AUTHOR=Mdemu Makarius V. 

TITLE=Community's Vulnerability to Drought-Driven Water Scarcity and Food Insecurity in Central and Northern Semi-arid Areas of Tanzania

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Climate

VOLUME=Volume 3 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.3389/fclim.2021.737655

DOI=10.3389/fclim.2021.737655

ISSN=2624-9553

ABSTRACT=Droughts is one of the most serious threats to water availability, food security and local livelihoods in the semi-arid areas of Tanzania. This paper adapted the participatory vulnerability assessment tools (cause effects, social mapping-resource mapping-social services-mobility-seasonality) to analyse effects of prolonged droughts on semi-arid farming system, community's vulnerability to drought effects and the adopted coping strategies in six villages of Chamwino and Mwanga Districts. Crop failure, loss of pasture and drying of water sources were the common and major negative effects of the droughts. Their consequences included food shortage and insecurity, water scarcity and loss of livestock. The vulnerability to these effects was found to be driven by household’s social conditions, poor resource ownership and type of income sources. Those with good social conditions, relatively resourceful and deriving incomes from crop-livestock integration or non-agriculture were less vulnerable and better placed to cope with the effects of droughts. Investments that build household’s productive resource base and improves access to domestic and livestock water will contribute to long term adaptive and drought resilient systems in semi-arid areas of Tanzania.