Abstract:
The Zimbabwe National Climate Change Response Strategy provides the most comprehensive statements of the Government’s climate change adaptation strategies by
various sectors because Zimbabwe still lacks a stand-alone policy. Although the strategy has
recently been launched, rural agrarian communities have always been interacting with various
policies that relate to their welfare in the scenarios of climate uncertainties and the related
livelihood sensitivities. This paper interrogates the smallholder farmer experiences of varied
climate change adaptation policies and examines the institutional arrangements for different
adaptation strategies in the semi-arid area of Zimbabwe.
The study adopted an explanatory design and employed a questionnaire survey, focus group
discussions and key informant interviews. 300 households were randomly selected from 3
purposefully selected wards to elicit data on community experiences of climate change
adaptation strategies that were then traced to a related policy, policy implementer up to the
policy makers’ level. 15 key informants were purposively selected to provide information on
policy transmission channels and their implementation at community levels. Questionnaire
data was analysed using Statistical package for social scientists, and was supported by
information derived from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Analysis
and discussion was based on generated themes.
It emerged that households and communities have developed strategies to adapt to climate
change and these have become local level adaptation policies that are based on their own
cultural values and norms. Even though the farmers were not readily aware of government
policies, it emerged that state-centred decision making processes in policy formulation
revealed a manner that excluded the society as a variable of any significance in the existing
policies on climate change adaptation at national, community and household levels. However
the government through different pieces of legislation and policies have included the issue of
climate change adaptation. As such there is need to create a special unit in the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Climate to coordinate government departments working on weather
and climate issues. The findings indicate the need to integrate the household and community
based approaches of adaptation into the grand adaptation policies of the government. It was
also recommended that society-centred policy arrangements should be integrated into state
centred policy making processes
