Households living in rural areas of developing countries rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods and, as such, are highly dependent on climatic conditions. The study is located in Gwanda a dry southern region of Zimbabwe. This study unearths and assesses the livelihood resilience strategies households employ to fight food insecurity in the face of harsh climatic conditions. Thus enhances understanding on how households in the area manage drought and also assist in guiding targeted interventions on areas in similar contexts. The researcher adopted a mixed methods approach were Qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques were used. Data were collected using questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observations. Probability random sampling was used to select 284 respondents. The study revealed that increased frequency and periodicity of drought has created a crisis of food insecurity. To fight this, households engage in several on-farm strategies. These strategies are effective and efficient in reducing households’ vulnerability to food insecurity. Challenges such as the increased frequency and periodicity of drought, environmental degradation, water scarcity, inadequate knowledge and skills and shortage of financial capital reduce the effectiveness of the strategies employed.

This article is based on a distinctive study that seeks to analyse the nascent role of teenagers’ activism and protests for climate change action. With the increasing realisation of children's rights to participation, the past few years have marked the rise of the new dispensation of climate activism and protests in which teenagers have occupied the centre stage. We pay specific reference to Greta Thunberg, a Swedish child climate activist, in as much as she can set a framework upon which Africa can draw parallels, lessons and insights for climate activism and protests. Even though the context may be different, the paper attempts to inform vibrant climate action through activism by children and ultimately climate policies, laws and management for environmental sustainability in Africa. We engaged document review and thematic approaches, and it emerged that children climate activism and protests in Africa are not as vibrant as they should be given the prevalence of climate inaction across the continent. Therefore, there is much to learn from Thunberg by pushing national governments and regional organisations to increase the decision-making space of children in the fight against climate change.

The study explores centralized contract farming sustainability among tobacco smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. Despite studies on centralized contract farming to date, little has been theorized with regard to its sustainability. Using mixed-method research, questionnaires, key informant interviews, document review and focus group discussions were employed in gathering data from farmers, Extension Officers and field officers of the contracting firms. Using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and thematic analysis findings revealed that centralized contract tobacco farming is unsustainable. Institutional contract arrangements are manipulative and are unwelcome to farmers. Economically, contracting firms find it viable as they obtain more profit at the expense of smallholder farmers. Although farmers are assured of inputs, extension service and market for the product, the contract terms are characterized by transaction cost, uncertainty and information asymmetry. Moreso, although financial and physical assets ownership have been increased, human, natural and social capital are a challenge. Shocks, stresses and seasonality still characterize the vulnerability context of the farmers as society has been exposed to women and child abuses, food insecurity, and social decay. The study therefore recommends an increased participatory action and learning in crafting and implementing contract terms by farmers, state and non-state actors for sustainability to be realized.

Illegal dumping of waste can be classified as a considerable risk to the sustainability of the environment and the well-being of the people in the urban local area, including the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality (KSDM) in South Africa. In spite of the intervention of regulatory regimes to alleviate this, cases of illegal dumping still occur, wherein low-income neighborhoods are over-represented. The current mixed-methods study evaluates the success of the use of municipal interventions to reduce the incidence of illegal dumping within the KSDM communities. A multi-dimensional approach, which consisted of a set of semi-structured interviews with the municipality officials and community representatives, as well as closed-ended questionnaires used to examine 80 selected residential citizens in four localities, was applied. The results of the SPSS analysis based on quantitative data provided a descriptive statistic of community perceptions, and the thematic analysis of qualitative responses allowed producing the categories of their descriptive characteristics. The ArcGIS mapping and proximity analysis were deployed to rate the spatial location of the dumping sites; bins known as skipper and notice boards. The results obtained show that enforcement methods are significantly effective in areas with high incomes, Southridge and Southernwood, where compliance with waste-management rules is consistent and, in these regions, the municipal waste services are not disrupted. In comparison, the lower-income regions, especially Mandela Park and Ngangelizwe have limited resources which inhibit compliance and further frustrate dumping. The research concludes that the current regulatory responses are likely to focus on symptomatic, rather than structural causes of illegal dumping, and therefore make long-term effectiveness a challenge. In this respect, a more combined resource-sensitive model is advised to enhance enforcement across the socio-economic lines.

This study employed a qualitative research approach to explore the perceptions and adaptation strategies of small-scale farmers in Mangolong Village, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns and insights. The results revealed that social, economic and cultural factors influence adaptation to climate variability. Women emerged as key contributors in agricultural production, but they continue to face challenges such as limited access to land and lack of financial resources emphasizing the need for gender-sensitive adaptation strategies. The dominance of older farmers in agricultural practices highlighted a stronger reliance on traditional agricultural practices which are grounded in valuable indigenous knowledge. However, this may hinder the uptake of modern climate-resilient techniques. Education can also be very crucial along with indigenous knowledge exchange and social networks. The size of households also determined the adaptive capacity, especially in relation to available labour, and the economic constraints limited investing in new technologies. The farmers showed a strong attachment to their land and cultural earnings that influenced their perceptions about and reactions to the problem of climate change. The most cited adaptation interventions were cropping diversification, intercropping and adjustments to seasonal calendars. These results showed that adaptation lies in the context of complicated socio-cultural, economic, and environmental conditions. In this regard, successful adaptation should be a holistic process where integration of both indigenous knowledge systems with scientific innovation is a must. Women and other vulnerable groups need to be supported with capital so that they can acquire farming inputs and also give them the mandatory knowledge that integrates modern farming and traditional farming system.