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Abbreviations
CIS
Climate information service
FGD
Focus group discussion
GDP
Gross domestic product
IITA
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IUFRO
International Union of Forest Research Organizations
KRC
Kilombero River Catchment
NGO’s
Non-governmental organizations
SAGCOT
Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania
SPSS
Statistical Package for Social Sciences
TBC
Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation
TMA
Tanzania Meteorological Agency
UMFULA Uncertainty Reduction in Models for Understanding Development
Applications (UMFULA means “river” in Zulu)
URT
United Republic of Tanzania
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the basis of the economy in Africa and is among the major economic
activities that support more than 75% of the world population (AGRA 2017; Kiers
et al. 2008). Recently, climate variability and change is emerging as a major threat
to agricultural development in Africa, constituting one of the biggest challenges of
the twenty-first century, and it is expected to continue throughout the century and
beyond if it is not mitigated effectively (Badar and Farha 2012).
Increasing temperatures, and other changes that lead to either droughts or floods,
are already affecting many aspects of natural resources and human societies, particularly livelihoods (Parry et al. 2004). According to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC 2018), 1.5–2.0 °C of global warming is expected by 2100,
accompanied by variations in rainfall. The increasingly unpredictable and unreliable
nature of weather systems on the continent has placed an extra burden on food security and rural livelihoods (IPCC 2018). While agriculture is projected to be affected
by the impacts of climate variability and change, it is expected to produce about 50%
more to feed approximately 9 billion people in 2050 (World Bank 2015). It has been
established that Africa has approximately 33 million smallholder farms, representing
80% of all farms in the region. In Africa, climate variability and change is likely to
exacerbate existing problems for farmers and create new risks if it is not mitigated
(IITA 2006). While the climate information service (CIS) addresses the timely provision of tailored, climate-related information that can be used to reduce losses and
enhance profits, knowledge is still scarce regarding the identification of suitable
approaches to effectively engage people with its use. In most cases where CIS has
E. P. Ruth et al.
Abbreviations
CIS
Climate information service
FGD
Focus group discussion
GDP
Gross domestic product
IITA
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IUFRO
International Union of Forest Research Organizations
KRC
Kilombero River Catchment
NGO’s
Non-governmental organizations
SAGCOT
Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania
SPSS
Statistical Package for Social Sciences
TBC
Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation
TMA
Tanzania Meteorological Agency
UMFULA Uncertainty Reduction in Models for Understanding Development
Applications (UMFULA means “river” in Zulu)
URT
United Republic of Tanzania
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the basis of the economy in Africa and is among the major economic
activities that support more than 75% of the world population (AGRA 2017; Kiers
et al. 2008). Recently, climate variability and change is emerging as a major threat
to agricultural development in Africa, constituting one of the biggest challenges of
the twenty-first century, and it is expected to continue throughout the century and
beyond if it is not mitigated effectively (Badar and Farha 2012).
Increasing temperatures, and other changes that lead to either droughts or floods,
are already affecting many aspects of natural resources and human societies, particularly livelihoods (Parry et al. 2004). According to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC 2018), 1.5–2.0 °C of global warming is expected by 2100,
accompanied by variations in rainfall. The increasingly unpredictable and unreliable
nature of weather systems on the continent has placed an extra burden on food security and rural livelihoods (IPCC 2018). While agriculture is projected to be affected
by the impacts of climate variability and change, it is expected to produce about 50%
more to feed approximately 9 billion people in 2050 (World Bank 2015). It has been
established that Africa has approximately 33 million smallholder farms, representing
80% of all farms in the region. In Africa, climate variability and change is likely to
exacerbate existing problems for farmers and create new risks if it is not mitigated
(IITA 2006). While the climate information service (CIS) addresses the timely provision of tailored, climate-related information that can be used to reduce losses and
enhance profits, knowledge is still scarce regarding the identification of suitable
approaches to effectively engage people with its use. In most cases where CIS has
E. P. Ruth et al.