agricultural land, mainly
at the expense of forest area and desertification which, in the Sahel region, is a particularly
relevant problem.” More demand for land causes food insecurity due to deforestation that
eventually disturb the water cycle as well as increased heat on land.

A shift in land use is another attribute of climate change. Some farming practices are changed
and people tend to adhere to ploughing of major crops that are mainly for majority
consumption FAO (2010) Based on the anticipated changes in land use, we also derive
changes in cropping patterns. The cropping pattern represents the relative share of land used
for one of the major crops (cotton, rice, maize, sorghum, millet and other crops). Other crops
are usually left out due to inadequate land hence there is an element of food insecurity.

Another factor leading to food insecurity is the issue of the prices of food. If prices of food
goes up this lead to unavailability of food due to inadequate money. FAO in Asian
Development Bank (2012) define food security as, “the situation when all people, at all times,
have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” From this definition it
can be derived that when people are not economically stable they cannot have access to food
needed. ADB (2012) states that, “On the issue of access, economic barriers to food are a
major concern among poor households. Although most countries uphold the right to adequate
food as a basic human right, many poor households are unable to afford their minimum daily
food requirements.” Poverty is also linked with economic challenges hence leading to food
insecurity.

Economic challenges can also be perceived in situations where there is poor infrastructure
like poor road networks that can be as a result cause difficulties for people in marginalised
areas to have access to food from market WFP (2013) states that, “Nepal is a predominantly
mountainous country with poor transport, communication and power infrastructure.
Agriculture, the mainstay of its economy, is hindered by relatively low productivity as
compared with other countries in the region, and by a limited land resource base. Lack of
roads, inadequate capital, insufficient access to output and input markets and poor access to
affordable credit hinder the adoption of modern and productive farming technologies.” The
2007 to 2008 food crisis as stated by ADB (2012) was caused by drought in Australia,
cyclone in Myanmar and flooding in India. Food became expensive. The food production and
delivery got expensive too. Poor farming methods which are also an attribute of poor
economy causes hunger and low farming outputs. In the case of Pakistan high cost prises on
fertilizers also contributed to poor yields. Various farming methods are applied in order for a
farmer to produce good farming yields but it becomes a challenge if these methods are not
adequately applied.
Conflict is another factor that leads to food insecurity since all the farming activities get
disturbed. People in war tone countries tend to be food insecure because of the instability and
displacement of people. Some governments even channel their funding towards buying
weapons than buying food for its people hence this make them food insecure. Jenkins and
Scanlan in Brinkman and Cullen (2011) assert that, “Conflict typically brings increased
military spending and the domestic use of military force, both of which have contributed to
food security and child hunger.” Most fragile states also go through challenges when it
comes to their road networks and disturbances of their markets hence food is unable to reach
those in remote areas hence Brinkman and Cullen (2011) postulates that, “Fragile and conflict
affected states often suffer from a lack of infrastructure, in particular passable roads, markets
with few buying or selling offers and a lack of entrepreneurs, leading to less competitive
markets and higher transportation costs.”

Chapter summary

The literature review chapter looked at different aspects that revolve on how the rural people
fiddle with and espouse various activities as a form of coping mechanism in the radical
changing climate. The coping mechanisms are used to sustain their households. Literature on
five household capitals from the proposed frame work Sustainable Livelihood Approach
(SLA) was assessed in relation to off farm activities in rural livelihoods in the context of
climate change.