Despite significant growth in information and communications, construction, manufacturing and other services, agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy, contributing around one-third to the national GDP. It supports the livelihoods of 75 percent of the population and is likely to remain a key growth sector, particularly in rural Tanzania.
The project (carried out under funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, ACIAR and in cooperation with the University of Queensland, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, and other international organisations) demonstrated how a complex web of factors relating to resource endowments, organising abilities and connectivity of the farming units influence the ability to factor in the knowledge, technologies and processes needed to become climate-smart. Primarily, the interactions between nature and society shape the underlying factors that contribute to vulnerability as well as adaptation strategies to mitigate those vulnerabilities.
Overall the project offered an opportunity to develop local capacity and emphasise to national, regional and local planners and policy makers, the importance of understanding the local context for successful policy planning and implementation. Smart interventions that take note of the local context and the evolutionary path of current farming systems could better address limitations in the current context that limits farmers’ capacity for developing their livelihoods. Refer Tanzania Investment Planning for Climate Smart Agriculture and http://auricht.com/tanzfs/index.html