Main Article Content
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of climate change adaptation strategies on smallholder farmers’ maize production in Tanzania, using data from the 2019/20 National Sample Census of Agriculture (NSCA) by the National Bureau of Statistics. A multiple linear regression model was employed to assess how demographic, socio-economic, institutional, and adaptation-related factors influence maize output. The findings revealed that land size (β = 0.009, p = 0.069) and membership in farmers’ organizations (β = 0.747, p = 0.086) were positively and significantly associated with maize production, highlighting the importance of land access and collective action in enhancing productivity. Among adaptation strategies, contour farming (β = 0.370, p = 0.008), planting of legumes (β = 0.427, p = 0.002), intensive use of organic fertilizer (β = 0.252, p = 0.078), and fallowing (β = 0.484, p = 0.001) all had statistically significant and positive effects on maize yield. These results indicate that sustainable land management and soil fertility improvement practices substantially enhance maize productivity under climate stress. Specifically, contour farming and fallowing emerged as the most impactful adaptation measures, reinforcing the value of traditional and indigenous practices in modern resilience frameworks. The study concludes that integrating both ecological and institutional dimensions such as secure land tenure, farmer organization strengthening, and promotion of organic soil management is vital for sustainable adaptation. Policy implications emphasize the alignment of these findings with Tanzania’s National Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme (NCSAP) and Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP II) to promote adaptive, inclusive, and productivity-enhancing farming systems.