Understanding adaptation to climate variabilityin smallholder farming systems in eastern Zimbabwe:a sociological perspective

The literature on climate change in Zimbabwe continues to grow, butliterature specifically focusing on how people in rural communities are responding toit is still comparatively limited. Only a few scholars have sought to offer a reasonablydetailed account of farmers’concerns and adaptation from localised, qualitative casestudies based on farmers’narratives. As such, this article is empirically based, usingmainly qualitative data from a broader research on understanding climate variabilityand livelihood adaptation conducted in Mutoko District in rural Zimbabwe. In doing so,the aim is not only to contribute empirical data to existing knowledge but also moreimportantly to theorise adaptation sociologically. The main argument is that farmers arereflexively engaged in various adaptive strategies predominantly at the household levelnot only to adapt to increasing climatic variability but also to simultaneously navigate adifficult socio-economic landscape. The adaptive strategies are underpinned by diversestructures, processes and conditions that are enabling and constraining. Hence adapta-tion is unfolding as a complex and reflexive process under specific socio-spatialconditions.