**1. Introduction**

The world today is environmentally challenged by the emerging threats of climate change and variability [1]. The IPCC's Assessment Report 5 has shown the likely climate change impact to have affected greatly agricultural production, particularly in the tropics while enhancing food insecurity and malnutrition in several tropical countries [2, 3]. Tropics, semi-arid and arid regions are considered more vulnerable to climate change effects due to the population nature being exposed to drought and their livelihood source [2]. Furthermore, communities in these regions are largely depending in nature for livelihood, while they are geographically as well

socially and economically at disadvantage [4]. Climate change has been affecting agriculture sectors in multiple ways including alteration of agro-ecological zones due to changes in temperature and rainfall, drought stress particularly in areas natured with semi-arid tropics including sub-tropics and flooding [5]. Adaptation strategies for climate change and its associated disasters are crucially important for sustaining the livelihood resilience for communities that are agriculture dependents [6]. Climate change extreme outcomes outlining increases heat and drought during the crops growing season enhances the decline of the top ground biomass and impactful loss of soil nutrients in which impacts largely agricultural production and soil healthy [2]. Adaptation and mitigation strategies differ depending on the local context specifying strategies that are effective to the area regarding the technical, social, natural, financial, physical capital and readiness of the people [6]. In alleviating the severity of climate change impacts adoption of adaptation strategies becomes a core value in agriculture and food production in general [7].

Most rural dwellers depend on agriculture as main the source of economic gains in which the sector is most vulnerable to climate change impacts [7, 8]. Poverty severity among rural dwellers poses difficulties to farmers in such areas in creating resilience to adaptation to climate change impacts [7]. Several adaptation strategies globally have been developed including the growing of new crops adaptive to climate stress, change of sowing time and others [7]. An adaptation to the changing climate impacts the cultivation of pulses globally has been growing and mostly the grown pulses include soybeans, dry pea, lentil and chickpea which are largely and globally grown in semi-arid areas [9]. These pulse crops have been much preferred due to their suitability in responding differently in the growing season's rainfall and temperature patterns as well pulses tend to increases cereal production when grown in rotation [9]. In several regions pulses have been grown in rotation with maize, wheat and rice while in some areas are intercropped with other crops such as marigold, sunflower, mustard, and coriander [10]. Pulses have been assuring global food security and enhancing the affordable attainment of protein among poor rural societies in which the level of protein contained in chickpea is estimated to be the same as the protein offered by meat [11]. It is globally within the context of climate change; pulses have shown a promising role in meeting world protein demand and food security [12]. Also, when intercropped or rotated, pulses have ensured the attainment of food varieties and increased soil productivity through nitrogen fixation [10]. Chickpea are mostly preferred recently due to their ability of the root trait variability in stress tolerance [11]. FAO has considered prioritizing the production of pulses as among strategies in meeting Sustainable Goal 2 through building resilience in agriculture [11]. Under climate change impacts, pulses particularly chickpea and lentils respond positively as an outcome of fertilization effects due to elevated CO2 related to the lowering of leaf stomata conductance and a decreasing rate of transpiration leading to enhanced water use efficiency [13]. To respond to the impacts of climate change, the adaptation strategies have been developed in different areas including semi-arid areas of Tanzania where one among them is the cultivation of crops which are drought tolerant and those with short maturity period [14]. This study aimed at assessing the rate of pulses specifically chickpea farming adoption as adaptation measures to the impacts of climate change in semiarid areas.

### **2. Materials and methods**

This study was conducted in Itigi District (**Figure 1**) found in Singida region, Tanzania. Four villages were involved in the study in which chickpea farming has *Pulses Farming; An Adaptive Strategy to Climate Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100739*

**Figure 1.** *Map showing the study villages. Source: AMUCTA Geography Unit.*

been a dominant crop farming activity and the villages included Ipande, Damweru, Kitopeni and Itigi. Itigi district is found in coordinates 5°42′ S and 34°5′ E while topographically its altitude above the mean sea level is between 1244 m and 1300 m. Itigi is a semi-arid area experiencing low rainfall and shorty rain season which annually it receives rainfall ranging amount of 500–700 mm and normally experiences one drought season after every four years [15]. The minimum temperature is experienced during the night reaching 15°C while the maximum day temperature being 20°C during the rainy season while during the dry season being 30°C [16]. Sandy soils, grayish brown sands and black cracking soils characterize the soil dominance in the area [6]. Itigi is natured with seasonal streams which normally dry after the rainfall seasons. Based on the last census, Itigi district has a total population of 101,364 people males being 50,801 people and females being 50,563 people which when compared to the consecutive census (2002 and 2012) the population is rapidly growing threatening natural resources including land, water and forest resources found in an area [17, 18]. In terms of vegetation the study area is covered with of thickets famously named as Itigi thickets which are endemic to Itigi covering one-fifth of the total district area and miombo woodland with a variety of miombo species which are in danger due to excessive harvesting [19]. Gypsum deposits in the plains of Itigi offer employment to several dwellers particularly during the dry seasons [20].

The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. One hundred six households were engaged in the study where the sample was attained with the use of Israel sample calculation formulae [21] with the use of a set of prepared structured questionnaires. Two focus group discussions were conducted each having seven members and each included members from two close villages. Key respondents including agricultural officers, village local authorities were engaged through Key Informant Interview while collected information was ensured through transect observation. Data collected

were coded in SPSS and analyzed through Chi Square technique to check the relationship between variables at p > 0.05 while the General Linear Model (Univariate Analysis of variance) was used to check the effect of two or more independent variables on one dependent variable.
